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Tag: Time

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your time of manifestation will come

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your time of manifestation will come

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Luke 1: 1-80 

    Meditation verse: 

    “So, the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the  day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1:80). 

    Manifestation is the act of showing something or someone. The bible speaking  of John the Baptist, stated that he grew and became strong in spirit and was in  the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. What this scripture helps  us understand is that there is a time for your manifestation and there are a  people you are meant to manifest to; this is the multitude you are sent to serve.  You are not called to serve everyone, stop running after everybody. 

    Understand too the importance of timing and stop fretting. Ecclesiastes 3: 1 says  “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. Your  day of manifestation in the place you are called to serve will come; whether you  are called to ministry, business, or public service. Your efforts will pay off  someday. That seemingly painful experience is the desert ground that is  preparing you for your day of manifestation, like John the Baptist was in the  desert preparing. 

    So, what should you do? Trust your processes and keep becoming. Keep doing  what is in front of you. Today’s work is not wasted; it is stored work. In the  appointed time, God will make it happen. The day of your manifestation to your  people will come sooner than you think.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: It takes time and effort to build

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: It takes time and effort to build

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Luke 14:25-30

    Meditation verse:

    “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count  the cost, whether he has enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28).

    Have you ever visited a construction site? It is very messy right? With building  materials strewn all over the place, sweaty bodies digging, filling, and molding.  It may even be a dangerous place to visit, with nails, split woods and loose blocks  posing a danger. But after all that hard work and effort, an amazingly beautiful  structure stands tall.

    Growth takes time. It takes nine months for a baby to be fully developed in the  womb of a woman, during which time her stomach is fully stretched to  accommodate the growing child. After birth, it takes several years and different  stages before the baby becomes an adult. Achieving or building the life of your  dreams will not happen overnight. It will take time and great effort on your part.  You will go through several transitions and may be tempted to give up. Your mental, physical, financial, and emotional capacity will be stretched to  accommodate the person you are becoming.

    Indeed, most processes of development that result in change from one form to  another are difficult and uncomfortable. The purification of gold, the emergence  of pearls from oysters and the emergence of a butterfly from a larva are not easy  processes. Change is a difficult process. Enlargement is uncomfortable.  Mediocrity resides in your comfort zone. If you want to grow to your full capacity  and achieve all you were created for, you will have to push beyond your limits.  “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight,  but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” – Henry  Wadsworth Longfellow.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • Time to listen to the cries from NTA, By Okoh Aihe

    Time to listen to the cries from NTA, By Okoh Aihe

    By Okoh Aihe

     

    A few years ago I had the cherished opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with a newly appointed Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) who complained bitterly that the organisation didn’t have money to fund its operations. As if the word was already hanging in my mouth I told him to count the avails within the network news, compute for only one month to know how much the station makes from the news belt alone. He was shocked but pretended otherwise.

     

    Avails are the windows of advertising opportunities in a particular broadcast belt. The advertising opportunities in the network news of NTA attract premium costing to the pains of those paying for them. Having started journalism from the Supplement Department of a frontline newspaper, the network news for me is like a little money factory. To begin to put a valuation on the capacity of NTA to make money would have to start by taking a closer look at the various programmes of the station that can generate revenue.

     

    This is why in spite of the scorn I feel for NTA I found myself in agreement with the DG, Yakubu Mohammed, when he told the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, last week, that free coverage of events is preventing the station from self funding. If I may lend him some words, it shouldn’t actually be self funding but that free coverage of activities is preventing the station from engaging in real competition in the deregulated broadcast sector.

     

    As it is NTA is not competing. It only enjoys the highfalutin proclamations of the biggest network in Africa. No claim can be more antithetical to the truth than this.

     

    “NTA is capable of making enough money to sustain itself if it is left alone — if it is not seen as a government that is there for everybody to come and collect services free of charge.

     

    “Everybody thinks that NTA is a government establishment — it belongs to all of us. So, we go to NTA, get the services offered by NTA for free. I did mention that our services attract a cost. For example, for every large coverage I do, I pay Intelsat in hard currency,” Mohamed said.

     

    Those of us who knew this a long time ago feel outraged about the mismanaged capacity of NTA. Some of us grew on the entertainment diet of NTA, which, working from different states of the federation, had flagship programmes like Village Headmaster from Lagos, Masquerade from Enugu, Hotel de Jordan from Benin City, Cockcrow at Dawn from Jos and a whole lot of other programmes.

