Writers 
Change Has to Start Somewhere
Sometimes I wonder if we actually want change or if we just want somebody else to change, because it is very easy to sit down and point fingers.
This person is the problem.
That person is too selfish.
People are wicked.
The government is not doing enough.
Our leaders are not doing enough.
Nobody cares anymore.
Everybody is doing one thing or another wrong.
And somehow, in all of these complaints, we rarely stop to ask ourselves one uncomfortable question:
What am I doing differently?
I remember having a conversation with someone a while ago and we somehow got to the topic of the kind of world we would like to live in. We talked about honesty, kindness, discipline, accountability, respect and all those beautiful things that sound very easy when we are talking about them.
Then I had this thought, "for the world to become the perfect place we imagine in our heads, we would probably have to wipe the whole thing clean and start again."
Bring out a fresh set of human beings and as they come, start teaching them exactly how we want them to behave.
No lying.
No cheating.
No selfishness.
No corruption.
No taking advantage of people.
No “it is just this once.”
No “everybody is doing it.”
No “if I don't do it, somebody else will.”
And even after doing all of that, I still feel like somebody would eventually look at the rules and say, “But who made this rule?”
Because somehow, being human comes with the ability to mess things up.
So the answer is not waiting for perfect human beings. The answer is starting with the humans we already have.
Us!
We complain that people are dishonest, but how many of us tell the truth when lying would benefit us?
We complain that people take advantage of others, but do we return excess change when a seller mistakenly gives us more than we paid for?
We complain about bad customer service, but how do we treat people who work for us?
We complain that people are inconsiderate, but do we think about the next person before we do things?
We complain about corruption, but then suddenly “helping ourselves” becomes acceptable when it is something small enough.
And this is where I think change becomes complicated.
We want the big change without wanting to participate in the small ones.
We want a better society, but sometimes we are waiting for someone else to build it for us.
Even with the 2027 elections approaching, the conversations are already everywhere. INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for 20 February 2027.
And yes, leadership matters. Government policies matter. Economic decisions matter. Inflation, exchange rates, fuel and other costs affect what people pay for goods and services. These things are not imaginary and individual sellers are not responsible for all of them.
But sometimes we talk as if every single problem in Nigeria begins and ends with the person sitting in Aso Rock.
A seller increases the price of something and we complain.
Someone hoards a product because they know people will need it and we complain.
Someone sees an opportunity to make unreasonable profit and takes it.
Then another person does the same thing.
And another.
At some point, we have to admit that society is also made up of the ordinary choices of ordinary people. The change we keep demanding from everyone else has to become visible in our own lives first.
It starts with the person who decides not to cheat even when nobody would know.
It is the person who stops littering because there is no cleaner standing around.
It is the person who decides to keep their word.
It is refusing to take advantage of someone simply because you can.
It is choosing to do the right thing even when doing the wrong thing would be easier.
And honestly, at first, it might feel completely useless. You might think, “What difference will my one action make?”
Probably not much. At least not immediately.
But people are watching. Someone notices that you always return what isn't yours.
Another person notices that you don't join every dishonest deal.
Someone else notices how you treat people when you have power over them, how you behave when nobody is forcing you to behave well.
And sometimes, without even realising it, they begin to copy you. Then someone else copies them. And another person sees that.
That is how change spreads.
Not always through big speeches or hashtags.
Not always through waiting for one powerful person to fix everything.
Sometimes, change spreads quietly.
One person at a time.
So perhaps instead of constantly asking, “When will they change?” we should sometimes ask, “When will I start?”
Because the kind of world we keep asking for cannot be built entirely by other people.
If we want honesty, we have to practise honesty.
If we want accountability, we have to accept accountability.
If we want kindness, we have to become kinder.
If we want a better society, then perhaps we should stop waiting for the perfect people to arrive and start becoming the kind of people we keep saying we want to see.
Yes we won't fix everything. Yes, our little efforts will sometimes feel insignificant.
People will still disappoint us, but at least, when we complain about the world, we won't be complaining from the position of someone who has done absolutely nothing.
We would have started somewhere.
And sometimes, that is how change begins.