We are the government!

Happy Children’s day and Happy Birthday Lagos! Lagos is my where I’m from and I’m happy with her advancement, and I hope for MOREEE.. Lagos was created May 27 1967, and she turns 50 today.

It is a great coincidence that we are both celebrating Lagos and children’s day on the same day (I didn’t know this until a few weeks ago when I googled “How old is Lagos” being that there has been posters all over the City celebrating Lagos at 50). And as we have it, the post I have up today has something to do with a little bit of both. This post takes me as far back  as 2012, which was when I was  still a student in my 200 level. I have always had passion for Nigeria due to the environment I find myself in.

The mindset I have held dearly to my heart while growing up is that ‘we are the government’. I always feel pain when I see things being done wrongly (not respecting the laws of the Nation, when the streets are not well maintained, when we are being deprived of our Human rights, when the “police” does things beyond their jurisdictions, when human beings are being treated like animals, we do not seem to have value for life).

I’m sure if you’d have read my previous post about Sam Adeyemi, you’d know how much of a great influence he has been to me. Reading his books brings a lot of insight, knowledge, inspiration and power which stirs the passion in me. I read a few of his books this year (2012), after reading them and understanding that if we want to see change happen, it has to begin with us, not just an individual, but it has to be collective action.

I then began this quest to host a community development in my vicinity, which was targeted at those between ages of 8 years and 18 years, just to enlighten young folks. I designed invitation cards, dropped it in every house possible within my area. I designed a registration log, I also stretched out something on a cardboard to put at the front of the house gate, so people can be able to identify the venue for registration.

The idea of the community development was for the people to partake in the cleanliness of the environment and understand that it’s not okay to dirty the streets, if you want to always see it clean, you have to make it clean! I also gave the participants a book written by Sam Adeyemi, titled “we are the government’. I did this so that they can also get inspired the way I was inspired by his books, also so that the whole exercise wouldn’t stop at just cleaning the environment, I wanted them to go back with something tangible.

The attendees were awarded a Certificate of Attendance which I designed, after which most of them told me it was their first ever certificate(this made me some what happy). Just to note though, this wasn’t all done by me, my mum’s company helped sponsor the program, refreshments were supplied, the tools used for the exercise, the stationaries and whatnots. It’s also her company’s logo I used on the certificate, with her seal, and off course with her permission, to make it legit. My neighbors also helped supply us with plastic chairs for the program, this is way over four years now, and I still remember it like yesterday. This was the first community development I hosted and it was successful, the turnout was good, and I was happy to be able to give back in my own little way.

Sadly, I haven’t had any other community development since then, but I still try to give back in the little way that I can, especially giving back of knowledge, which is what I do on my blog, because knowledge is power and it shouldn’t be underestimated. Maybe, just maybe I’d host another community development, maybe WE’D do it TOGETHER.

If you have a similar passion as me, we can work on something.

Please let me know what you think !

This was the picture I had in my head when I was thinking of doing a community development. I had a picture of a MODERN, CLEAN, & ORGANIZED society..

HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY!

And Happy Celebrations LAGOS! Eko o ni Baje oo..

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“Your ability to run with a picture of the desired future is one of the keys to success – Fisayo 2017 🙂  ”