Monday, January 30, 2012

The Song That Nigeria Wrote...

"Every Country has the Government that it deserves" - Joseph Marie de Maistre (French Philosopher)

Despite the fact that more than seventy percent of Nigerians live on less than $2 per day; the first thing the Government did in 2012 was to make life harder by almost tripling the price of fuel. Invariably, the cost of food, transportation, etc.. all went up, and yet the basic income/salary of the average Nigerian stayed the same. No matter how you look at it, it's unfair. If the Govt took steps to make life a little better for its citizens; if we had electricity, or Security, etc.. it wouldn't be so bad. If they invested in refineries, so that we could refine/produce our own oil products, we wouldn't be buying our own oil back at exorbitant prices, and there would be no need to subsidize fuel.

For some of us, the Fuel Subsidy Removal was just the straw that broke the camel's back. In a Country already plagued with decades of unresolved problems, the Government, in one fell swoop, made a decision, that at least in the short term, made life harder for the majority of its citizens; most of whom already had it hard to begin with. There's still nothing close to constant electricity for most of Nigeria; nothing close to quality basic education for all, healthcare, clean water, good roads, etc. In a country already dealing with tribal strife and armed robbery raining terror on citizens, we entered a new year now also having to deal with organized Terrorist Groups like Boko Haram claiming the lives of so many innocent citizens on an almost weekly basis, with the Government showing no signs of slowing them down.

But the blame should not go to the government alone. If Nigeria’s leaders are guilty of consistently providing failed, corrupt leadership, the citizens, on their own part, are guilty of consistently supplying apathy. We vote our leaders into power (or we sit at home and let others decide who should lead us). We see them inflating budget numbers, stealing, disrespecting the offices they hold, trampling on the citizens they are supposed to protect, and blatantly refusing to do the jobs we elected them for; yet we respond by saying "God dey" and "its Naija". And every election cycle comes and goes, yet the story remains the same.

We can no longer accept this of ourselves. We are to blame for the leaders we put in office. We are to blame for the state of Nigeria. We owe it to future generations, not to hand them the same Nigeria we are seeing today, or one that has deteriorated further. Change comes when we decide it should. We have two powers as citizens; the power to vote, and the power to protest. I was encouraged by the thousands of Nigerians that FINALLY took to the streets to speak up for what they believe in. This is just the beginning. We must continue to protest, non-violently, in every medium possible, until the Government starts to do a decent job, or until we are angry enough at their actions, that by the next election cycle, we change the Country by voting for the kind of people who actually deserve it, and not the status quo.

It is with this in mind, that I'm teaming up with fellow associates of the October 2011 Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), to create a song and music video, that will hopefully inspire Nigerians worldwide to be a part of the Change they want to see in the country. The song is supposed to express the expectations we have of our Leaders, as well as what we expect of ourselves; the hope is to create a song that inspires each person to believe in the dream of a brighter future for Nigeria, and to play whatever role necessary to make that dream a reality.

However, instead of just creating a song to preach to Nigerians, we've decided to give every Nigerian a chance to be a part of it, by allowing everyone to contribute lyrics to the song. The idea is for this to be the song created "by Nigerians for Nigerians about Nigeria". We will upload an incomplete draft of the chorus idea for the song, so that everyone gets a feel for where the song is going musically. We'll then open up online mediums (Twitter, Facebook, email etc) to Nigerians all over the world to send in suggestions for lyrics. The lyrics will be collected and vetted by members of the NLI class; the final lyrics will be used to craft the verses and the final chorus for the song... and the hope is that this song, created by Nigerians for Nigeria, will travel far and wide; and the message will be communicated to every leader and citizen of this great country...

We will continue to protest by speaking up; we will continue to stand up for ourselves and for our country. And if our issues continue to be ignored, when the time comes, we will Vote for Change on EVERY level. We must, because Nigeria must change. Nigeria WILL change.

~ B.W.

