By Adeola Aderounmu
We live our lives in such a way that the consequences are equal to burning down a museum. We hide from the past, forgetting to learn from it, pretend about the present and having no inkling of how to prepare the future for the next generation. We live for now, grabbing everything on the way, leaving behind filth and rot.
By forgetting the past too easily especially without making the necessary amedments, Nigerians render themselves too gullible. They get so carried away my trivial things. Will I succeed in convincing anyone that Nigeria’s situation is too complicated to be resolved on the pages of social networking media?
I have been on facebook for a while now. Among many other benefits facebook helps people to find you no matter how many years that they have been out of reach or touch.
I know many people who have boasted to leave facebook but who always return to the network. Once you get used or addicted to the functions on facebook it is extremely hard to depart. Facebook can become a part of your life. So facebook is good for some purposes, no doubt about that.
The other week foreign media were out writing about how popular Goodluck Jonathan is, on facebook. Indeed the public media outfit of GJ have been doing loads of work promoting his image. You can’t take that credit away from them, excellent job.
In their gullibility Nigerians have flocked to the fan page of Goodluck Jonathan. They are taking the baits that it is GJ who has been responding to all their comments. No doubt it is GJ’s page but to assume that the man has such a space of time on his hand to sit down, read and respond to every other comment or suggestion on his facebook is actually ridiculous. That’s where the publicist and media men come in.
The manner in which the social contact on GJ’s page is progressing is delaying and denying us of the emergence of the truth and progress we seek.
On GJ’s page Nigerians will be told what they want to read or hear. In real life the richest and the probably the most corrupt politicians in the world don’t give a damn what is going on any social network. The maladministration of Nigeria is independent of any transient conversation on facebook.
The goal is clear. Nigerians are being distracted and the man who inherited the 2007 charade buys himself the time to lay his grand plan. It’s politics and that’s not a crime in politics.
While Nigerians are being face-raped by some dude behind the keyboard GJ was dishing out National Honours to the some people among which are criminals who have been disgraced out of office. You won’t find a greater face-rape or insult on Nigerians. It’s easy to guess the recipients of the next National Scandal Awards. The gangsters in the House of Representatives will definitely make the award.
The necessary criteria for national awards in Nigeria are too predictable. Your ability to loot and act like an agbero are added advantages.
But really how can a sane mind suggest or award looters and thieves? The truth that is constant and which we have mentioned times without number is that our rulers and conquerors are all corrupt and birds of the same feather. Oh Gullible Nigerians..!
As if the national award insult was not enough. As Nigerians continue to mingle with GJ or the dude behind the keyboard somewhere in the universe on facebook, the amount for the celebration of 50th year of failure was increased from N10b to N17b.
I’m still thinking. Who wants to celebrate failure? Why would anyone do that? I guess the answers lie in the lack of conscience and the concept that politics is a means to scoop away Nigeria’s wealth by those who know nothing about management and national wealth creation.
But let not Jonathan or his media group get carried away by their common rising popularity on facebook. Lady Gaga has over 14m fans! If the numbers of fans is a measure of relative success and impact then you guys are no where to be found on the visible spectrum scale.
It will be hard as usual to dissuade Nigerians from this distraction. They think it’s important. In recent years it has been increasingly difficult to help Nigerians use their head above emotions.
It will be more difficult in the years ahead. Intellectual Myopism is on the rise in Nigeria. The indicators in Nigeria show that the emergence of GJ has increased the intensity of tribal politics to a level never seen before in Nigeria. Nigeria today is probably more fragile than ever before in our history. 2011 may be the final test of coercion.
Which is why attention should be shifted back to the real world. Words will never be enough, not even words that can be manufactured by any dude on facebook on behalf of GJ. Simple actions are more effective than volumes of expressions. What are we doing now to address our situations?
It’s quite positive that fresh hands have been injected into the electoral system. I read that they need some huge sums to start off. Maybe N53b can be added to the N17b so we can get a world class electoral list. Why is the N17b party to acknowledge failure so important?
At the earliest opportunity we the people must elect leaders to replace the rulers and emperors in Nigeria. I’m sure that there are people in Nigeria who are sincere and effective. A sound election appears to be our best means to rekindling the quenched hope.
In the meantime I strongly hold the view that GJ or whoever is remoting Nigerians on facebook should spend less time in deceiving Nigerians. To pretend to want to learn about our national problems through facebook is the apex of a ridiculous presidency.
A View From The Scandinavian 
Oga Adeola, no vex. Let me share my thoughts.
I have been following Goodluck Jonathan’s facebook page. Personally speaking, I think the President took a very good step in the right direction with that. I feel he is at least listening to Nigerians through that medium. I think he does read to comments and he those make at least some of the updates himself. In some instances he has taken direct action based on comments he read, and this he has publicised and we can verify. I, as a common Nigerian, am very happy that I can follow my president, and even ping him directly. He may not read all the comments, but who knows? He may be chance read one and that may be mine.
Regarding your article, I think it is good to have objective criticism and that should be encouraged. However, I think that we should also with the same passion, encourage what is good and support it.
Criticizing is very easy to do. But fixing problems , believe me, is a lot harder to do.
