An opinion on young Nigerians and their role in the modern and future development of the country by Godbless Sotu, a freelance writer, social crusader and the pioneer of TAMED (Think A Minute EveryDay) MINDSET.
I kept wondering and pondering, so as not to get to a point of conjecture as regards the reason why a large portion of the Nigerian youth, educated and uneducated alike are turning a blind eye towards how the country we call our own is being run at the moment. It shows we are now like a people without direction, a people dancing skelewu on an aircraft with the pilot as the DJ while the plane remains auto-piloted.
We focus more on entertainment programmes like "Kim Kardasian Shows, Big Brother Africa and the African Magic World etc. As we now think that the leadership of nations (politics) is evil but whereas its the very determinant of how our society turns out to be through the decisions those in power make and take. It has led us to being striped off our rights, made us slaves at home and beggars of our own properties.
I saw in the news today of how the Kano state government just concluded with a mass wedding of more than 1000 couples; bravo the people of Kano must have applauded their governor who started the programme since 2011 but I vehemently put forward that if not for the decadence in our National and grassroots leadership there wouldn't be such public hokum in the guise of serving the people. What more can we say is an evidence of the failure of governance when our youth can't do a simple thing as paying bride price just because they don't have good jobs. "what a shame".
We are in this quandary not because the land is cursed nor is it because we are from a land of black-skinned people but because we've failed on our own part as a youthful giant to recognize the strength we possess. Adimba Toivo ya Toivo the founder and Secretary General of South West African People's Organization who spent 19 years with Nelson Mandela in prison told a strong mentor of mine that “you must fight your war and not have another person fighting your war for you”, during his visit to Argentina in 1985 when he asked him (Adimba) why he rejected Nigerian and the Joint African Army to free Namibia.
Obama said on the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) and I quote, "Africa's future belongs to his young people...we need young Africans who are making things happen not only in their own countries but around the world", so if it takes a US president to recognise our potentials before we do, then something must be wrong because only a people with a sense of duty to their fatherland can truly decide on what they want and until we start the decision making, we won't go anywhere from where we are now. We as young people must stand up and take our future into our hands instead of leaving it in the hands of people who cannot even run their family.
We've being cowed, colonized via the usual way of giving us peanuts whenever an election is around the corner. Oh I weep for my fellow Nigerian youth, we trade our future away for what won't last more than a day and in the end we stand to cry foul, with no one to answer simply because we traded our honour for honey. I remember the famous line of Patrick Henry at the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775 at a time when Americans thought it wise to free themselves from colonial rule, his words; "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!". This was the cry of a man who wouldn't live a life lesser than the one he is capable of living as against what our Nigerian youth settle for; a life of slavery and poverty, a system of pay me, fill my stomach and chain me if you like.
Nothing will change until we reform our psyche. Nothing will change until our mind is tamed. Nothing will change until we reject the status quo currently in place, nothing will change till every Nigerian youth see himself as the architect of the dream Nigeria; a Nigeria where Ankara would become wedding gown, where foreigners will line up for days to get a Nigerian visa, a Nigeria where darkness becomes a fairy tale, a Nigeria where we can speak the language of green and white as opposed to ethnicity. It falls on our shoulders to take the bull by the horns, wielding the might of the social media, wielding the strength of our population as youth and redefining how we want to be governed by getting actively involved and making the needed change that we crave.
A time will come when our children shall ask us about what we did when we were at our youthful age to prevent the further collapse of our dear nation and it will be up to us to tell them the truth as to what we did now, after we saw this writeup, after we saw the molestation of the Edo state widow, after we saw gross electoral malpractices in various polls, after we saw hunger, unemployment and the rapid ebbing away of human rights and social justice.
Right from childhood, we've been told that we are leaders of tomorrow but that isn't true, the mindset of being leaders of tomorrow is the reason why people like Buhari, Tinubu, Banbangida are still thinking of leading Nigeria to the promise land. It is this same reason that made Obansanjo to attempt a third term and also the same reason why Senator Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo still feels like governing Oyo state despite his age. This leaves me with a conclusion thus; the leadership of the youth is now else the resultant effect won't be farfetched; an eventual collapse of this Nation.
I know a few Nigerian youths who are taking this initiative as a duty, though I won't mention names but to those who share my ideas and put them into good workings in their daily activities; my praise and commendation goes to them but yet, there is still a lot of us who need to conquer territories dominated by ignorance and spread the light of freedom.