     

    But those were glory days not fully realised. Instead, NTA missed several opportunities to perpetrate its hegemony and promote quality programming that could distinguish it as the default station in the country. Unfortunately for years NTA has lived in cabins and shacks, without a defined respectable and responsible broadcast headquarters. In the late 80s when the government allowed NTA partial commercialisation to augment its spending ability, the management failed to do a proper business plan that could lay a solid economic base for the station. They cashed in on the low hanging fruits by increasing adverts rates and exploiting private producers who wanted to run programmes on the channel.

     

    When the government deregulated the broadcast sector in 1992, NTA mocked the the new regulator and refused to recognise its authority in the broadcast industry. While subordinating journalism practice to the whims of those in government, NTA exploited its connections in high places to live above the law.

     

    In pursuit of shadows NTA hardly contemplated the quiet revolution the private operators were putting in place until its dominance would be overwhelmed with superior technology and exposure in modern broadcasting. Overnight the status of the station changed to that of an envious second fiddle.

     

    Sometimes, I look at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with its radio and television channels, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), with radio and tv channels, the Voice of America (VOA), with radio and tv channels, just to give a few examples, I suddenly feel ashamed how we want to infest the world with our incapacity to plan and reason, or even do the right thing. Either the nation is totally unaware of existing structures in some professions or it wants to reinvent the wheel and is doing so very badly.

     

    I sincerely feel that NTA needs help, lots of help. Broadcasting is a business and those involved in it are engaged in a noble profession which helps to rid the society of some scum and misfits in whatever capacity they exist. Whether in government, politics, businesses, academia, public service, religion or even in the rabbit hole, broadcasting should play a role in making them uncomfortable and unfit for the society we seek to build.

     

    NTA should start by helping itself to provide professional broadcasting even in a government set up, not just to run government bulletins and even stories that upset the truth. NTA needs to learn a little from the VOA, how it resisted the Donald Trump administration in its fight to control the levers of the government funded station. The station had the support of the Congress. NTA must provide professional services to the nation if it must earn some respect. But it needs the support of the National Assembly.

     

    Hear the painful words of the DG. “For example, you go out with a digital camera, then you bring in pictures. In the process of transmission, you transmit using analogue equipment. At the end of the day, the pictures are not as bright as they should be.”

     

    I am of the humble opinion that no major broadcast operator in Nigeria is suffering the kind of defect and professional punishment the DG is complaining about. Little wonder then that in scale of preference, NTA is struggling up the ladder, far behind its competitors.

     

    NTA needs help. Budgeting should be sorted out and properly funded. NTA should run as a public broadcaster, funded by government or it should be allowed to run as a business and be in position to charge market rates for its services. At the moment NTA undercuts competitors while enjoying government’s subventions. However, there is a need to discuss how deregulated broadcasting works in other climes so that NTA does not continue to suffer embarrassing inconveniences.

     

    But in the immediate, NTA needs proper dressing up, in training and modern equipment assemblage, to compete. Unfortunately government’s hold on the station is so choking that it can drown even a behemoth. This is no pathway to the future for a station that once upon a time had the promise of greatness.

     

  • World Stroke Day: Minutes can save precious time

    World Stroke Day: Minutes can save precious time

    Stroke continues to be the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, leaving up to 50 per cent of survivors chronically disabled with reduced health related quality of life and depression.

    It is the major cause of sudden death in Nigeria and may be the next Pandemic in the country. One in four of us will have a stroke in our lifetime.

    Therefore, there is a greater need for stroke prevention, managing stroke risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as taking prompt action to commence prehospital care and take a person with suspected stroke to the hospital.

    Prehospital care is a generic term for healthcare provided on the scene at a medical emergency or major incident, and during transfer of casualties to definitive care facilities.

    According to the World Stroke Organisation, stroke has become both treatable and manageable, yet there are considerable prehospital delays in patients with acute stroke symptoms presenting at the emergency hospital department.

    This is often due to poor awareness of symptoms and delay in calling emergency services such as the ambulance service. This causes delay in seeking medical attention after the onset of stroke symptoms often leading to missed treatment opportunities.

