A Public Affairs Analyst, Faith Uyi has said following various agitations and protest, revolution is imminent if government doesn’t address critical issues affecting the masses.

This is contained in the write-up where she analysed the current situation of affairs in Nigeria and posited as outlined below:

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Sometime ago, just a couple of years past, I had a debate with a friend.

What the bone of contention was, was a hypothetical “violent revolution” in Nigeria. The main poser was whether Nigerians can ever get to a point where they can’t take it any longer and be willing to lay down their lives to change the status quo. This was in 2014!

I argued that, like the French revolution, Nigerians would soon get to a point where they, hamstrung by hunger, poverty and disease, pick up arms against the government.

Fast forward to today, Monday the 26th of February 2018, the streets of Jos, Plateau State is being held at a stand still by the least people anyone could have ever remembered in drafting any government policy – the tricycle drivers, popularly called Mai keke or simply put keke drivers.

Monday’s business and official activities have all been brought to full halt, as these rioters who obviously are the major means of transportation within the city have totally overtaken the roads causing major blockage preventing the flow of traffic and least to say leaving pedestrians stranded, relying on solely taxis which have always been limited in availability.

A keke driver who would gladly carry a passenger to any destination for 200 hundred naira or less would not stop to pick up any passenger for even a thousand naira. I never realized until today how tightly knit this association was.

How did I come so close and personal with this story? Well, I am among the many few directly affected by this strike, riot or whatever you may call it.  Those who depend on these trycircles everyday to get around. The stress I went through just to get to my office this fateful morning can summarily be said to be the toughest I have faced so far in my life.

As I watched the violent display just to make their point to government, I remembered that discussion some years ago. Try to deny the visible truth as much as we want, Nigerians are becoming more politically aware than we were 5 – 10 years ago.

Suddenly it seems we are more sensitive to our civil, political and social rights, our eyes are gradually becoming open to the realities of the deprivation we face as citizens of a country where the government seem to be so far from it’s people. The question hits me again, how long will it be before the poor in the society get tired of the situation and pick arms against it’s government?

50 years, 20 years or maybe even sooner or later? A stitch in time they say, saves 9 but stitches in the right places now might save a nation from brewing towards another civil crash on itself.

Today it is a violent protest against the VIO system for their unchanging oppressive system against tricyle riders, tomorrow what will it be? It is time for the government to rise up to the challenge for which they sought our votes in the past elections and handle pressing issues which transcends beyond the tricyclee riots into every aspect of society before we start counting the dead bodies of our people.

They say is a word is enough for the wise but I hope one article is enough for our government. ………..

By Faith Uyi Minister

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JOS TRICYCLE PROTEST: REVOLUTION IMMINENT IN NIGERIA – Faith Uyi Minister