The 5th Annual Bola
Tinubu Colloquium, held
last week in Lagos, turned
up a plethora of
spectacles. But none was
more stirring than the
moving speech delivered
by Nigerian award
winning singer Banky W.
The speech titled
“ CHANGE… and how to
be a part of it” dissected
the different
circumstances of
oppression and
corruption in the society
and how change is the
vehicle by which the
noble Nigeria we envisage
can be made real.
Read the speech below:
Benjamin Franklin once
said “when you’re finished
changing, you’re
finished”. I’d like to take
that a step further by
saying “we must be a part
of the change we seek, or
risk being changed
ourselves”.
The question is no longer
“will Nigeria change”…
but rather, it’s “will it
change for the better or
worse” and “who will lead
that change”.
History is rife with
instances of regimes,
institutions and societies
seeming stable and
unshakeable… but young
people being fed up with
the status quo, became
the catalysts of Change in
their societies. In recent
times we’ve seen young
people all over the world
clothe themselves with
the “change” mantle and
become a part of the
movement. We’ve seen
that no matter the society,
and no matter the
circumstances of
oppression and
corruption, change is
possible if the people
decide that enough is
enough. From Tunisia, to
America, to Egypt…
young people are
changing the world every
day. Nigeria should be no
different.
They say “insanity” is
doing the same thing over
and over and expecting a
different result. We cannot
continue the same
behaviours, year in, year
out and expect better
results. Except for prayer,
you can’t do the same
thing over and over again
and expect things to be
better. And even with
prayer, you actually have
to get up and do
something after all they
say heaven helps those
who help themselves.
Things young people can
do:
1) Be involved in the
political process:
Register to vote
Actually Vote for the right
candidates.
Or Sit back and let
someone else steal your
voice.
2) Peacefully protest
Media: Old & New
i. Twitter, Facebook
etc – I believe that even
though the internet
accessibility in Nigeria is
still low, we cannot ignore
the importance of such
platforms. They serve as
tools that can help in the
movement. And things
are changing everyday…
many phones today have
some internet capability or
the other.
Efforts like Occupy
Nigeria, Light Up
Nigeria, Enough is
Enough, etc.
Newspapers, blogs, etc.
3) Become fully involved
in the Political process.
It’s easier to talk about
and/or criticize people that
are working than to do
the work yourself. Join a
party and try to help
influence policy. We can
level the playing field if we
all get involved in this
Movement for Change.
And it’s not just at the
federal level. Young
people need to start
getting involved even
from the local and state
levels in order to properly
influence policy and
society.
4) Use whatever voice or
platform you have…
constructively. I’m a
musician and so you’ve
seen me singing and
speaking publicly about
the need for the change in
our country… but you can
use whatever sphere of
influence you have… be it
with family, friends,
school, neighborhood,
church or mosque.
Everyone has a voice and
a role to play.
I’m here because I’m a
dreamer. Everything I
have now, that God
blessed me with… was
born out of my dreams. I
dreamt of becoming a
singer; dreamt of owning
my own Record Label
company, and other
businesses. Dreamt of
being able to influence my
surroundings, my city,
my state and my country
through my work. But
Some people stop at
dreaming while others
actually wake up and set
about trying to make
those dreams come true.
I dream of a changed
Nigeria where each child,
no matter the background
has a dream of his/her
own, and is given access
to education, healthcare,
and basic amenities in life
to make those dreams
come true.
I dream of a changed
Nigeria where the
opportunities abound for
anyone willing to work for
them; where every man,
woman and child is given
a fair shot to avoid
poverty and become a
success at whatever they
set their minds to do.
I dream of the day in
Nigeria where we finally
live up to our potential –
as citizens, leaders,
countries, and as a
Continent.
If our children and future
generations witness
Nigeria in the same
conditions we have her
today, then we would
have failed them. That’s
why I’d rather be here,
speaking with like minds
and putting my hands to
the plow, than sitting at
home being an arm chair
critic.
We’re all here because we
want to be a part of
Changing Nigeria for the
better. That’s why we are
getting involved. Whether
or not each person’s
intentions are pure… only
God would know… only
Time will tell and only
History will judge.
However I’d rather be a
part of the movement for
change,

*continues*
than be one of those that are content to sit back and criticize. I’d rather be a player on the field, or a coach, or a worker on the team, than be a fan in the stands, or home watching on tv.
One of my favorite sayings is “the best way to predict your future is to create it”. We can extend that to say that we must create the Nigeria that we want to live in. We must allspeak up. We must all work for it. We must all stand up andbe counted, if our dreams are to become reality.
I’m Banky W, and I stand for change. Do you? Nice speech Mr.W


Source: www.pulse.com.ng