    Survival after sudden stroke is time dependent, with any potential morbidity and mortality being reliant on effective and efficient prehospital care.

    When someone has a stroke, every second that goes by is crucial. As brain cells die our very lives are put at risk.

    Time could not be more precious. Knowing the signs of stroke and getting emergency medical treatment can make a great difference in saving the person’s life. By acting fast when a stroke happens, we can also save mobility, speech, memory, relationships and independence.

    The prehospital chain of survival should be an essential part of the continuum of emergency health care that is frequently initiated by a national emergency telephone number call like 112 for instance in Nigeria, to a dispatch centre.

    Initiating the emergency telephone call, is determined by the first responder who might be a lay person that knows how to undertake the necessary FAST assessment (Face, Arm, Speech, Test) to accurately suspect a stroke.

    Calling an Ambulance (if available) or other transportation may enable the patient to be transported to the appropriate health care facility, where definitive care can be provided.

    The main pre-hospital delay in Nigeria is poor awareness of symptoms and calling emergency services, and poor government investment in essential services like Ambulance service.

    Brain cells die rapidly after stroke and any effective treatment must start as early as possible. Therefore, activating the continuum of emergency prehospital care is very essential and often starts in the community setting.

    On World Stroke Day on Friday October 29th, Stroke Action Nigeria is collaborating with the World Stroke Organisation’s #Precious Time Campaign, the Coalition of Special Taskforces on Stroke #Prehospital Care Campaign, and the African Stroke Organisation’s #Roll Back Stroke Campaign to raise community awareness of stroke signs and the importance of acting fast to save lives.

    As part of this campaign, the Nigerian emergency telephone number 112 is used as an education tool to advocate for increased FAST awareness, and influence stroke policy.

    The educational strategy is based on the UK FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) programme by using emergency phone number (112) to represent the key sign and symptom of stoke for rapid stroke recognition and action without language barrier.

    The education tool is an audio-visual FAST messaging in English translated into key Nigerian languages like Efik, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba which is sent virtually to the public, people affected by stroke, health workers, government officials and policy makers. FAST messaging includes:

    F = is the face bent on one side, by the mouth?

    A = can you raise both arms?

    S = Is the speech slurred or incohorrent?

    T = Time to act fast if any of the signs and symptoms is present. Call the Emergency Telephone 112 for the Ambulance to take the person to the emergency hospital department. Get “ANY” transport if the ambulance is unavailable.

    Melifonwu is the Chief executive, Stroke Action Nigeria and Board Member, World Stroke Organization (WSO)

  • [Devotional] In His Presence: Your set time will come

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: MARK 4:21–23

    Meditation verse:
    “You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favour her, yes, the set time, has come” (Psalm 102:13).

    You are the light of this world. There are talents inside you that you are meant to light up the world with. A lamp is meant to be set on a lampstand and not put under a basket or bed. Matthew 5:16 says: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

    However, if you are currently frustrated by a lack of progress in the place of your God-ordained assignment, do not be discouraged. If you have done all you know how to do but are yet to see any result, or if your light currently seems dim and you are wondering when it will be placed on a lampstand, do not give up. God is the one who put the light in you, He can put you on a lampstand and position you on a hill so that the world can benefit from your light. Our times and seasons are in God’s hands. Favour and promotion come from Him, so He determines the set time to lift us up. “For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one and exalts another” (Psalm 75:6–7).

    When the bible says there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, it is not only in reference to hidden sins. It includes the gifts and talents in you which are irrevocable. The things that are hidden are only hidden until the appropriate time comes for them to be revealed. Everything hidden will eventually be brought into the open, every secret will be brought to light. In the fullness of time, you will emerge. Your set time is coming.

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye , Founder, The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM)
    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com
    or call +2348155525555
    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org

  • Okonjo-Iweala, Joe Biden, others make Time 100 Most Influential People list

    Okonjo-Iweala, Joe Biden, others make Time 100 Most Influential People list

    Nigeria’s Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the only Nigerian on 2021 The Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the world.

    Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is on The Time’s 100 Most Influential People list alongside Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan.

    Other notable honourees of the 2021 Time 100 Most Influential People include Naomi Osaka, Britney Spears, Angelique Kidjo, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris and others.

