There is something heavy on my mind : Why have the masses who complain everyday about the state of the country ; the same masses who scrutinize and know the various corrupt government officials ; the same masses who all know that most of the current lawmakers have and continue to intentionally sabotage the country for the sole purpose of selfish financial gains.

Why haven't the people come together to utilize the powers of the constitution to attempt to remove the corrupt elements that occupy the positions of authority in the House of Senate and House of representatives which collectively make up the National and State assembly all in a bid to get genuine , qualified lawmakers that can pass laws that will benefit the people

The constitution makes provisions for the people who elect these unqualified leaders to also remove them if they deem them unable to perform their duties.

Instead of the constant bickering , bear parlour castigating as well as the nairaland activism ; why cant we come together and identify all these corrupt individuals ad then start to collectively work towards their dismissal from their positions of authority with the sole intention of them been replaced by qualified individuals who can then start to attempt to make changes that have the possibility of bringing the country out of its current deplorable state.

In my desire to see a better country, I pose this question to Nigerians( some of which are on Nairaland) with the sole intention of been able to have intelligent discourse as to how we can utilize the little but significant powers we have to rid ourselves of the problems which affect each and every one of us.

Please can we proceed to intelligently discuss this issue cause I believe that we , the people owe it to ourselves to start to take it upon ourselves to change our situation instead of waiting on a bunch of clueless politicians who really don not care about the masses but only their personal selfish gains.

I hope we can use this forum to have a productive discourse...please start to make contributions...

Same reasons you haven't.they cant be bothered

.

mikolo80:
Same reasons you haven't.they cant be bothered

I can see that, but at the same time , there is a saying that " Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results"

For a long time now, I have been pondering over why Africa is in its current dilapidated state irrespective of bountiful natural resources we have been blessed with ; why the raw materials in Africa/Nigeria are not been used for their own good; why the government doesnt work and why we are so backward and I seem to have been able to get answers to all of these questions.

I have tried writing blogs, articles and trying to circulate these around to as many people as possible but haven't been able to achieve the desired outcome.

Now its is my constant pondering and craving for solutions and the realization that the only way forward is for the masses/ the people to start to have productive discourse amongst themselves as to how they can solve the problems that besiege them as we are the only ones that can help ourselves and the government structure/ entity in place have no intention and hence cannot solve the problems which need to be solved for any semblance of change to begin to manifest.

Based on the above, I want to believe that there are loads of like-minded nigerians that share my belief/thought and who would also want to start to make the changes that are required but also feel powerless or havent been able to draw up a concrete strategy of how this change can be implemented and I believe that we owe it to ourselves( as there is strength in numbers) to start to come together, rub minds together, discuss our thoughts, refine them and start to collectively chart a course that has the possibility of making a difference even if it might seem that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I believe that until we try as a people, we will never know what we are capable of achieving.

The greatest movements in the world did not just happen overnight, they happened because certain individuals made the choice to do something about their unfavourable situations and were also determined to see it through.

I think what our country Nigeria needs is for the people to consciously say " we have had enough of this mediocrity " and choose to make a change; not ask or demand for the change but to forcibly effect the change we need to better our lives

factuallogik:


I can see that, but at the same time , there is a saying that " Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results"

For a long time now, I have been pondering over why Africa is in its current dilapidated state irrespective of bountiful natural resources we have been blessed with ; why the raw materials in Africa/Nigeria are not been used for their own good; why the government doesnt work and why we are so backward and I seem to have been able to get answers to all of these questions.

I have tried writing blogs, articles and trying to circulate these around to as many people as possible but haven't been able to achieve the desired outcome.

Now its is my constant pondering and craving for solutions and the realization that the only way forward is for the masses/ the people to start to have productive discourse amongst themselves as to how they can solve the problems that besiege them as we are the only ones that can help ourselves and the government structure/ entity in place have no intention and hence cannot solve the problems which need to be solved for any semblance of change to begin to manifest.

