(Photo credit: occupynigeriaprotest.blogspot.com)
With all due respect being wealthy or aspiring to be does not and should not equate to having political apathy. And it is not a CRIME (except where it is ill gotten) If these rich folks, many self employed, did not come out to join in, you will be the same to complain. They were able to get together to express their dissatisfaction in a language they understand and now they are getting castigated. Please spare me. I want to see the article that will speak about how for a change it wasn't only the poor on the streets asking for the change. Difference is just in the style. I understand that in our society the lines between those who benefit from the pillaging of the country and those who have made good on genuine hard work and good education have become fuzzy, but we need to STOP VILIFYING SUCCESS in this manner!!
Regards
Channel sunglass/ Gucci sneakers/ LV wearing occupier
Now I don't own a pair of Gucci sneakers , I just threw that in for the effect. Thanks to poetic license. Lol. I know a bunch of people who were livid about the article, including my friends who were out there because they were quite passionate about the issues but wanted a safe and near by place to participate in an event that was historically shaping the country. This article trivializes their efforts and the efforts of those others who were out there for hours marching from one end of Ikoyi to the other, even Occupying the NTA office in VI. I was out there a couple of times checking different locations for work, and what I came away with was totally different from what this writer has written. It may not have been a lot in some people's books but they get an 'A' for effort. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the writer's position or he/she has a chip on the shoulders? Do you feel the Occupy Falomo was a 'picnic', a place to show off and 'oppress' or that what we saw just comes with the territory, package so to speak? Do you think it was a genuine contribtion or a side show for bored rich folks with cabin fever? Let's talk...
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2 comments:
You are soooo right! I guess whoever wrote the blog is just a hater!! If the people who have the finer things in life did not come out, who would have occupied?.........the Nigerian Police would have most likely rounded up...or at least tried to, the " area boys" thAt gather.......we all know Nigerian Police too know about ranges, gucci, ipads, prada........at least they assume you are someone important, and will show some respect, if not for you, for the expensive things you have..............there us nothing wrong with occupying in style!
hi. its good to see you're still blogging. occupyfalomo is a subject very close to my heart, because i was there. on the first day, my neighbours and i tried to occupy our area in lekki. but we were surrounded by hoodlums and area boys who were more concerned with looting and making a statement than any actual peaceful protest. we were able to keep things calm with the aid of a few "gifts" - we bought them drinks, bread and siga (go figure - lol). but it was too rough for us. so on the second day we went to falomo, where we could register our own position without fear.
yes, there were people in benzes and bmws, and some of the power bikes on display could probably feed the average family for a year, but that was not the point. bob marley wrote that "when the rain falls, it don't fall on one man's house". it is not true to say that falomo was only occupied by the rich. there were loads of people from all walks of life there. in any event, should you not stay in your own neighbourhood? are they expected to travel to ojota to jon the "masses?" do you think there were no rich people at the other places?
the reality is that even the rich are affected by the subsidy crisis. when the people around you are hungry and tired, you start looking like food to them. the main thing for me is the fact that people turned up to make their voices heard. for the first time in recent memory, everyone was united by a common cause.
that for me is the lesson. that nigerians could unite under a common banner of national interest. to mock the people at falomo, or to suggest that they had no business occupying is to disenfranchise a section of our population, and that is both illegal and immoral.
thank you for a well-wriiten, well-considered comment. God bless you Ads. i heard you got robbed. God watch over us all. i'm glad you ladies were not harmed. Bless.
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