    Prince Harry and Meghan were full of praise for Okonjo-Iweala, who was the first Nigerian woman to serve two terms as finance minister – first under President Olusegun Obasanjo from 2003 to 2006 – and secondly, under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2015. Subsequently, from June to August 2006, she served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.

    “What will it take to vaccinate the world? Unity, cooperation—and leaders like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,” wrote Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in the post accompanying Okonjo-Iweala’s selection.

    “As the first African and first woman to lead the World Trade Organization, a 164-member group of nations that oversees trade across the world, Okonjo-Iweala took on the role of director-general this March at a watershed moment for our global health and well-being. Make no mistake, her job affects every person, family and community.

    “As we face a constant barrage of vaccine misinformation, bureaucratic slowdowns across both government and industry, and the rise of variants that underscore the urgency of the situation, Okonjo-Iweala has shown us that to end the pandemic, we must work together to equip every nation with equitable vaccine access.”

    Prince Harry and Meghan said their “conversations with her have been as informative as they are energizing. This is partly because, despite the challenges, she knows how to get things done—even between those who don’t always agree—and does so with grace and a smile that warms the coldest of rooms.

    “The fragility of our world right now cannot be overstated. Just over a quarter of the nearly 8 billion global population is fully vaccinated.

    “Achieving vaccine equity is a global duty of compassion for one another. Our hope is that guided by strong leaders like Ngozi, we can get there soon.”

  • Making time for marriage my greatest challenge-Bayray Mc Nwizu

    Making time for marriage my greatest challenge-Bayray Mc Nwizu

    Popular actress, Bayray McNwizu has said her greatest challenge is making time for marriage.

    The season 3 Amstel Malta Box Office winner said: “Motherhood is a crown; only the strongest will survive. However, I welcome marriage. But the major challenge is for me to make time to get married. My relationship goal is putting God first, then everything else follows; including money, beauty, time management, sex and strength of character,” she told Saturday Sun.

    Mcmwizu also applauded female filmmakers making waves in Nollywood.

    “Female filmmakers in Nigeria are expressing their God-given talent and skills at the top level, and creating their niche. Before, no one gave them the opportunity. But now, you can’t deny that they know what they’re doing. For me, it’s a case of doing what you know how to do well, and the rest will fall into place naturally”.

     

  • 20 Ikoyi prison inmates to write UTME examination

    20 Ikoyi prison inmates to write UTME examination

    Twenty inmates at the Ikoyi Custodial center have indicated interest in writing the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    This is according to Mr. Rotimi Oladokun, spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Lagos State.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the inmates would be adequately prepared for the examination.

    The NCoS spokesperson also noted that more inmates indicated interest to further their education, having gone through several reform programmes.

    Oladokun revealed that last year, a 60-year-old inmate was among the 25 others, who participated in the 2020 UTME at the correctional centre.

    He noted that the new facility, where the inmates would write the examination, had reached 80 percent completion and the computers and other items needed would be fixed soon.

    “The inmates have equally shown determination and focus to excel.

    “Some teachers have been slated to take them in various subjects as well as computer practice.

    Oladokun commended the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, for the laudable improvements at NCoS.

    The spokesperson also appealed for more equipment to boost inmates’ interest in furthering their education.

  • Your time has come, Buhari’s minister assures Nigerian youths

    Your time has come, Buhari’s minister assures Nigerian youths

    The Minister of Youth and Sport Development, Mr Sunday Dare has appealed to the youth to embrace dialogue in order to move the country forward.

    Dare said this on Sunday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the National Youth Day celebration with the theme ” Invest in the Youth, Secure Our Future”.

    He said that with what the country had witnessed in the past three weeks, there could be no better time than now to celebrate the youth and validate their contributions to national economic development.

    According to him, the celebration is an opportunity to reflect, take stock and chart a new youth action plan that will tackle headlong the issues that confront our teeming youth population.

    “Let me start with a direct reference to the new focus and youth vision of the African Development Bank (AfDB) led by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

    “That the establishment of Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks will help to fully unleash youth potential through technology and entrepreneurship.

    “This assertion made in September 2020, first validates the strength of our youth and secondly demands from government and the private sector direct investments in the youth population with a de-risking mentality.

    “We will return to dissect this momentarily,” Dare said.

