THE JEGA MAGIC

By NBF News

'Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto, but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.'

The above is simply the words of the former United States President, Franklin Roosevelt, at the turn of events in the US. The lines explain why the American people should stand before their historical mirror, reflect on their deeds and take a giant step into their future.

Now, wisdom has suddenly risen from its slumber; faith has come calling; hope has woken from its deep sleep waiting to be embraced by the Nigerian masses and the Jega magic is at the national door knocking to find a through-way. The money changers are beginning to flee from their high seats in the sanctuary of our civilisation. We may now reinstate that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the reinstatement lies in the extent to which we apply social ideals more gracious and dignified than sheer monetary profit.

Each time I reminisce, I wonder within the realm of my imagination if any kind of magic is going to take us out of this dungeon. I wonder with fear the kind of power that is capable of taking us out of the rot and decadence that characterise this nation. This is why I'm currently enmeshed in the world of confusion, wrapped in an inexplicable crisis of the mind on whether the Jega magic will work or we will be left standing in the middle of the road, where no path could connect to the other?

Can you recall the 1983 and 1994 elections? My heart is currently in my mouth, as the hunters take to the poll in search of who to devour. They have their plans; they have purchased for themselves the national puller that pulls the train off its track. But will the Jega train bow to that?

You will be forced at this juncture to call me a pessimist, but I disagree with you. The energetic character, the zeal and the zest that define the Nigerian youth is what I possess at the moment. What I see is what you have failed to see. I see some satirical elements making caricature of the polity; tossing us up and down. Deep in the middle of the sea, we are sinking, and the political environment is gradually getting so hot; but now that the Jega magic is here; now that the people have become conscious of their God-given and constitutional rights, now the owner of the land jumps on his boundaries with a different approach to reclaim his land; now that the people can see clearly even in the heart of the malodorous night fall that seeps through their healthy bodies; now that the people have identified the thieves and have separated the small thieves from the big thieves (the robbers); now that a mild revolution is gradually taking its turn; now that the Jega magic works even at night; now that Jega refused to go to sleep; now that his magic keeps him awake, even when he is forced to go to sleep; they too have gone back to strategize. They have gone to the drawing board and to ensure that this undying democracy is truncated.

Yes, I personally understand their feelings. I know what they think and why they think in that direction. They are sad because of the general declaration that the real makers of history have realised their blunders and are ready to correct them. The Nigerian people are in dire need of a revolutionary agent. The people are more concerned about their future and the future of the unborn. They are tired of steering through that undefined political path leading to national obliteration. I see the determination, zeal, zest and enthusiasm that keep them moving. I see them struggling selflessly in an environment where the hope of the citizens is continuously kept in the air and they want to make sure that history is played back in their time. This, I will call the natural effect of the Jega magic. But will this magic keep us moving till the end, even as the uninformed in the villages sell their votes to bag of rice, bag of salt and some cash to match?

I saw the effect of the Jega magic in the elections. I saw his civil and unprecedented strategies to fight evil master minders. Even when guns and grenades try to overwhelmingly shut Jega down, he stood his ground, bent on the tree of life to salvage his own people…raising my hope and your hope beyond expectation. I'm sure that international organisations and international media would have been disappointed with the outcome of the elections. The expected wars and bloodshed that would have made the headlines of most tabloids hit the rock. Many wolves are now disappointed with the present system, not because the system is deteriorating, but because the system is improving and our electoral body is the system we see at the moment. Such people prefer to embrace change in the opposite direction; they prefer to say '