Based on the above, I want to believe that there are loads of like-minded nigerians that share my belief/thought and who would also want to start to make the changes that are required but also feel powerless or havent been able to draw up a concrete strategy of how this change can be implemented and I believe that we owe it to ourselves( as there is strength in numbers) to start to come together, rub minds together, discuss our thoughts, refine them and start to collectively chart a course that has the possibility of making a difference even if it might seem that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I believe that until we try as a people, we will never know what we are capable of achieving.

The greatest movements in the world did not just happen overnight, they happened because certain individuals made the choice to do something about their unfavourable situations and were also determined to see it through.

I think what our country Nigeria needs is for the people to consciously say " we have had enough of this mediocrity " and choose to make a change; not ask or demand for the change but to forcibly effect the change we need to better our lives

i reiterate,with every bit of due respect why are you notleading the charge......hard in'it.see its much easier to sit back relax and type romantic words than it is to git dwn and dirty on the grimy streeets in order to fight the good fight.sorry but thats the truth,besides see what ppl said about thos who are doing 'something'(soyinka is now called senil,buhari;jihadist,tinubu;thiefnubueven jonathan who at least joined a party is cluelesss.trust me its a hard hard road and its much easier to blow grammar than to get stuck in.i tried once and i became unemployed for 10 years so you need to ask urself,your mind carry am

Now in my quest and constant research for solutions, I some time ago started studying the Nigerian constitution trying to better understand the framework, structures and derived powers of the existing government with a view to determining what powers are bestowed upon the masses to be able to voice their opinions and demand/implement changes they desire for the betterment of their situation, after-all, the country is owned by the people and not by the government, the people simply elect the government to represent them and do their bidding( at least this is how it should be).

The constitution contains this paragraph as pasted below:
"
69. A member of the Senate or of the House Representatives may be recalled as such a member if -

(a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member's constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member; and

(b) the petition is thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission within ninety days of the date of receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that member's constituency.

".

Now it is evident that the elected people who occupy positions in the National/State assembly have the responsibility of creating and passing bills which are meant to better the state of the economy and by extension the lives of the people; also, it is common knowledge that most of these elected people have failed over the years to perform their primary/sole job responsibility and have instead all come together to create mechanisms and collude to divert the resources owned by the populace into their personal pockets. This theft/mis-management has been done in collaboration with the various ministries and by extension , the presidency and the appointed ministers all of whom could be made subject to the laws/powers enshrined in the 2 houses( Senate and Representatives).

Now , I would like to believe that if the above is right, what is required is to have the right people with the right character and integrity begin to occupy the seats of authority in the National/State assembly and who would be accountable to the people due to the fear of been removed and would hence do the bidding of the masses.

Now I believe that the constitution which is the law of the land has made a provision for we the people to start to dictate/ influence the affairs of the country by choosing who represents and makes decision which ultimately affect us( though over the years, the decisions have led to poverty, mis-management, death and complete destabilization of the economy).

The summary of everything I have typed is that I believe we the people, everyone who can read and write and who can also reason properly, i.e. logically and rationally ,need to understand this power that we have and start to create dialogue on how we can come together to fix our problems by removing the inefficient, thieving and clueless politicians that have subjugated us to suffering and living like dogs while they enjoy the good of the land which should be the right of the Nigerian people.

Please, I believe we need to start having this intelligent discourse not for the sake of just having it , but with a view to taking steps that bring us closer to the point where we all want to be , which is a state of security , prosperity and peace of mind.

Nigerian judiciary is corrupt. So I doubt using the court would be effective.
Govts has by been largely ignoring the parts of the constitution that suits them for instance fair elections.

The most effective weapon the masses can do is to get on the streets and protest against corruption.

Whenever Nigerians have protested on a large scale they have almost always gained some concessions, so it is surprising that we do not protest more often.

@ GenBuhari ; I do agree with you but I also believe that when we go to the streets, this needs to be done in a structured way; there has to be a defined list of what exactly we are intending to achieve and also how these things can be achieved in a legal manner.