    According to him, many of the youth can achieve a lot but for lack of opportunities, education that is not suitable for the jobs available, a huge unemployment popular market occasioned by a struggling and sluggish economy,

    Others he said were lack of relevant skills, lack of credit and access to finance for youth enterprises and businesses, low investment from the public and private sector,” he said.

    Dare said it was time to change the trajectory to one that was capable of lifting millions of youth out of unemployment, under employment, frustration with the system, dearth of opportunities and stunted growth.

    “The dreams and careers of our youth must receive a new burst of energy and renewed hope so that as a country our future can be secured,”’ he said.

    Dare said the theme was apt as it wouldp enable the country to invest more and deliberately in the innovative minds, skills, talents and enterprise of the youth.

    He said it would equip them with needed and relevant technical, digital skills and also make them wealth creators, self starters, employers of labour and leaders in their own right.

    “Globally, there is a paradign shift from merely empowering the youth to directly investing in them,” Dare said.

    He said the president, African Developement Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina challenged governments and the private sector to shift focus from youth empowerment to youth investments.

    Dare said that without investments in the youth today, there would be no returns either now or in the future.

    “Adesina did not stop there, he wanted the establishment of youth Enterprenuership and investment banks that can cater for and provide funds for enterprenuers,” he said.

    “A bank you can walk into where they see assets not liabilities, where they have faith and confidence in young people,”. he quoted Adesina as saying.

    He said that the country was blessed, and saddled with a bulging youth population that could turn out to be the country’s greatest resource if Nigeria made the right investments and in a timely manner.

    Dare said that President Muhammadu Buhari since the inception of his administration had never taken his eyes off the ball when it comes to youth developmental issues.

    According to him, the president believes when the youth are given to hard work, they should also be provided with opportunities.

    Dare said the government had initiated a slew of multifaceted youth focused programmes that were cross cutting.

    “Wherever a youth group is found, these programmes target them. Indeed, in July 22, the president and council approved the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, (NYIF).

    “It was a culmination of all efforts geared at giving our youth access to funds needed for enterprise.

    “The president, through the NYIF demonstrated that Nigeria was in sync and agreement with the new thinking in youth development and that sees investing in the youth as a condition to unleash their potential,” he said.

    According to him, the NYIF has been over subscribed for the 2020 half year funding provided for. More than one million applications have been received with more expected to come.

    Dare said that with the protests took place across the country, Nigeria was taking measures to change the narrative by investing in youth development.

    He said that change has begun and that what was needed was to deepen the youth initiatives and accelerate the onboarding of beneficiaries in a transparent and effectual manner.

    Dare said that Nigeria must license a new tribe of youth investment banks with single digit loans dedicated to our youth.

    “Through the NYIF, the Federal Government has set the tone and leading the way,” he said.

    Dare said during the celebration 10 winners of the 60-day APP challenge competition and five young innovators in different fields received #12.5 million.

    He said that Buhari had faith in the youth and was committed to his meeting the demands of the protesting youth.

    Dare said Buhari was convinced that the acts of brutality against the youth and the larger Nigerian population needed to be addressed.

    He said that the president had activated all necessary levels of government to deal with the demands of the youth.

    “These protests had earned the youth a well-deserved place at the table. So, take your seat in order to continue the progress and reform you have called for.

    “From the protest, it is time for the next phase which is dialogue, ldentify trusted leaders and have them come forward.

    “Any movement without leaders becomes rudderless and susceptible to being hijacked by people with agenda inimical to the very reasons behind the protests.

    “The youth have a unique opportunity to help write a new chapter in our journey to a more compassionate and benign society and a greater nation.

    “Don’t let this historic chance pass through your hands. You deserve this moment, as does the nation we love,” he said.

  • A Time to Build: Matters Arising from the Protest, By Obari Gomba

    A Time to Build: Matters Arising from the Protest, By Obari Gomba

    By Obari Gomba

     

    It is normal to posit that every Nigerian wants a better country even when we differ about the route to that destination. It is time to find a common ground and build peace on the basis of justice. The pursuit of hegemony has not helped this country. It is time to build from the ruins of the on-going unrest. It is time to stop the violence. I say this to civilians, police officers, and soldiers. I say this to all communities and sections that are seething with anger. Anger has a lot of energy; and it is useful to stir a protest…useful to resist the obduracies of power and power-mongers. It can raise the plane into the air but it cannot land it. Unrest can call attention to a raging problem; but it takes stability to resolve every issue.

