By Lola Adeyemo

If someone asked me what the best part of joining the chorus of people supporting #ifNaijaVotes movement was, without hesitation I would have answered “unity.” In a day and age when it’s so easy to separate yourself, to thrive on the similarities you share with some folks and shun the differences you see amongst yourself and others, the #ifNaijaVotes initiative elevated us above above all that. Across three continents, people of all ages, walks of life, beliefs and backgrounds, got together and spoke in one voice, over one issue: Regardless of who we support, what issue we take on or don’t, WE matter and our votes count. Nigeria is ours and we’re ready to exercise our authority. And we encourage every citizen to do the same.

As a lover of numbers, being able to say ‘this many people participated’ would be lovely. But quite honestly, the numbers don’t matter. Whether there were 50,000 tweets or 500, the point is, we were present on Tuesday. From all over the globe, we all had a chance to partake in something bigger than ourselves. Normally you hear about things like this and think it’s nice sounding but probably not meaningful in the larger scheme of things. But the #ifNaijaVotes movement is a real life, contemporary example of the power of the collective. If what took place doesn’t make you excited about the future, about the possibilities of what we can do, then I’m afraid you just don’t get it. For everyone else though…join the bandwagon. This is just the beginning…and it’s probably best not to get left behind.

The party/rally call continued way after January 11th, so rather than re-highlighting tweets fellow advocates have already, below are just three of my favorite tweets that came in after midnight on January 12th.

@AfroPuffette: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.#ifnaijavotes

@fatboy27ng: #ifnaijavotes politics will no longer be a profession but strictly a call to service.

@solazo69: #IfNaijaVotes….my 1yr old niece won’t be shouting #UPNEPA

Though all captured poignant points, the third stirred me the most. My vote in April determines what type of Nigeria my children will inherit. Whether their studies will be interrupted by NEPA, their days made longer and unproductive because of bad roads, or whether they will have to look outside for adequate healthcare. These thoughts alone are enough motivation; enough of a reminder that we can’t let the responsibility slip. We simply have to register to vote and go out on voting day. Our kids, grand kids and great-grands depend on it.

Lola Adeyemo is the Editor of Afiive which aims to be your innovative liaison, connecting, informing and entertaining its avid readers and frequent visitors from around the globe.

Gospel-sensational act, Lara George has dropped a new music video, “Chibuzo (Get Up)”. It is dedicated to the movement for a better Nigeria. The former member of the now defunct gospel trio group, KUSH, spurred Nigerians not to give up on situations no matter how poor they may seem today.

GET UP revolves around an able young Nigerian man from a poor background called Chibuzo. He is representative of any typical Nigerian youth. From the opening of the video, the artiste sonorously urges to listener to pay close attention to the story as “it fit be you, it fit be me”.

Chibuzo leaves his poor-looking apartment early in the morning, hustles to get on the bus and finally arrives at his ‘workplace’. He is a roadside CD-vendor. Along the way, a better-dressed man approaches him, but Chibuzo is not willing to engage in this conversation. The audience is left to imagine what exactly the exchange between the two is, however, not for long. As Chibuzo returns home that day, we see the ‘posh’ dressed guy being led away by two men in handcuffs towards a patrol vehicle. Thus, one can deduce that the guy was attempting to draw Chibuzo into illegal dealings earlier in the day.
“Get up off the floor, get your feet back on the ground” is the resounding message in the chorus in this song.

Lara George uses Chibuzo to illustrate that “there is a story before the glory and a light after the night”. She is asking Nigerians not to give up hope, but get up in solidarity for our future and our children, especially if you believe that Nigeria will be better.

You could start by getting up, and going to register to vote from January 15-29 – a bright future awaits Nigeria, we are hopeful.