Amid the celebrations and euphoria that followed and will continue to follow that historic day, I just couldn’t stop thinking of my country. That faithfull morning i left for work a new man, elated and motivated but all I could do was picture Obama in Nigeria and it just couldn’t click. That night before i slept i asked myself Can this happen in my great country?
He’s been hailed the American dream and all I could do was think not dream of the Nigerian dream.

Nigerians obviously have not been left out. Never has an American election meant so much to us. Obamania swept through the whole of Nigeria from the street of Lagos, the status of our facebook profiles to the infamous fund raising dinner hosted by Dr Okereke Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange where hundred and fifty million naira was was raised. Such is the craze that she forgot Americans do not receive political donations from foreigners and I wonder what happened to raising money for charities. We should have wept for ourselves, our conscience should have begged to differ.

Obama has just broken the racial barrier, shamefully Obama would not win a councillorship election in Nigeria. He would have been disqualified by the masses (me and you). Picture Barack Hussein Obama for Councillor ward 4 Calarbar South LGA , a ward he has lived all his life, everyone knows him by the nickname he was given as a kid playing in the local park. I hate to break your bubble but the very man who drank to stupor in celebration of this historic day, the man who went to school with Obama would be the first to realise that Obama is Kenyan. The first question would be, Where him from? Na Kenya be this? Him no go him papa Village go contest election? You might even hear a few God punish am. No Emeka would rule Sokoto or Musa rule Imo sate. We are yet to break the tribe barrier and in some cases the religious barrier. Watching the campaign trail in America, you could sense the truth in their election promises. Barack would not become an over night billionaire from been president neither would his friends or family. The reverse is the case in our country. Until we cleanse and have a total overhaul of our values, system and conscience, until we act what we hope or pretend to be, until the Christians and Muslims we so claim to be; our hearts entrenched in its tenets of “love thy neighbour….” Learn to live together, until then we will never have an Obama. This historic day is a reflection of society, a mirror of society’s tolerance and acceptance,  Am afraid ours is one of hatred and suspicion for the man from a different tribe but same colour. We will dwell in this period of doldrums for ever untill we CHANGE.

4th of November  2008, should be a motivation for change in Nigeria, it won’t be easy but it would have to come from us. No more na my turn make I chop. No more Igbo Nigerian, Hausa Nigerian or Yoruba Nigerian but one Nigerian, no more ethnic slurs e.g Igbo man na thief. Let’s believe in what we can do for our country, not what our country can do for us. We have been there before, there was a time when we voted for someone not based on where his name orignated from but in the believe that he or she would provide shelter, security and food. That was the golden era. We produced the Margaret Ekpo’s who represented Aba in the 60’s, we had the Awolowo’s, Azikiwe’s, Balewa’s before we got punished with the shagari’s, the Babangida’s , Abacha’s and worst of all Obasanjo. The change would not go to Abuja without us changing our moral values. We need to prepare for the dawn of a new era. MY FELLOW NIGERIANS ARE WE READY FOR THIS CHANGE, CAN WE MAKE THIS CHANGE? YES WE CAN (or like Tu face yes o yes o nothing de happen).

yes i am ready for the change is time to look forward and forget where him come from i am tried of seeing brothers and sisters dieing in the sea is time to work on our country live there and be happy ,
change yes we can.