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Author: Natasha Ashwe
Posted to the web: 3/30/2007 2:27:09 PM

It is funny how in the mire of political darkness that has become the Nigerian society of today a brilliant ray of light from out of the blue can suddenly take us by surprise and lift our hearts to the heights we conceived before.
 
I suddenly came across the exceptional manifesto of a future State Government of the country as I searched through the daily news pages and political commentaries, and as I read through their mission and objectives, nostalgia literally hit me between the eyes.
 
We the citizens of this wonderful and diverse land have been distracted from the prime issues, you see, we have forgotten what our previous purposes were and what we daydreamed about as children contemplating the grand design of our spectacular future as a nation.
 
More than anything we aspired to get better, to do things that had not been done before, to achieve the key points we memorized and recited in the live debates we held, to grow up to become our mentors, to bring to life the ideals we wrote down in our Social Studies essays and create a reality for the answers to exam questions our teachers marked ‘correct.’
 
Turn off the monotonous local news filled with empty and inane agendas that clutter your intelligent mind, go to any class of children at school and you will stumble across these uncorrupted dreams again. You will see the belief and hope in their hearts that what they are learning will unlock the door to everything they want their lives and their society to be. The fact of the matter is that the children of Nigeria are the most qualified practical mentors to follow now.
 
The main principles of Government, Economics, Science; Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Health, Agriculture, Engineering, Mathematics, Basic Communication, Law, Arts & Culture, Nutrition, Technology, Business, Architecture, Geography, History, Crafts & Design, Physical Education, Languages, Religious Knowledge, et cetera, which we carried in our minds and are supposed to by now be integrated into structures of our government and society in state-of-the-art versions and applications today have been lost to us by brainwashing from our leaders. It’s that simple. They have hijacked the evolution of our society.
 
The elections are upon us and behold the same old lines have come round again. ‘I will give you light’ and ‘I will give you water.’ This is the 21st century and these people think we are still an uneducated and illiterate mass of people who are prepared to settle for so much less than we deserve and imagine.
 
Nigerians go to school. Nigerians know the subjects that were taught. We have only allowed our visions to be misplaced. We have been deceived to think that there is supposed to be some sort of disconnect between our education and the situation on ground.
 
You learned how to build electric circuits in your science labs in secondary school and yet you are programmed by society to shout ‘NEPA!’ and fold your hands in resignation when the lights go out, never mind that it is even PHC now.
 
Nigerians are educated people. We have only been distracted from our goals by the audacious lack of wisdom of leaders and figures of authority who do not want us to apply our knowledge in our every day jobs and every day lives. Yet these basic subjects of our education are taught in small villages and communities across the country, where people cannot speak English they are taught these subjects in their own languages. The Nigerian society is a society that exists for the most part in complete denial of its intelligence.
 
But then a dynamic and inspirational individual comes out with a master plan conceived from the ultimate vision he has for his people and a refreshing wind of change blows over a nation where minds have gone to sleep.
 
I came across 'The Rivers of Our Dream', a manifesto with a goal to apply the education and knowledge of the people of Rivers State, and in my mind the overall new visions of Nigeria we as a people all have were rekindled.
 
All of the policies outlined within the paper manifest that the knowledge and application of all of the broad subjects of our education is the prime issue at hand and this will be the purpose that will be carried out by the new Governor.
 
He will draw upon the first natural resource that is the intelligence of the people of Rivers State and it will fuel his objectives. He will uphold their knowledge of these subjects that contain the principles that build countries, nations, and Empires. He will draw like minds from all over the country, and the world, to accomplish his objectives. He will ignite a blazing torch that will set an example for others to follow and will be a worthy and extraordinary mentor to emulate.
 
Perhaps I make it seem simple and elementary, yet this is what the creation of jobs is about. And I speak of jobs as niches for intelligent minds in a fast-growing society where people are passionate about what they are doing and are doing what they believe in and earning what they deserve. This is what is required for a nation to function as it should. This is what the introduction of new and innovative plans to build the lives of the people and develop powerful and effective forms of infrastructure to surround them is all about.
 
It is all about their strengths, their environment, their social background, their aspirations for the future, and most importantly the practical application of their knowledge in the society they exist in.
 
A failing society is a society where the knowledge of the people is not applied. We live in a state of denial of our knowledge. How can that be in a country like Nigeria?
 
An ideal society is a society where the knowledge of the people is the lifeblood of every structure and system. It is good to know that soon by our fruits the world shall know exactly who and what we are. People like Prince Tonye Princewill will not only stand out to open the doors that let in the light to reveal the brilliance of our potential future as a nation, but will lead us step by step, policy by policy, where we always dreamed we would be by now.
 
You read his blueprint for Rivers State and distinct pictures come into your head. You realize that these pictures are neither abstract nor unfamiliar. His realizable concepts are not the overload of heavily worded garbage and propaganda that surround us and dull our minds. They are the clear and precise visions of Nigeria we all have had that have been forgotten and pushed aside by all forms of political agenda in the past. What could be better than a government that has drawn out a detailed map that points its entire people in the right direction from the onset and has all geographical sectors and demographic mindsets involved, present and accounted for?
 
The Nigeria of 2007 and onwards is not for rulers who will ‘give us light’ and ‘give us water’. It is for leaders who will give us everything we need to ensure that the application of our vast knowledge and resources excel their present state beyond imagination in the 21st Century.
 
It is wonderful that there is now a promise to place these objectives at the forefront of reality where they should rightly exist by a leader who will usher his State into an atmosphere of endless possibility. It is inspiring to be reminded of the big dream, and exciting to contemplate its arrival heralded by men like Prince Tonye Princewill, the brilliant new leaders of this generation. We look forward to the Rivers of Our Dream, and we embrace all the pioneering visions of Spectacular Nigeria.
 
We will keep the faith.
 
[Read ‘The Rivers of Our Dream’ Manifesto @ www.NewRiversState.com ]
 
Natasha N. Ashwe March 30, 2007.