How do you feel about the opinion of the author? Do you share his point of view?
I kept wondering and pondering, so as not to get to a point of conjecture as regards the reason why a large portion of the Nigerian youth, educated and uneducated alike are turning a blind eye towards how the country we call our own is being run at the moment. It shows we are now like a people without direction, a people dancing skelewu on an aircraft with the pilot as the DJ while the plane remains auto-piloted.
We focus more on entertainment programmes like "Kim Kardasian Shows, Big Brother Africa and the African Magic World etc. As we now think that the leadership of nations (politics) is evil but whereas its the very determinant of how our society turns out to be through the decisions those in power make and take. It has led us to being striped off our rights, made us slaves at home and beggars of our own properties.
I saw in the news today of how the Kano state government just concluded with a mass wedding of more than 1000 couples; bravo the people of Kano must have applauded their governor who started the programme since 2011 but I vehemently put forward that if not for the decadence in our National and grassroots leadership there wouldn't be such public hokum in the guise of serving the people. What more can we say is an evidence of the failure of governance when our youth can't do a simple thing as paying bride price just because they don't have good jobs. "what a shame".
We are in this quandary not because the land is cursed nor is it because we are from a land of black-skinned people but because we've failed on our own part as a youthful giant to recognize the strength we possess. Adimba Toivo ya Toivo the founder and Secretary General of South West African People's Organization who spent 19 years with Nelson Mandela in prison told a strong mentor of mine that “you must fight your war and not have another person fighting your war for you”, during his visit to Argentina in 1985 when he asked him (Adimba) why he rejected Nigerian and the Joint African Army to free Namibia.
Obama said on the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) and I quote, "Africa's future belongs to his young people...we need young Africans who are making things happen not only in their own countries but around the world", so if it takes a US president to recognise our potentials before we do, then something must be wrong because only a people with a sense of duty to their fatherland can truly decide on what they want and until we start the decision making, we won't go anywhere from where we are now. We as young people must stand up and take our future into our hands instead of leaving it in the hands of people who cannot even run their family.
We've being cowed, colonized via the usual way of giving us peanuts whenever an election is around the corner. Oh I weep for my fellow Nigerian youth, we trade our future away for what won't last more than a day and in the end we stand to cry foul, with no one to answer simply because we traded our honour for honey. I remember the famous line of Patrick Henry at the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775 at a time when Americans thought it wise to free themselves from colonial rule, his words; "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!". This was the cry of a man who wouldn't live a life lesser than the one he is capable of living as against what our Nigerian youth settle for; a life of slavery and poverty, a system of pay me, fill my stomach and chain me if you like.
Nothing will change until we reform our psyche. Nothing will change until our mind is tamed. Nothing will change until we reject the status quo currently in place, nothing will change till every Nigerian youth see himself as the architect of the dream Nigeria; a Nigeria where Ankara would become wedding gown, where foreigners will line up for days to get a Nigerian visa, a Nigeria where darkness becomes a fairy tale, a Nigeria where we can speak the language of green and white as opposed to ethnicity. It falls on our shoulders to take the bull by the horns, wielding the might of the social media, wielding the strength of our population as youth and redefining how we want to be governed by getting actively involved and making the needed change that we crave.
A time will come when our children shall ask us about what we did when we were at our youthful age to prevent the further collapse of our dear nation and it will be up to us to tell them the truth as to what we did now, after we saw this writeup, after we saw the molestation of the Edo state widow, after we saw gross electoral malpractices in various polls, after we saw hunger, unemployment and the rapid ebbing away of human rights and social justice.
Right from childhood, we've been told that we are leaders of tomorrow but that isn't true, the mindset of being leaders of tomorrow is the reason why people like Buhari, Tinubu, Banbangida are still thinking of leading Nigeria to the promise land. It is this same reason that made Obansanjo to attempt a third term and also the same reason why Senator Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo still feels like governing Oyo state despite his age. This leaves me with a conclusion thus; the leadership of the youth is now else the resultant effect won't be farfetched; an eventual collapse of this Nation.
I know a few Nigerian youths who are taking this initiative as a duty, though I won't mention names but to those who share my ideas and put them into good workings in their daily activities; my praise and commendation goes to them but yet, there is still a lot of us who need to conquer territories dominated by ignorance and spread the light of freedom.
How do you feel about the opinion of the author? Do you share his point of view?
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