Date Published: 11/17/10

Dr. Nomate Kpea and Dr. Terry Bagia take the message of change to the heart of Ogoni

Dr. Nomate T. Kpea

World-renowned dermatologist and distinguished Ogoni patriot/philanthropist, Dr. Nomate T. Kpea, and a youthful International Law scholar and prodemocracy activist, Dr. Terry M. Bagia, storm their Ogoni homeland in the heart of the Niger Delta of Nigeria to grace a historic grassroots enlightenment and voting rights education/campaign forum scheduled to hold at Birabil Memorial Grammar School (BMGS) campus on Friday Dec. 3, 2010. The duo will join forces with the Youth Vanguard for Grassroots Mobilization (YVGM) under the leadership of Comrade Celestine AkpoBari and Engineer Baridilo Paago to educate the grassroots base within the Ogoni axis, and beyond on the inalienable nature of the voting rights.

Dr. Terry M. Bagia

The theme of the event is “No to Stealing of Votes, No to Stealing of Destiny!” A throng of progressives, conscientious statesmen, national patriots, well-meaning career politicians, professional groups, youths, students, women groups, the clergy, traditional leaders, civil society groups and prodemocracy activists from across the country, and beyond are expected to heartily participate in this landmark event. The event is expected to send an irresistible signal to the entire Nigeria and the global community that the Ogoni territory will be a no-nonsense zone during the 2011 elections in Nigeria. Every Citizen’s vote must count in Ogoniland.

As the aging process continues to dump a new layer of sand on the Nigerian socio-political shore with little or virtually nothing to show as evidence of socio-political maturity, it behooves all Nigerians to begin to realize the compelling need for collective action in nation-building. Abandoning the task of nation-building into the hands of a ‘select few’ who have little or no interest of the nation at heart is inimical to our national dream and destiny.

On October 1 st this year, 2010, our beloved Nation, Nigeria, just celebrated her 50 th Birthday anniversary . And as the old adage goes, “A fool at 50 is a fool forever.” Interestingly, none of us would prefer to be called citizens of a foolish nation. It would be a mark of foolishness for our nation to become one of those countries where every possible opportunity for national recovery and restoration would be persistently slaughtered on the altars of selfishness, greed and avarice.

Tribal politics is destructive to our nation’s hope and aspiration. It is mandatory for all Nigerians to desist from erroneously concentrating on the things that pull us apart rather than concentrating on the things that bind us together as a people.Our future and those of our children, and of course, those of our children’s children lie in our hands. What we do with them matters!

We are faced with the opportunity to make salient choices. Before us lies an opportunity to choose between making the destiny of the unborn generation and marring the destiny of the generation yet unborn; an opportunity to choose between being a victorious nation and being a vanquished nation. The answer lies in how the citizens exercise their voting rights and whether their votes would count.True democracy is at variance with civil government of imposition. The former offers power to choose while the latter is synonymous with ‘legitimized banditry.’

Nigerians have had enough of self-inflicted woes. Most Nigerians, the silent majority, have stagnated between the rock and a hard place for longer than necessary. In the same vein, not a few Nigerians have chosen to stoop so low, and perpetually travailed on the path of discord and dishonor, while some others have chosen to slump down the steep slope of despair and despondency with no savior in sight. Systemic corruption on one hand and cold complacency on the other hand, has combined to deepen our bandaged sores. Enough is enough!

Nigeria, as a nation, holds great promise as a reservoir of the rudiments of modern civilization. But Nigeria has so far shown herself as a nation with an unclear agenda. In the words of Jawaharlal Pandit Sri Nehru, “...A moment comes which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed finds utterance.” That moment is now! Come and join the movement for change. Come One, come All!