and being run by insatiable savages, is unsalvageable. Politically,
economically, socially, and in every other way you can imagine —
Nigeria is a failed country. And the decayed state of this country is a
result of more than half a century of elite-conspiracies.Since the beginning of this week, the social media has been awash with
hashtags of the latest zeitgeist in Nigeria: #RevolutionNow, #DaysofRage
and #OrangeRevolution. These three hashtags are indicative of the new
wave sweeping across Nigeria — the general mood of the majority of
Nigerians who are tired of the existing political order, and thus
yearning for a new order that would rekindle the hope for national
transformation and prosperity.
It comes as no surprise to me, for I am convinced that Nigeria has
reached the point where it must embrace the common axiom that emphasises
what is perhaps the truest of all universal truths: that all things with
a beginning must have a corresponding end.
In my last piece, I wrote about the importance of a Nigerian Revolution
as the panacea to our nearly fifty-nine years sojourn in the doldrums.
It may seem like an attempt to get a quart into a pint pot, but I dare
say nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. The conspiracy against
Nigeria’s progress is simply elitist, and the solution to Nigeria’s
problems lies with the masses. Both in recorded and contemporary
history, we have seen that when leaders fail to deliver on their
mandate, as has been the case in Nigeria since the first republic, a
radical expression of the people’s disaffection through civil
disobedience and other means possible becomes inevitable.
In the year 2004, the state of Ukraine was engulfed by a people’s
revolution that would later be commonly known as the Orange Revolution.
Prior to the Orange Revolution, there was great disaffection among
Ukrainians over the absence of economic and political transformations.
The president of Ukraine at the time — Leonid Kuchma — had become
greatly unpopular following a huge scandal generally known as the
Kuchmagate or the Cassette Scandal of the year 2000. In 2004, he decided
to throw his weight behind his Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, to run
for the office of the president since he couldn’t run for a third term
due to his unpopularity.
The desperation in Kuchma to maintain power, even if indirectly,
instigated him to deploy every political instrument within his command
for his candidate to achieve political victory. As a result, Ukraine’s
presidential runoff election in 2014 was marred by electoral fraud and
irregularities, including the abuse of state apparatus, voter
intimidation, outright rigging, and absolute subversion of the will of
the citizens — all in a bid to abet Kuchma’s preferred candidate
Viktor Yanukovych, in becoming the winner of the presidential runoff
election.
In response, the presidential candidate of Our Ukraine, Viktor
Yushchenko, called for nationwide protests against the unmitigated
electoral fraud which had happened in the country, and with the resolve
of disaffected Ukrainians on the streets, and the commitment of the
courts to justice, the behemoths of Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yanukovych
were defeated, and Yushchenko became the duly elected president of
Ukraine in January 2005, after a re-run election in which Yushchenko
emerged winner in December 2004.
It is a glaring fact that Nigeria is currently buried in the same
whirlpool that led to Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Even more,
Nigeria’s current situation is worse than Ukraine’s in 2004, and
thus we are more than ripe for our Orange Revolution.
Prior to Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, Ukrainians were deprived of
justice at the ballot; the same way Nigerians were recently deprived of
justice at the ballot. Prior to Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, every
state apparatus was deployed by Leonid Kuchma and Yanukovych to upend
the will of Ukrainians; the same way General Buhari and his toadies in
key government institutions upended the will of Nigerians during the
last general elections.
Prior to Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, President Leonid Kuchma was
mired in the Cassette Scandal; the same way General Buhari’s regime
has been tainted by several scandals, including his public declaration
of support for Abdullahi Ganduje — despite the Gandollar Scandal; his
insidious but failed attempt to reinstate Abdulrasheed Maina to office;
his offering of sanctuaries to manifestly corrupt politicians —
including those working closely with him and those under investigation
at the EFCC; his clampdown on dissenting voices and stifling of
democratic rights of citizens; even his utter disrespect for women —
his deafening silence on the raids on women in Nigeria especially in
Abuja; and many more from which he has enjoyed outright immunity or been
wriggled out of — with impunity.
