FELA DUROTOYE: A joker in the park

By Joseph Edgar…

I belong to two very vibrant ‘’what’s App’’ groups dedicated to the robust discuss of politics and the economy- the Habib Bank former staff group and the Duke’s Platform. On the two groups, if you are not very sound you cannot really put out a point. Mr. Kehinde Taiwo and Alhaji Sambo on the Habib group are the unrivalled champions’ while on the Duke, we have Ife Fashola and Lanre Obafemi displaying political dexterity on all most al issues. Senator Ewa Henshaw, former Chairman of NDDC, is a regular contributor.

On both groups any ways, the coming 2019 elections have severally been discussed with some of the most well thought out arguments and positions supporting whatever divide of the debate that is being discussed.

The matter of a real generational shift and the social media-ushered candidacy or the digitally-connected candidate has for a while now taken a critical position in both groups. While the Habib group is obviously conservative in their postulation, the Duke Platform is a little bit more revolutionary pushing very strongly to a radical shift not only in demographics, but in thinking and vehicle for power acquisition. It is in this sphere that I want to situate the niggling probable candidacy of Mr. Fela Durotoye.

Fela is very popular amongst the elitist millennial generation for his gifted eloquence, especially when it comes to motivational speaking and all of that hollow and sometime vacuous dribble that gives the listener a good sense without entrenching him with any concrete content to attempt a change in his situation. Fela has made money from this venture and gained some kind of recognition in a very tiny part of the huge population.

Sometime, around four years ago, he began his half-footed incursion into political consciousness, starting with a programme somewhere in mushin that was aimed at empowering the youths. That fizzled out and he most likely went back into what he knows best, using his good looks and honey-coated mouth to ‘’wow’’ his growing hypnotic crowd of lily-hearted followers.

However, recently he is getting a lot more bold making some very laughable but awakening statements like. ’if the god fathers allow it, I will win this election’’. And here the narration changes. His inexperience and fear jumps at you as you cringe at those words. Whoever cedes power to you willingly? His political inexperience is awe-inspiring.

The main problem with Nigeria is that we usually do not notice the moment when the epoch is about to change and when we do we do not step out with our best foot. The time has come as we are now ready for effective generational shift. The country has bred the very best in terms of nationalistic fervour amongst our youths, grown from a united and cohesive stem, who see Nigeria holistically and not from the narrow prism of the generation Soyinka called wasted.

We have borne a strong youth base about 60% of our population, who are digitally wired, well read, energetic and with the vibe of a strong and united force. A youth base that helped the incumbent to power wielding the massive force of social media. Cruising far above ethnicity, corruption and all the ills which seem to have incurably infested our senior generations.

These youth demographic have built a new Nigeria in little clusters. If you look at whole industries, you will see their real impact. Look at Entertainment, real estate, media and you will begin to see what I am talking about. They have built colonies where all Nigerians live in peace and are well run, fully independently powered, with in-house security, and in these enclaves, we do not care what tribe we come from but are united by the need to provide healthy and convenient living for themselves and their families. Look at the Info Tech sector and finance sectors, you see their brilliance sometimes globally acknowledged.

This youth-based change is ready to seize the mantle of leadership building a crescendo of mass intellectual revolt against the established norm of crass insecurity and archaic policies that continue to leave us within the vortex of crippling poverty despite our immense wealth. The time is now, the freshness of youth and its concomitant innovativeness and ingenuity can and if properly harnessed drive away these gerontocrats and install a powerfully energised platform for the berthing of a truly new Nigeria.

As usual, we throw Fela into the mix, inexperienced and almost politically empty. But he is making the right sounds. His boldness, although interspersed with trembling and a not sure footing is beginning to open doors. Fela can and should immediately latch on to the over 60million Nigerian youths who throng the Internet daily in search of other type of fulfilment in recruiting them into this much needed revolution of change.

The businesses know this, hence their rabid chase of the millennials. They have sensed their financial power and all we need do is to harness ther political power with the established financial powers and growing number, viola the solution. This is the time we can take advantage of the digitalization of the electoral process by the INEC to seize power from the prophets of stomach infrastructure.

READ ALSO : My Choice of Candidates in 2019 Presidential Election

We should build a team of young but highly intelligent political enthusiasts who will bring out strategies that the tech wiz kids would infuse into the huge potentials of the mass web to reach all 60million of us proclaiming a new day. We would not need to leave the comforts of our lap tops and smart phones in creating the greatest political upset in Africa.

The Arab spring with Facebook brought down regimes, so why would Fela in a well planned and strategically positioned structure, peopled with young economic and political whiz kids not defeat Buhari or whoever the older generation throws up in 2019 in a well-managed contest between the dynamism of youths and the gerontocratic walls of feudalism.

Fela should take this a little bit more seriously and cause an immediate online national conference in a bid to throw his candidacy to the 60m potential voters bringing together different schools of thought and building a mass movement of youths that would throw him into Aso Rock on the strength of our conviction.
When Charly Boy says our MUMU don do, what he really means is for us to harness the power of the youths to make real change.

Fela you have my vote, just get a little bit serious. Lets talk.

 

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now