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Dora the explorer

February 21, 2010

The Dora the Explorer we know is deeply loved by our kids. At least I can say that for my four plus daughter who spends hours glued to the television watching Dora the Explorer. Her obsession with Dora though is on full display when you visit any store. She launches out to grab anything with Dora the Explorer on it. Her tooth brush, bag pack, dresses, sneakers, cup and food plate must have Dora the Explorer inscribed on them.

Image removed.The Dora the Explorer we know is deeply loved by our kids. At least I can say that for my four plus daughter who spends hours glued to the television watching Dora the Explorer. Her obsession with Dora though is on full display when you visit any store. She launches out to grab anything with Dora the Explorer on it. Her tooth brush, bag pack, dresses, sneakers, cup and food plate must have Dora the Explorer inscribed on them.
But her love for Dora, and I suspect that of millions of little girls,  is not just in the name but in the relentless and innovative spirit displayed by the character in the television series. As little kids, we all learn by imitation. We pick up sounds, mannerisms and actions. Dora the explorer encompasses all of these things with short and compelling story narratives. That is Dora for the kids.

But we have our own Dora. Dora Akunyili, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communications who recently changed course and began a new exploration in the trouble waters of Nigerian politics. Actually, her exploration began at least in a vivid sort of way when she served as the NAFDAC boss. There she proved her mettle and her successes have since been well documented. When she finally ventured into politics, she lost a huge chunk of her admirers who warned her that sainthood and politics do not mix. She fought back. She told them it is the will of God for her to be where she is. She vowed to be a change agent and indeed worked hard at it from the moment she became Minister of Information and Communications. She tried to do exploits through her re-branding sermon but soon suffered a major train wreck-the Ekiti election scandal and the role she played and the government’s lack of transparency in the handling of the Halliburton scandal.

The anti-Dora chorus grew louder but she remained undaunted. She ducked the shots, fought the onslaught and continued her exploration in the volatile power politics of Nigeria. Truth be told, her goodwill with Nigerians slumped dangerously because she was the mouthpiece of a government that was clearly inept, unpopular and as slow as a snail. The media and most of her admirers did not spare her. They told her she was riding the tiger in no unmistaken terms. Nonetheless, she continued to explore the corridors of power.

Just when her followers thought she had been totally lost, she re-invented herself. Yes, re-invention politically. She pulls a fast one by breaking the ranks. She submitted to the federal executive council a memo asking that President Yar’adua, Nigeria’s ailing leader should transfer power to Jonathan Goodluck and save Nigeria from an imminent collapse. It was the unexpected and it caught her Minister colleagues unawares. While for Nigerians it was the moment they had waited for. A moment in which they will do what was required of them by the people. Well, that moment came and it was only one person, Dora Akunyili that stood up to be counted. A journalist in the UK who had keenly followed Akunyili but gave up on her after she joined the Yar’adua team shot me an email proclaiming Dora has risen from the dead. The question is whether she was really dead politically or was only bidding her time? No matter, she did something no one else will do in the ministerial cabinet and she deserves kudos for that. Any attempt to chip away the near political masterstroke her memo delivered must be regarded as insincere. She saw an opportunity and she grabbed it with both hands. The rest is now history.

From this point, what will matter most for Dora is not the memo coup but how she performs her role as the chief image maker of the country henceforth. Nigerians will be watching closely to see if she can sustain this new burst of progressive energy and make it pervade the roles she plays in government. It will be nice to know publicly, what her position is on the Ekiti election and other government actions she had defended in the past. How she progresses from here is most important because she should not expect praises from the people if she continues to side with power. She must work at speaking truth to power not only when it is convenient but atimes when it is not convenient. And being on the side of the people means there is a price to be paid. No one better understands this than Prof. Dora from her NAFDAC experience.

Truth be told, one shot from within is not enough. A single blow is not enough to reform a decadent system. Dora needs to extend her exploration to other areas and aspects of government and rise to deliver the necessary blows. Becoming a bonafide member of the progressive class or the opposition is not a one shot event. It is like second nature demanding constant alertness and boldness to take the road less travelled. If truly Akunyili is born again, then let’s welcome her and prepare her for the necessary rites of passage. But if what she has done is only a deft political move to regain her goodwill then the verdict of the later will be more damning than that of the previous. 

The progressive struggle is not a short dash but a long distance race.
 



 

 

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