For one man to remain in power, Nigeria lost innocent lives including
that of Daniel Usman who was gunned down in Kogi whilst trying to
exercise his franchise. For one man to remain in power, Nigeria’s
democracy was butchered and buried in one fell swoop. By allowing an
incompetent president to remain in power, we obliquely sanction the
perpetuation of his backward, fascist, and ethnocentric regime in power,
which ultimately ensures the frittering away of the last vestiges of our
national fabric.
But more than General Buhari, Nigeria’s Orange Revolution is about
returning to the basics. It is about redefining our country — our
democracy, and the “hermeneutics of citizenship.” It is about
creating a new order — a radical departure from oligarchy to popular
democracy — a paradigm shift and a new beginning. It is about justice;
social, economic and political justice. Nigeria’s Orange Revolution is
what we need to right the social, economic and political wrongs which we
have had to live with for nearly fifty-nine years of this barren
independence.
During Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, Eastern and Southern Ukraine —
the strongholds of Yanukovych, hinted at the breakup of Ukraine if their
candidate didn’t have his way — the same way many pro-disintegration
advocates are clamouring in Nigeria today. But they failed. In the same
way, Nigeria’s Orange Revolution intends to replace the calls for
disintegration with justice and cohesion. Every Nigerian worker —
whether in Oyo or Nassarawa — deserves a good pay and humane working
conditions. Every Nigerian farmer — whether in Benue or Cross River
— deserves as much subvention as is given to monopoly capitalists.
The average Okada-rider, Danfo-driver and Keke-driver are all desirous
of an environment where they can work and reap the benefit of their
labour without fear of what unscrupulous government agents might do to
frustrate them. The average Nigerian artist is gravely concerned about
intellectual property and the ability of government to provide basic
amenities. Every well-meaning Nigerian desire a country where corruption
is not the common currency among politicians, but service and dignity.
These are some of the existential realities spurring the Nigerian Orange
Revolution.
The coming days of rage which will commence on Monday, 5 August 2019,
will be defined by mass protests, general strikes and civil
disobedience. The Nigerian Orange Revolution, like Ukraine’s Orange
Revolution, will remain a peaceful and civil series of demonstrations
— for as long as the government and its instruments of oppression
remain peaceful and civil. A call for revolution does not automatically
mean a call for violence. The intensity of any revolution, in fact,
depends on the response of those in power.
It is important to note, as I conclude, that although Ukraine’s Orange
Revolution appealed to citizens of all age groups, the revolution was
largely defined by young people. And this is a trend that is still as
true in contemporary revolutionary demonstrations. Young people ensured
the end of Park Geun- hye in South Korea; they ensured the end of Dilma
Rousseff in Brazil; they ended twenty-three harrowing years of Ben
Ali’s regime in Tunisia and kickstarted the Arab Spring; they ended
three decades of Omar Al Bashir’s regime in Sudan; they ensured Puerto
Rico’s Governor, Ricardo Rossellò, resigned from office; and even
now, they are on the streets of Hong Kong fiercely opposing China’s
anti-democratic agenda.
It follows that those of us in Nigeria — the most poverty-stricken
country in the world — must demonstrate an unequalled resolve to end
the nearly six decades of economic and political deprivation, social
exclusion and unbridled oppression of the majority of us. It matters not
how many are willing to flood the streets at the beginning of this
revolution, or the number of counter-revolutionary forces that will be
bankrolled by the government — for this is an allied concomitant of
revolutionary actions across the world. The success or failure of
Nigeria’s Orange Revolution will be determined by our resolve — both
old and young — to never give up on the revolution until it is
achieved.
_ADEBAYO RAPHAEL IS A WRITER AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST. HE WRITES FROM
ABUJA AND CAN BE REACHED ON TWITTER VIA @ASOROSOBIORO._