Protests need to happen and do work if coordinated and structured properly with the people speaking with one voice; they are even more effective when there is a clearly defined case on ground which can be proven to have been contravened.

What if we all come together and actually make an attempt to utilize our constitutional powers first by trying to remove the corrupt officials from office, and if this proves not to be working , we can then take to the street because at this point , the masses would have a legal , indisputable reason for taking to the street to require that the wishes of the people be enacted.

At this point ,this wouldn't be a random protest, there will actually be defined objectives which can be identified which can be used to measure the success or failure of the protest.

For example, if the people come together and a group of corrupt politicians in the House of Representatives and Senate are identified, and a petition is raised and duly and legally signed by the required quota of the people from their respective constituency ; this petition can then be taken to INEC ( note; all of this will be documented to prove timing of events) who are constitutionally bound to invoke the process of having these identified officials recalled from their various positions ; If and when this is submitted to INEC and they do nothing about it, the people then have a solid,legal and measurable reason/case for taking to the streets to enforce the implementation of their constitutional rights.

This would be a simple case of a structured approach to using the tool of protest to achieve measure and effective results .

All of this is possible but we who are part of the masses and who desire this change need to come together and start using our resources, technical abilities as well as professional skills to determine how we can start implementing the much desired changes.

I believe there are lawyers, philosophers, thinkers, essentially extra-smart people among us, besides Nigerians are some of the most educated people I know.. I believe when we come together and start to discuss strategy, we can identify and proffer solutions that will definitely generate the results we crave for

I can see how passionate you are about this.
I do not see any harm in trying.
What steps can we take today to get started?

Forgot to mention there is a way the political elite counter street protests that people thinking of protesting should be aware of and find a way to deal with.
1. The govt can use Boko Haram to start bombing the protests sight or at least get the press to report real or imagined terrorist threat that would then justify them sending in troops to clear the protest and impose a curfew. They used this method the end the remenant of the Fuel Subsidy protests in January 2012.

2. The govt can send in thugs to turn the protests violent killing people, burn down churches and or mosques , or just getting the press media to report that such has happened; allowing them to label the protest a sectarian riot which again gives them an excuse to send in troops to clear the protestors and impose a curfew.

factuallogik:
@ GenBuhari ; I do agree with you but I also believe that when we go to the streets, this needs to be done in a structured way; there has to be a defined list of what exactly we are intending to achieve and also how these things can be achieved in a legal manner.

Protests need to happen and do work if coordinated and structured properly with the people speaking with one voice; they are even more effective when there is a clearly defined case on ground which can be proven to have been contravened.

What if we all come together and actually make an attempt to utilize our constitutional powers first by trying to remove the corrupt officials from office, and if this proves not to be working , we can then take to the street because at this point , the masses would have a legal , indisputable reason for taking to the street to require that the wishes of the people be enacted.

At this point ,this wouldn't be a random protest, there will actually be defined objectives which can be identified which can be used to measure the success or failure of the protest.

For example, if the people come together and a group of corrupt politicians in the House of Representatives and Senate are identified, and a petition is raised and duly and legally signed by the required quota of the people from their respective constituency ; this petition can then be taken to INEC ( note; all of this will be documented to prove timing of events) who are constitutionally bound to invoke the process of having these identified officials recalled from their various positions ; If and when this is submitted to INEC and they do nothing about it, the people then have a solid,legal and measurable reason/case for taking to the streets to enforce the implementation of their constitutional rights.

This would be a simple case of a structured approach to using the tool of protest to achieve measure and effective results .

All of this is possible but we who are part of the masses and who desire this change need to come together and start using our resources, technical abilities as well as professional skills to determine how we can start implementing the much desired changes.

I believe there are lawyers, philosophers, thinkers, essentially extra-smart people among us, besides Nigerians are some of the most educated people I know.. I believe when we come together and start to discuss strategy, we can identify and proffer solutions that will definitely generate the results we crave for

But how would the citizens prove that the targeted lawmaker is corrupt un the context of the law?