PS: Step-by-Step Instructions as to how you can submit lyrics to be a part of this project will follow shortly... please join us and be involved. Thanks!!

P.P.S: Special Thanks to Segun Demuren and Tolu Ogunlesi for their guidance, suggestions, and editing in this write up.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

nicely put....GOD BLESS U

dolapo said...

looking forward to the song.Though the protest didn't give us our desired result,but it did something far better.it showed our leaders that we Nierians can not be taken as fools again.I was really impressed with the way Nigerians turned up.....nice write up Banky!

Anonymous said...

Interesting...

emelda omoha said...

Nice everityn

Anonymous said...

Now this is great...not only for Nigeria but the whole of Africa.We must rise up and protest bad governance.Thumbs up Banky W.

Anonymous said...

This is it!

Anonymous said...

This is whr the change starts frm. Well said Banky W God bless ‎​U̶̲̥̅̊я heart

Kemi Erubami said...

Mr Wellington oh oh akiyin oo hehe nice one.God bless you.kisses

meekmafia said...

Maybe u shld remember more dan seventy million nigerians live on less than $2 a day when next u sing 'I got 2 much money l'akpo' and their r children who can't get food to...I respect d fact dat u'r trying though..but if u really want 2 do sum'n..strt a foundation(not a 'paparazzi' foundation o)..one that will really touch d lives of nigerians..not just writing on d web...d ordinary masses dnt av access 2 it..peace

Anonymous said...

This is gr8t...you're so blessed.

Lucy said...

This is gr8t...you're so blessed.

Lucy said...

This is gr8t...you're so blessed.

Debbie's Pastries said...

Welldone banky...united we all stand to fight for the piece,progress and well being of God,s own country...NIGERIA.

hawa said...

I must say dis is a loudable initiative, I'm impressed. God bless u!

berrie said...

Beautiful piece Banky! Long overdue, Nigeria needs a new song...'Things have fallen apart' but the centre must hold.

tweetaberrie said...

Beautiful piece Banky! Long overdue, Nigeria needs a new song...'Things have fallen apart' but the centre must hold.

Anonymous said...

Nice idea

P'kach said...

I'm thrilled and happy that you are thinking in this direction. You are one artist I admire. I believe music just like any other art or skill is a medium to sensitize and conscientalize the public..I tell their is no limit to the progress that would be achieved by this move..so keep the fire Brother,Nigeria needs you.I'm a very passionate artist too.I guess its only a matter of time b4 we meet. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Gbosa Banky EMEzy

Anonymous said...

Good idea bankole,I admire this idea so much and I believe I† 's gonna do well.......

Diane E said...

http://niaclyde.blogspot.com/2012/01/banky-w.html

Anonymous said...

Thank you banky, its such an encouragement to read this from someone like u,its tells me that there is hope for this country,together we shall continue to OCCUPY till d change that we desire comes,by the next elections our 'leaders' will know it can't be business as usual again.

TheNigerianExperience said...

Nice one :) really looking forward to hearing about how we can participate and the final song!

Anonymous said...

In regards 2 this article "the song that nigeria wrote"; 2 implement change,"u" av 2 b d change agent.How?Tru sensitization which can be achieved in your lyrics. You are in a position to at least do the work of teaching tru your music as am sure you know, you have a lot of influence on especially youths who are the future leaders of tomorrow. Its the words that they hear in ur music that sticks in their minds. Am not saying don't sing love songs but enough about ass n boobs already. Sing peace, love, freedom, anti corruption, anti conflict n stuff n see the difference you will make in the society. We grew up listening to Onyeka onwenu, sunny Ade, chris okotie, sunny okosun..... N their songs are legendary n I wish my kids will hear those kinda words that I heard. Enough said: you can make change happen n it starts with me and you! I organize sensitization events in my state for secondary and primary schools and would want to spread to other states but as much as I try the state government won't buy into it rather they pretend like they would n make money off the idea from the federal government. If you wanna be a part of it you can email me on escaliarentng@gmail.com thanks.