The mind is the most important part of any being. It is the mind of an Elephant that keeps it in a circus after so many years of potential independence. If one is poor, it is in the mind. If anyone feels danger where there is none, it is also in the mind. The beauty of the mind was described by Frank McCourt in Angela's Ashes when he said, "you might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace". 

As royal as the mind is, Steve Biko warned us that "the most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed". It is for this reason that I was not taken aback by the two similar but unconnected events where lawmakers in a way brought dividends of the government of the people by the people for the people to the people of their constituency. 

From different quarters, through different people, came different opinions. Some for and many against. In the build up to the June 21 Ekiti State guber election, Governor Fayose as PDP candidate was derided on social media by people who believed that rice, kerosene, and other food items are not ideal items for "buying of votes". 

The elitist Fayemi's team as incumbent governor was however spared the rod when they visited campuses with Torch, Semo, Spaghetti and the likes. After all, it came from their beloved. 

Fast forward to the era of change where everyone in the country believes that dividends of democracy would come in form of infrastructure and other amenities that would have long lasting impact on the standard of living and quality of lives of Nigerians. 

Just few days back, Senator Oluremi Tinubu gave back to the people of her constituency. She partnered with a firm to give life changing ConSat decoders to her people. When I read the news, the questions that came to mind are salient. Did she cover for a lifetime subscription? Did she supply them with power generating sets? Did she also provide them with plasma TVs? 

I asked these questions because I know few people who stopped subscribing to satellite TVs because they only get 4 hours of electricity daily. It is a new era; the dividends have been digitalised. But then, on Twitter Nigeria, where logic is very hard to understand, some people felt it was a good thing to do. After all, she is known for giving back to her constituency. 

In the spirit of Sallah, a comrade Senator and renowned activist who has overtime stood with the people against tyrant governments shared #15 million worth of Camels to the people of his constituency. Our social crusader who many, like this writer, rooted for without knowing him, justified the camelisation of dividends of democracy with various tweets on his Twitter page. Great people of this great nation, as one of you who has witnessed sharing of these things closely, we will all agree that it is a part of our system. 

Some of the beneficiaries would even quiz; what if he spends all the money alone, would anyone query him? This is not to say it must continue. Senator Shehu Sani was seen in a different light before the election. 

The youth who are learning from him believed he was the real change we so desire to see in our legislature. Alas! We made a mistake. In a bid to justify it, Comrade Sani asked someone from his constituency who had a different opinion if he had ever begged him for vote. This was another sign that our comrade had forgotten in a hurry that four years don't take forever to come. It is this same comrade Senator, who tweeted about three years ago to tell us that ram sharing during Sallah by governors is unethical. We should ask him, what changed? 

Dear Change Agents (please not APC members but everyone who believes in human capacity development and a real change) we can not continue to watch these few who are desecrating our minds with their Greek gifts to continue to do so. We have a task at hand. 

As I posited in AND THE WINNER IS, we have a long way to go. We must continue to educate our people against the danger of these forms of dividends as it is a deliberate act by office holders to keep us in shackles. After all, if they give us incentives and other infrastructures to aid our economic independence, how would they come back to cajole us for votes they do not deserve? 

We must revolt, through remaking our minds into palaces of productive thoughts and demand for dividends that will usher us into prosperity and not those that would make us miserable for their selfish political gains. 

Thank you for reading. Please, don't forget to drop your comments.