@Op I suppose it is because we still have some oil money to go round. When oil finally dries up, that is when the real cannibalism will begin.

Politicians will attempt to hire crowd as usual, but the massess will beat them up or kill them as frustration or hunger dictates starting with those of the same tribe before thinking about politicians of other tribes and religion.

Before then, I am afraid it will be trickish- like trying to baptize a cat in the river. Without doubt, now is an opportuned time to be a politician in Nigeria.

ojdollars:
But how would the citizens prove that the targeted lawmaker is corrupt un the context of the law?

As things stand, they are all guilty until proven otherwise- according to the law of the people. The law of the legislators may say otherwise.

@mikolo80 ;

I perfectly understand your stance ; it is pretty much a dangerous mission, it is definitely easier to castigate in the comfort of ones home and do absolutely nothing, that is a fair point.

My question is what is the alternative ? Get comfortable with the current state of affairs because we are too scared to loose things that matter to us( just as Fela said) and as a result guarantee a pretty hopeless future for the future yet unborn and just continue to complain ; or we choose to make an attempt to free ourselves from the bonds of poverty and subjugation , I think I would rather do the latter.
I have heard westerners ask questions like " How can them africans not develop themselves? why do they suffer in the midst of so much? " ; my answer to this questions is that most of us havent gotten to the point where we have that inner conviction that "enough is enough" and demand to live like Royalty and not continue to eat the crumbs from the table of the thieves that have taken the meal that is meant for us.,

Nobody wants to loose their job or their lives for that matter, but does existing and living like beggars in the midst of plenty, seeing those responsible for our predicament and not been able to do nothing about it ; I don't believe that is living at all.

I believe we need to believe that we deserve more ,and once we understand that, settling for less will be off the table

I know this might sound like rhetoric, but does it change the fact that it is the truth and the change and actions I talk about are definitely needed?

ojdollars:
But how would the citizens prove that the targeted lawmaker is corrupt un the context of the law?

That's a good question, I believe the distribution of the seats in the National assembly and state assembly is such that it reflects all 36 states as well as all the constituencies within each state which would thereby provide representation for each and every segment of the Nigerian population hence distributing the power evenly across the nation preventing the neglect of any part of the country
Therefore, it stands to reason that each elected representative in the National/State assembly is responsible for representing the people in his constituency who legally voted him in solely for the purpose of him to harness the power given to him by the constitution to push forward laws and programs in collaboration with the State and local government to directly enhance the lives of the people he represents.

I would believe that all we need to do is take a look at the state of each of our constituencies, make efforts to research and determine what exactly our representatives have been doing on our behalf, start to ask questions as to why basic infrastructure in our local communities are not functional; query these representatives using outlets provided to us by virtue or our rights as Nigerians...I believe it will not be at difficult to identify those who have not been diligent in serving the people( even though we the people know that this will amount to most of them).
These people are accountable to us not because I say so, but because the law, the constitution which defines their job responsibility says so.

It will not be a short and easy road, but one which might be laced with frustration and fear; but I strongly believe this is one of the most efficient ways we can start to create the future we dream of.

This task cannot be performed by one man or one family, it can be done by a few good men who choose to make the sacrifice to demand for more and resist to suffer when we have been destined to live like kings

I do not pretend to have the answers to all the problems our nation has, but I do believe that there is strength in numbers; I believe that what I do not know, upon consultation with the next person, he might be able to educate me and hence enable us define a better approach capable of providing a more efficient solution; All we need to do is start..start attempting to create the change we desire

I am definitely open to criticism and at the same time, I am definitely open to dialogue from individuals that feel my pain and also have the desire( even though it might seem like there is no hope) to take their destiny and future of our kids yet unborn into our own hands and out of that of a seemingly hopeless, confused and unaccountable government.

factuallogik:
@mikolo80 ;

I perfectly understand your stance ; it is pretty much a dangerous mission, it is definitely easier to castigate in the comfort of ones home and do absolutely nothing, that is a fair point.

