Conversation has been pinned down as that spin in democracy that would bring in the citizen in decision-making and thus into participatory governance. Conversation is therefore, a major pillar of any true democracy.
Donald Okudu, a Port Harcourt-based fast-rising entrepreneur and high-tech designer who is the series licensee and owner of the TEDX franchise in Nigeria, says talking leads to consensus and action that changes things and designs the kind of world we want.
In an exclusive interview in his office in Port Harcourt, Okudu said taking the pains to bring the best brains and subject experts to discuss one topic at a time in Port Harcourt brings Port Harcourt and Nigeria into the league of nations that discuss their problems and their future.
He said conversation as a activist engagement is about getting everybody’s point of view and to get mixed perspective so that there is no oversight. “It allows you know how people feel, good or bad. Everything begins with conversation to lead to actionable steps. Conversation has not killed anybody before. It is better to have conversations than have violence.”
He admits that open societies encourage conversations while closed societies do not, saying pen discussions have helped Nigeria in many ways, looking at the myriad of challenges.
He however noted that merely having a conversation does not mean everybody will act that way but that you will look for implementation plans and structures or agencies to put thought to action.
“Nigeria as a democracy, we have seen instances where we have gone from talk to action and we have the reactions of old institutions that kept this country the way it is.
“We saw #EndSARS how it went from talk to the street. It woke the system up. It showed that we have activators that go beyond lip service. When we saw the steps during EndSARS, we saw hope that a generation of action has arrived. It is not about talk and go home but talk and act.
“It requires institutions, support, money, etc. We also learnt that we are not lacking funds to drive certain initiatives. You can either sit and talk or talk and come out, even if it is to vote. Talking is good but having a mechanism to try the ideas, no matter how small, is better. People need to see what you are doing and chances are they can come on board.”
#EndSARS was not in vain
He said it is not true that EndSARS did not lead to outcomes for those who expected a movement and later a political party to emerge from it.
“Lessons were learnt. Toward the end, some persons were targeted; accounts frozen, etc. People are bound to fear. Some of the pillars retracted and went back to re-strategise. That a political party has not been formed does not mean that nothing is happening. They could be planning to pick people in some parties to vote for.”
We could be the bigger problem
Okudu said not all conversations are targeted at the government but at the citizens. “Some conversations are targeted at ourselves. We seem to be the bigger problem. After all, these persons that get into power are part of us, just that they have now come into power and money. They become worse. So, conversations can target the people and hope to process them for leadership.”
He said the roads seem to expose the true nature of citizens as they drive anyhow and form new lines that choke the traffic. “I ask them, did Buhari cause this one?”
He went on: “It behooves on us all to call each other out and give advice. Most of these bad attitudes have become the new normal. For instance, we see nothing wrong in bribing. You are not comfortable if they say the boss there is not approachable, they mean he won’t play ball.
“The government is the far end of conversations. Theirs is to provide suitable environment for the actions and businesses to thrive. Citizens ought to set good example for others to follow. We want the government to fix things but often we are the ones that need fixing. So, fix yourself first. We must hold citizens accountable for everything that goes wrong. If we are on the road and there is a queue, we must know that we must be orderly. Not for a tricycle to create a new lane. Soon, cars follow. Nobody asks where the keke is leading them to. This way, we follow what we do not know, who we do not know”.
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He said good citizens have confidence and do not fear the police. He wants the citizens to be so upright to challenge the government. He also wants those around him to operate by the rule and to operate with codes of conduct.
He says it is possible to transform this into a formalized group. “You also learn what it takes to build a community. It takes time. People are impatient when it comes to culture. We like the Indomie noodle quick mentality.”
The TED licensee said it is wrong for citizens to say fish rots from the head and so they have no responsibility in creating change. “We cannot blame people who think that way, but that does not mean we all subscribe to it. Change is a long race. We need those who build the structures of change and good ethics. We have to build people. Its not true that there is instant fix to anything. People think the little they do can fix anything. They do not believe in delayed gratification; build today, enjoy tomorrow. We need more people who think so. We think about change like an election with four years tenure. Let your environment not cause you dismay.”
‘I Am Vocal’ scheme
TEDX PH is 10 years and Okudu says they do not care what any other person is doing, but have meaningful conversations. “We just grow our community and grow conversations. We know we bring people together. It now laid foundation to birth ‘I Am Vocal’. It is the scheme where we hold systems accountable. We get feedback from communities, their living experiences, and ask how can we interact more with them and begin to raise champions living with the people that can drive change. It is going to be long term plan.
“People will complain of environment but they do not dispose of trash and refuse well. So, you can be that one person in the yard that disposes properly. Over a period of time, people buy into the idea.
“The perfect analogy for this is during road construction. Everybody gets frustrated about high traffic, drive one way, serious traffic. Once that road is done, two lanes are open, free flow of traffic comes. So, without sacrifice, nothing good will happen. You will forget your pains when the road is good again.
Everybody has to use their voices to drive the conversation, he says.
He went on: “In the past, we have done many conversations including the one on need to pay electricity bills, need for right energy bills to drive the sector under privatization.
“We did ‘Count Down’, we did ‘Reframe’ aimed at making people to unlearn and relearn, that the questions are more important than the answers we get. If you ask the right questions, you get the right answers. Last year was on Climate Action, and soot is one of the issues we are to deal with under it. We discussed the environment.
“TED is a global conversation platform where people of different areas tell their own stories their own way. The problem of Niger Delta may have their own problems different from those of other regions.
“The Niger Delta has the money that many other regions may not have. We have the Telcos, IOCs, gas, etc. When it comes to power, the Niger Delta does not have to lack power. Here is the hub of the nation, power, gas, ports, etc. You can look at say, why are you flaring when you can use it to generate energy? Why are we still into single use plastics? These thoughts can form our policies. We want more vending machines around the town. We want change in the way people use plastics. People rush into water businesses and cause huge plastic waste, but do we plan on waste control, or to even avoid waste?”
Let us not manage waste anymore, let us avoid waste
A major focus of the conversation series is on climate change. “Let us not be managing waste but avoiding waste (Waste Avoidance). So, how can we design such an economy that will address these problems? So, why do we desire change but we insist on doing things in old ways. That has only one name; madness.
“Why is infrastructure the only matrix for development? Are we thinking of the effect of urban development? Are you planning the waterways, the projects to align? We are talking about sustainable development, how are we thinking of the materials for construction? How did God create us: From dust and back to dust? Is it not master design of God? Why don’t we design all our things to follow that pattern of coming from dust and returning to dust? That means circular economy. If we think new, many new things will come, new money will come.
“We should think anti-fossil. This was the thinking of that conversation. There was talk about solar energy as an alternative to improve livelihoods.
“We looked at activism. Why do we keep talking without action? Activism and advocacy must go hand in hand. There must be people in the backroom that will be thinking of how to fix them.’
On soot, he said people talked on how to take action after talk. “You need funding, facilitators, etc. For any of these things to work, there must be willingness from the state to be a co-player in trying to change the environment.
“Working in our small silos will only make awareness. There must be support to those doing it. Something concrete must be done to change those behind illegal refining (kpo-fire).”
