concerned citizens of akwa ibom state of nigeria are organizing anti-kidnapping demonstrations to take place tomorrow, saturday, february 26, around the world. the marches are geared toward urging president goodluck jonathan and akwa ibom state governor godswill akpabio to take action against a host of politically-motivated kidnappings and assassinations that have plagued the state in recent years.

visit the link for more info on the campaign and a letter you can send to your congresspeople. keep in mind that the ideas and opinions expressed in the letter do not necessarily reflect my own (particularly those stating that ibibios have suffered the most; although i am ibibio, i think it's dangerous and divisive to bring up ethnicity at a time like this).

the campaign comes on the heels of liberation movements in tunisia/egypt/algeria/bahrain/jordan/libya. i didn't intend my first blog on the matter to involve nigerians jumping on the bandwagon, as they say, tho a friend of mine warned that something like this might happen. i honestly thought nigerians were far too apathetic for such a thing. and i'm still not sure what to make of it, since i've never seen a gathering of concerned nigerians do more than spout baseless political slogans. will have to wait and see what happens.

i support a movement toward greater accountability and good governance in akwa ibom and nigeria as a whole. i'm not sure that i would stake my life on it, but i can certainly spread the word. --AL.