Omotola, Banky W, El dee, Young Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Youth Advocates lead Nigerians youths to the National Assembly next Tuesday

Omotola, Banky W, El dee, Young Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Youth
Advocates lead Nigerians youths to the National Assembly next Tuesday

A coalition of prominent youth leaders and young people from across the
country rose from a strategy meeting in Lagos and announced plans for a
protest rally against happenings in the governance of the country. The
rally will hold on Tuesday, the 16th of March 2010, and the young people
will march to the National Assembly in Abuja

This historic push is to be taken under the name ENOUGHISENOUGH Nigeria.

“ENOUGHISENOUGH [is] a coalition of individuals, organisations, and
collectives, intended to be the most ambitious of youth initiatives aiming
to effect peaceful transformation in Nigeria,” said Tolu Ogunlesi, winner
of the CNN Journalist of the Year awards last year. “ENOUGHISENOUGH is a
double-edged sword; it is a message both to us (that it is time to leave
the comfort of our computer and mobile phone keyboards, and seek to exert
authority in the real world) and to the powers-that-be (that enough is
enough of taking Nigeria and Nigerians for granted).”

The rally will have young professionals, celebrities, activists, students
and others. The protesters will gather at the Eagle Square at 11am and
march to the National Assembly, accompanied by a massive pool of national,
international and youth media.

One of the prominent youth leading this is the Nollywood superstar,
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, whose youth empowerment project, OYEP, is also a
part of this protest. “We've had cases of people who die as a result of
generator fumes,” Jalade-Ekeinde said. “We cannot continue to sit on the
fence and allow just a few people in government eat up our future.”

According to another member of the coalition, Toyosi Akerele, team leader
of Rise Networks, which held nationwide seminars with almost 50, 000
youths last year: “Silence is not golden, we have to speak up! Our
children will live in worse situations than we are in now if we don't do
something. It is a crisis of values for me to take up a job I cannot
handle, despite that, the rallies we are doing are not an anti-Yar'Adua
campaign but an anti system campaign.”

“Look at what is happening in Jos, it is a failure of leadership – and we
are angry,” said Chude Jideonwo, who is Creative Director of the popular
The Future Awards/The Future Project. “The drama surrounding President
Umaru Yar’Adua’s health has effectively derailed the country. But Nigeria
is bigger than one man! The president should either resume, resign or be
removed from office before the end of this month. And if he resigns, all
those involved in these unconstitutionalities should be brought to book!
Then there’s the issue of power supply, and then there is the issue of
fuel. It is just shameful. Enough is enough.”

Organisations involved in this include the Rise Networks, the Paradigm
Initiative Nigeria, Abira Foundation, Gbagyichild Entertainment, Chocolate
City , The Future Project, The Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness,
amongst others. “There is no north or south demarcation here,” Alkassim
Abdulkadir, until recently with the National Assembly, said. “Young people
across Nigeria are one in their anger, and Muslim or Christian, South
South or North Central, rich or poor, we are all marching in Abuja in one
accord to take a stand, and let our voices be heard.”

The organisers mentioned that the rally is only the first in a chain of
actions leading up until the 2011 elections. According to them, they will
be working vigorously to actively participate in the polls as well as to
pile on pressure for electoral reform. Already, older Nigerians
including Prof. Pat Utomi, Hon. Abike Dabiri, Chief Dele Momodu and
others have indicated their support for the rally and will be joining the
protesters. Young celebrities involved in this include MI Abaga, Timi
Dakolo, the Rooftop MCs, Eldee the don, Banky W, Omoni Oboli, Matse
Uwatse, Denrele Edun, Segun Obe, amongst others.

“This is the important first step,” said Nze Sylva Ifedigbo, Abuja-based
coordinator. “Young people need to make a statement that we are an
important voice in this country. More than 70 percent of the population is
below 35, and we have had enough of this rubbish. Many young people now
realized that it is not enough to be angry on Facebook and Twitter and on
the internet; it is time to walk the talk. So all the young people who are
tired of everything that is wrong in our country are going to show that we
are not taking it anymore!”

The ENOUGHISENOUGH group is also a strong part of the Save Nigeria Group’s
efforts, and is especially in charge of its pop culture arm. Key members
of the group, represented by Ohimai Godwin Amaize, a Microsoft Internet
Safety Ambassador, are part of the organisers of the SNG protests.

“Most of us have only ever seen guns in the hands of armed robbers and
armed policemen,” Ogunlesi reiterated. “Our weapon is anger, enlivened by
a sense of history, and of destiny, and tempered by reason. And, very
importantly, we are determined not to make the mistakes that those who
went before us made, revolutionaries who ended up creating systems in dire
need of revolution.”

Other members of the coalition and signatories for this can be found on
the website www.enoughisenoughnigeria.com.