    ​All those who have died so far are Nigerians. Bystanders and passers-by. Peaceful protesters. Thugs. Police officers. Soldiers. They are all Nigerians. All the properties lost are ours. As the persona in JP Clark’s poem says, “we are all casualties.” Bereavement and loss can force people to seek revenge. It will worsen the situation. No more violent revenge…retaliation…reprisal. We have to unleash the angels of forgiveness without ignoring the angels of accountability. We can seek redress through investigation and prosecution. Many are inclined towards choosing that option. In that case, all deaths and arsons and vandalizations can be investigated. Everything must be in the open…including the incident at Lekki Tollgate on 20thOctober, 2020. In that case, we can consider setting up trulyindependent bodies to handle the matters. We cannot trust partisan law enforcement to treat the death of a protester as it will treat that of a uniformed officer. We cannot trust the police or the army to properly investigate the incidents because they are involved. If we choose prosecution, only truth, proper indictments, and compensations can heal the nation. We mustpay compensations to the hurt…as we determine the losses. Begin the process right now…and quieten the voices of doom. Many are stoking fear and hate. Many are spinning partisan rubbish…APC this and PDP that. Many are weaving ethnic tension: Niger Delta, Hausa-Fulani, Middle Belt, Yoruba, Igbo, etc. Stop it. Stop it NOW. Nigerians have suffered enough. If you cannot give them succour, leave them alone to nurse their grief. Do not add to their sorrow.

    ​This “wahala” started as a protest against police brutality; that is a fact. A relevant fact about a general problem. The police establishment is a cesspit. It needs reform. Its operation is unfair and unjust to Nigerians. They have killed, maimed, raped, and robbed many of us. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (aka SARS) is a not alone. Think about the anti-cultism units, anti-kidnapping units, Eagle Crack units, etc. All of them have added to the problems they are established to solve. Yet, we cannot do without the police. It will be terrible to run a country without a police organization. The cure must not be worse than the disease. Let us add that the welfare of the police has been abandoned by the state. But that does not justify or excuse the criminality of the police. Why did the police not have the courage to ask for the improvement of its welfare? The system? Its corrupt and predatory superior officers? Thank providence: the same “demonized” protesters have asked for a new package on behalf of the police. We need to save the police. Not kill police officers or burn their stations. The police organization needs to serve us. Not kill us with impunity. So where do we go from here? Let us start from the beginning.

    ​This is to the government: END POLICE BRUTALITY. END SARS. Do not rechristen it as SWAT. Do not be hasty to start something new without building confidence amongst the citizenry. The citizens are already traumatized. They are afraid that you are merely renaming police evil just to hoodwink the public. This is not the first time you have declared that you have banned “this or that.” And the “thing” remained virulent. Please, understand that you have a credibility problem. People cannot easily trust you. They will be foolish to trust you until you can truly earn their trust. Look, even as the protest against police brutality has been going on, police officers have not shown any kind of restrain. They have been murderous, brutal, and abusive: the very ills that have brought people to the streets. Reform the police. Do not allow the police to go back to its old ways. Old habits die hard. Be vigilant. You have oversight over the police and you have allowed it to fester for ages. Now, solve the problem. Save the police. By no way is the police defeated. It has the chance to be better.

    ​This is to the government: you cannot win the people through more acts of brutality. Stop the clampdown. Stop the terrors of the state. You will bruise and break the people. But the discontent will wait for the country and ambush it in the future. Give fairness and justice to the people. Not threats. Not arrests. Not bullets. Do not flex your muscles against your own citizens. They already know you are powerful that is why they are begging you to stop combing their hair with your iron-teeth. Do you understand them now?

    ​This is to the government: there are other reforms that are necessary. Restructure the polity. Reform electoral practice. Stabilized the universities without eroding their autonomies. Check corruption amongst your own officials. Retool your civil service. Reduce the cost of governance (your citizens believe you are overpaid for the poor service you are noted for). Listen. Listen. The complaints are many. Listen. The country’s history is loud but the officers of state are deaf. Listen. You cannot govern people without their consent…you cannot do that forever. The issues we do not resolve today will wait for our children. The issues might exact more than a tithe of blood from our children. The polity is dysfunctional. The components believe they are held at gunpoint. Listen. Listen. And reform. Start earnest and honest dialogue now. Reform or hegemony will be the death of this country. Reform… restructure.