My question is what is the alternative ? Get comfortable with the current state of affairs because we are too scared to loose things that matter to us( just as Fela said) and as a result guarantee a pretty hopeless future for the future yet unborn and just continue to complain ; or we choose to make an attempt to free ourselves from the bonds of poverty and subjugation , I think I would rather do the latter.
I have heard westerners ask questions like " How can them africans not develop themselves? why do they suffer in the midst of so much? " ; my answer to this questions is that most of us havent gotten to the point where we have that inner conviction that "enough is enough" and demand to live like Royalty and not continue to eat the crumbs from the table of the thieves that have taken the meal that is meant for us.,

Nobody wants to loose their job or their lives for that matter, but does existing and living like beggars in the midst of plenty, seeing those responsible for our predicament and not been able to do nothing about it ; I don't believe that is living at all.

I believe we need to believe that we deserve more ,and once we understand that, settling for less will be off the table

I know this might sound like rhetoric, but does it change the fact that it is the truth and the change and actions I talk about are definitely needed?




That's a good question, I believe the distribution of the seats in the National assembly and state assembly is such that it reflects all 36 states as well as all the constituencies within each state which would thereby provide representation for each and every segment of the Nigerian population hence distributing the power evenly across the nation preventing the neglect of any part of the country
Therefore, it stands to reason that each elected representative in the National/State assembly is responsible for representing the people in his constituency who legally voted him in solely for the purpose of him to harness the power given to him by the constitution to push forward laws and programs in collaboration with the State and local government to directly enhance the lives of the people he represents.

I would believe that all we need to do is take a look at the state of each of our constituencies, make efforts to research and determine what exactly our representatives have been doing on our behalf, start to ask questions as to why basic infrastructure in our local communities are not functional; query these representatives using outlets provided to us by virtue or our rights as Nigerians...I believe it will not be at difficult to identify those who have not been diligent in serving the people( even though we the people know that this will amount to most of them).
These people are accountable to us not because I say so, but because the law, the constitution which defines their job responsibility says so.

It will not be a short and easy road, but one which might be laced with frustration and fear; but I strongly believe this is one of the most efficient ways we can start to create the future we dream of.

This task cannot be performed by one man or one family, it can be done by a few good men who choose to make the sacrifice to demand for more and resist to suffer when we have been destined to live like kings

I do not pretend to have the answers to all the problems our nation has, but I do believe that there is strength in numbers; I believe that what I do not know, upon consultation with the next person, he might be able to educate me and hence enable us define a better approach capable of providing a more efficient solution; All we need to do is start..start attempting to create the change we desire

I am definitely open to criticism and at the same time, I am definitely open to dialogue from individuals that feel my pain and also have the desire( even though it might seem like there is no hope) to take their destiny and future of our kids yet unborn into our own hands and out of that of a seemingly hopeless, confused and unaccountable government.

there's a shitload of things we can do but we have to wakit for the opportune moment (when we don suffer properly) to get critical mass required althoug i do have a couple strategies i've been working on(been exercising the ol' noggin i have.but its too long to type on small phone.mention me so i can remember to share when i've got proper keyboard

mikolo80:
there's a shitload of things we can do but we have to wakit for the opportune moment (when we don suffer properly) to get critical mass required althoug i do have a couple strategies i've been working on(been exercising the ol' noggin i have.but its too long to type on small phone.mention me so i can remember to share when i've got proper keyboard

ah got to keyboard but funny i cooulda just gone with the short version
1. wait for fuel scarcity,ASUU strike or any other corruption scandal and institute total recall cos all the reps and senators gotta go
2. go to court if even just for the publicity
3. found your own party(not rocket science but lots of work though)
4. if ure member of nlc,assuu,nupeng oor nut go on strike 5 months to election