A CAUTIONARY TALE!!!
One question I’ve been asked a lot over the past couple of weeks has been this: “So what can we do?”
I want to believe it’s not for lack of ideas on what is required that some people ask this. Mostly it’s a resignation to the inevitable. That underlying belief that “this is beyond us.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
And I say this because I’m a student of history who likes to believe that the past always has a way of repeating itself.
Let me take you to Romania and the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which successfully toppled the corrupt dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu.
Ceaușescu’s oppressive rule had plunged the country into severe poverty while the elite lived in luxury. The uprising was marked by a sudden, powerful unification of the Romanian people and ended the country’s communist era.
But what led to this revolution in the first place? Why did the people eventually decide to put their skin in the game and break free from their captivity?
It all began in December 1989 in the western city of Timișoara. Protests broke out after the government attempted to forcibly remove a local evangelical pastor, László Tőkés, who had criticized the regime. Citizens united to defend him, and these demonstrations quickly swelled into massive, citywide anti-government protests. When security forces opened fire and killed dozens of civilians, public anger reached a tipping point.
Despite tight government censorship and control, news of the violence in Timișoara spread across the entire country. Within days, the movement unified a diverse cross-section of Romanian society. Workers, students, intellectuals, and eventually the military joined forces. Millions of everyday citizens abandoned their jobs and took to the streets to demand the removal of the regime.
So, did it work? Well, Ceaușescu initially thought he had it under control, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
On December 21, 1989, he organized a large public rally in Bucharest, intending to project an image of control and unity. Instead, the crowd turned on him, and the live broadcast captured the moment the dictator lost the support of the public. The following day, protesters occupied the Communist Party headquarters, forcing Ceaușescu and his wife to flee by helicopter. The military, which had defected to the side of the people, captured them shortly after.
On December 25, 1989, following a hasty trial, the Ceaușescus were convicted of crimes including genocide and corruption, and were executed by firing squad.
All this happened in less than 25 days.
While the Cold War environment shaped the geopolitical outcome, the boots on the ground belonged to everyday Romanian citizens risking their lives.
This is the story of Romania. But they were not alone.
Poland (1989). Decades of economic stagnation and strikes triggered the peaceful collapse of the regime just months before Romania’s uprising.
Czechoslovakia (1989). The movement known as the Velvet Revolution, led by Václav Havel and student groups, brought the government to its knees.
East Germany (1989). Huge weekly demonstrations (such as the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig) overwhelmed the state, leading directly to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
The Philippines (1986). Millions of citizens took to the streets, and a crucial defection by the military helped topple the corrupt, long-standing dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
All of these happened during the Cold War era, but the pattern holds.
A people pushed to the wall always fight back. Except of course for the exception in West Africa.
As a student of history, I like to think about things like this while asking the pertinent question: if freedom is not given, how do oppressed people become free?
The future is a blank canvas. Whatever you choose to write on it will depend on you.
@Wizarab10 Thank you sir @Wizarab10 for opening alot of our eyes. This is exactly what have been facing in my marriage of less than a year. Anyway I will be divorcing her soon
🚨📹 Bruno Fernandes saw the offside after watching the replay of Croatia's second goal and rushed straight to the fourth official.
Ronaldo quickly joined him.😂
❤️😁 Odion Ighalo asked his mother!
“Mom, you still have this your Man United kit?”
🗣️ She said: “Yes, I like it more than other kits, this is my club. United forever, coming up again”
What a legend 🇳🇬🫂