    ​This is to the people: take advantage of the spotlight on you. You do not have to like your governors or the president. You do not have to like the last broadcast from the president. Until 2023, you have to work with the present officers of state to resolve some of or all of the issues you have raised. A country does not “change for good” because of a burst of protest. It requires consist commitment to protest…to keep protesting against wrongs. It requires constant acts of vigilance to gain progress through incremental but sometimes painful processes. It requires tenacity, intelligence, and tactics to keep insisting that good governance is not a bus-stop but a tireless journey. Do I mean that you must stay on the road forever? No. I mean that you must know when to leave the road, without feeling broken or defeated by your wounds and losses. You must know when to press your advantage on negotiation tables…and return to the road if need be. You must know when to cash your cheque…if that metaphor helps. You have earned that cheque through your blood and you must make the most of it. By no means are the protesters defeated in this matter. Deaths…yes. Injuries…yes. Losses…yes. But defeat? Not at all. The government has pronounced concessions. Now is the time to translate those words to reality. How do we achieve that? Let us move from roadblocks and temper to securing the gains of the protest. We cannot be taking more bullets on the roads when the commissions of enquiry are sitting across the states.

    ​This is to the people: begin with the hearings in your states. Your governors have commissions in place to redress a history of police brutality. Make sure it counts. Churches, mosques, civil society groups, media, traditional rulers, local government areas: get involved. Mobilize your people to approach the commissions. Give testimonies without fear or favour. Purge the society of all the losses, humiliations, pains, and traumas that citizens have suffered. Many stories/testimonies have been circulated via the internet in the cause of the protest. Look out for the victims. Many of them will be too poor or broken or ashamed to tell their stories in public. Create a support system for victims; help them to get justice. This opportunity has come at the cost of blood; we cannot fail to make maximum gain from it. It will be unfortunate if we cannot demonstrate to the various panels that our cry against police brutality is true. As you seek redress, know that the police organization is wily. And also the politicians that run your states. Some of the murderous and abusive police officers have done favours to the politicians. There are shared secrets between the police and the politicians. The politicians will protect many culprits given that the commissions are at the behest of your politicians. Be vigilant. Plan your engagement against the system. Get justice.

    ​This is to the people: remember what I have said before. Good governance is not a bus-stop. It is every citizen’s duty to keep shaping his/her country in pursuit of happiness. It is a lifelong duty to incrementally create a better country. It will not come on a platter of ease or from one event. Power loves its status quo. It concedes nothings unless it is confronted. Know that this protest, in spite of its decibel, will not solve all the problems. Resolve to be as stubborn as the problems that are holding your country down. If your resilience is tougher than the problems, you stand a chance to build the country of your dream. Strategize. Strategize. Build capacity and take power. Another election is on the way… 2023 is not far away. You can gain one state at a time. Put your trusted advocates in parliament. Take power. They will not give it to you. Make plans to take power. If you fail, try again. Keep trying. Do not give up. Keep fighting for your country.

    ​This is to the people: where are those who are fed up with the country? You want to break it up? You do not need to start a war. You do not need a militia. You do not have to attack or kill the “strangers” who live in your own ethnic nationality. Begin by asking your legislators to move a motion for a referendum. It does not matter how few your legislators are, let them force the conversation on all Nigerians. It does not matter if the motion succeeds, let them keep raising it to keep the conversation alive. Begin with the state governors in your region. Let them raise the issue at the council of state. Let them raise it at every meeting of the council of state. Just as we do not need bloodshed to go our separate ways, we do not need to keep a country together by bloodshed.

    ​This is to the country: I tell you the truth. Nigeria can be beautiful if we allow its beauty to be revealed. A few days to 1stOctober, 2020, I wrote a dirge entitled “A Country Defined.” I shared it with friends. Premium Times published it on 29thSeptember, 2020. To borrow from the last stanza of the poem, I salute “those who know that every sunrise calls us to rise and every nightfall calls us to stand.”

    Obari Gomba (PhD) is a two-time Winner of ANA Poetry Prize and Winner of ANA Drama Prize. He teaches in the University of Port Harcourt.