Honk. Honk. Honk. That was the sound that reverberated
continuously from automobiles driving in traffic in the Egyptian capital city,
Cairo. While the rest of the world may have closed the chapter on political
happenings in the country after Hosni Mubarak was successfully ousted from
office thereby ending his 30 year rule, the citizens of Egypt still have their
eyes wide open and fingers fastened to the page on political proceedings in
their country.
“Honk if you hate the MB*” were the words written on a
banner held by a high school student called Omar on April 11, 2013 in one of
the busiest streets in Nasr City and people honked and honked in the traffic in
response to this campaign. You can watch the video here - http://www.albawaba.com/video/8Gqib0mr5Zc
I had actually keenly observed the recent level of political
awareness and activism in Egypt and even attempted to do a blog post when
citizens poured out to the streets again after the revolution as a result of
the move by the sitting President, Mohammed Morsi to award himself sweeping
powers. It is clear that the Egyptians of today are consciously and vigilantly
protective of their constitution and right to freedom.
Interestingly, as all these events were unfolding in Egypt,
other unpleasant events were also playing out in Nigeria. Justice Ayo Salami
was ingloriously removed from office as President of the Appeal Court. Arunma
Oteh remained the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission despite
a sack recommendation by both chambers of the House of Assembly. 32 states of
the Federation were affected by floods due to negligence of relevant authorities.
153 persons lost their lives in the clearly avoidable ill-fated Dana flight. Alamesigha
was granted a state pardon.
How did we respond to all these events? We spoke, made comments,
discussed, spoke some more and life went on. All talk, no action.
There are many lessons we can learn and strategies we can
adopt from the present day activism and social action being demonstrated by the
citizens of Egypt. You may ask, ‘why turn to Egypt for help?’ Well the results
speak for themselves. Hosni Mubarak is no longer at the helm of affairs of the
country and he is currently facing trial in a non-kangaroo court. Mohammed Morsi
succumbed to pressure and rescinded on his decision. They got the exact change
they demanded for and we can learn from them how to remain steadfast in protest.
Undoubtedly, we did well during the January, 2013 mass protests
against the fuel price hike but we did not do enough. If we really want change in
our land, then, we must hold on till our demands are met. We must Protest Until
Something Happens.
MB* stands for the Muslim Brotherhood. The political party
that is presently in power.
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1 comment:
Real food for thot. Change is a continous process until the desired result is achieved. We need to constantly think 'CHANGE'.
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