Our leaders need our encouragement sometimes. I think that when they do good things like this, we ought to at least encourage them, not discourage them.
That is my 2 cents.
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The concept of facebooking is not totally out of place.
But we must not forget that developed countries came into existence before facebook.
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By the way, GJ is not necessarily using facebook to “learn about our national problems ” as you say. He is using it to communicate to, and get feedback from people. Every leader knows that good communication, and most importantly *listening to your people* is extremely important. That is why most influential world leaders, are on facebook or twitter. From Obama, to the Russian president. Why do you think it is not fit for the Nigerian President to use this medium to reach out to his people ? Social media is a great way to connect with the people . For your information, social media played a great part in Obamas election victory, and he has a facebook page till today. People , NGOs, businesses are all using it to reach out to their customers, friends etc to sample feedback, get ideas, inform them quickly etc. Your reason for suggesting the Nigerian president should not use this great tool does not make sense to me. And if he is using it to better understand our national problems, thats great. At least we have a president who is trying to listen to the common man.
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I am not saying he should not use facebook. I’m saying that our problems are too serious to be solved on facebook.
How do you reconcile the National Awards for looters while pretending to be listening to ” how to solve corruption” problem on facebook?
How do you reconcile our pleas to halt the stupid 10b naira celebration and the amount jumping to 17b naira?
I guess he is listening!
Like I said earlier, there were developed countries before facebook.
What if facebook closes today, will that be the end of your listening ruler?
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Tanx 4 d note’s
I also told one of ma frendz to stop desiving there self cos i knw GJ does nt av time to do anytin like FACEBOOK. Nw i will show dem wat u send to me to see. Tanx
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Indeed, it is a great idea that Jonathan wants to listen to us via facebook, but who knows? He may not even have the password to that account!
All i just want to say is this, all we need are good results. If he succeeds in fulfilling all what we need/want, then who cares if he’s listening to us via facebook or not?
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What a pathetic lies….he who has ears, listen with rapt attention to the salient facts expressions of Mr. Adeola. The problem of Nigeria cannot likened 2 developed countries, and shouldn’t be compared. Whether Obama or Osama Bin Ladin is here is not the issue, Nigeria is a product of complicated and maladministrative abundance. There’s a move by the power hoards to further divide Nigeria, and marginalize the Youths (a generation who in recent time have dualize their stupidity to mental and leadership improverishment) that won’t think beyond the Box. What a reckless abandon. Nigerian Leaders are the most notorious in the world, terrorizing its people. Economically and politically enslaving ordinary Nigerians for lack of political Husbandry. A time shall come, Nigerian gangsters who parade themselves as Leaders will experience the worst form of terrorism soon. By my analysis and forcast, certain Hate Group (psychopathology of Hate) has started brewing. Read the statements of Farouk Abdulmutalab; there are so many of his kind.
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I’m inclined to agree with Adeola. Nigerian leaders to date are very good at gimmicks and deception, whilst at the meantime leaving nothing of substance that is enduring and productive.
This reminds me of this one laptop per child in Nigeria, which turned out to be nothing but yet another gimmick as we all know education standards (for the most part have deteriorated). Not even 1 child in 3 have a laptop, not to talk of one laptop per child. With over 50 million children, was it ever achievable?
Adeola is right, people should demand serious reform not meaningless gestures. The United Nations are saying that access to drinking water and sewerage should be made a basic human right. If less time were spent on this facebook business, and more attention to demanding delivery of basic amenities, then the country might actually get somewhere.
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Thanks Adeola.
For the first time, i checked GJ page on Facebook, i id not read up to three posts, before i was uterly convinced that it was’nt GJ writing those stuff! i then began to pity gullible Nigerians. I told myself someone must have made the same observation. I googled and lo your post. Bravo brother.
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since ournational museum have collapsed i feel using facebook as a way of posterity or preserving our images including the GOODLUCK JONATHAN etc is step torwards good direction for us and the future generation, because as i,m talking to you my grand father use to be a local court jugde in the early 50;s during the colonial erra but today we only have his service cap in my village but every information torwards his activities then is no where to be found
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since our national musuem is collapsed i beleive using facebook to preserve our posterity is a good step torwards a good directive, we should aviod critisising things of this magnitude, the problem is the vultuers in our polity not facebook and their images, my grand father was a local court judge in the early 50’s but due to the level of information we had then made the entire family including the present senior polical advicer to the president not able to trace the activities of the man apart from his service helmate hunged presently in the village, so let us learn to caution the vultures not facebook
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No matter how bad things become in Nigeria
Lets never lose sight of the dynamism of the human factor.
Though it seems its forever going to be this way with every generation of NIGERIANS going round in circles round the corruption and immorality table.
A mind like yours, Amind like mine, And minds like every other precious Nigerian who understands our national issues well enough to discuss them on here are what we need to believe the turn around is a long term reality .
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I said previously, meaningful reforms not silly gestures like facebook are what counts.
People are getting excited over the president’s use of facebook, meanwhile people are dropping dead due to lack of clean, drinking water.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201008260002.html
One can only conclude that this fixation with facebook, is nothing but a distraction with regards to solving the real problems that face the country and it’s peoples.
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