BANKY W'S THOUGHTS ON THE JOS CRISIS

With the attack of three communities in Jos on Sunday, March 7, 2010, that has led to another crisis in a state that was once regarded as the most peaceful, a large number of Nigerians have expressed their concern and displeasure in the way and the manner in which innocent people (mostly women and children), were brutally slaughtered.
Within the music industry, one of the prominent voices that are speaking up against the carnage in Jos is Banky W. The R and B singer who broke into the industry with his interpolation of Umbrella by Rihanna in 2007 recently let his feelings known via his blog- http://bankyw.blogspot.com
In his piece titled Hell Is Empty and All The Devils Are Here, Banky stated that �it's unthinkable that in 2010, after the world has gone through so much progress and development, some of us in Nigeria are still living like this. It's heartbreaking to witness these events. It's heart-wrenching to think of what happened on the morning of March 7th. It's unfair and deplorable. It's mind-numbingly sad, pathetic, and downright insane.�
He further went on to write that �the worst thing about the Jos attacks is the fact that this is not the first time that we've witnessed such horror, and conventional wisdom says it won't be the last. There's a song on my last album called "Why", where I tried in my very limited capacity to speak from the heart on situations affecting our Nigeria. I specifically mentioned "fighting in Jos, killing one another no remorse". This song was created by Cobhams Asuquo and I over a year ago; I was inspired to write, when similar killings occurred and a friend of mine lost 2 immediate family members. Little did we know that the song would prove to not only be an account of times past, but a prophecy of things to come as we are now witnessing the same evil history repeat itself.
In his write-up he charged the youth of Nigeria to stand up for change. Change does not happen overnight... Some will recall that in the USA in 1994 there was a revolution of sorts, but partly due to somewhat dubious circumstances (Florida, etc), the Bush Regime lasted an additional four years. We are used to Politicians in Nigeria treating Power as a birthright and votes not counting, despite our calling it a democracy. But in the same breath, how many of us actually turn out to vote? 2011 might be the year that changes our country forever. We may or may not succeed in toppling the "birthright-mindset" of our leaders immediately, but we MUST, in the very least, get the ball rolling. We the (young) people must decide that we are fed up of the nonsense we've seen for years and vow to change things wrote Mr. Wellington.
Last year June, Banky W wrote an article in response to Reuben Abati's article in The Guardian. The article was received with positive responses and applauded for its brilliance.
To read Banky W's full article on the Jos Crisis click HERE http://bankyw.blogspot.com/2010/03/hell-is-empty-and-all-devils-are-here.html