NIGERIA, MILLENIALS AND 2019.

Arise O ye leaders of tomorrow, because tomorrow is here. I personally would prefer this piece to revolve around the failures of our leaders/elders, and by no means will I ever attempt to criticize or chastise my forebears, I am a cultured African.

Rising from the above premise however, I have decided to proceed with caution in expressing my grouse with our elders/rulers/leaders across the nation, I would talk about Africa entirely but I’d rather start this charity at home.

O ye proclaimed leaders of tomorrow the time is now, I cannot even waste the blue bleeding blood from my pen expressing my troubled mind here on the failures of the current administration, that will be tantamount to stating the obvious. Anyone who sits with me and asks what my problem with this very lackluster administration with a deceptive body language is, will be told the truth and I will explain why it has been so dark a period for Nigerians and yes it is in my opinion an even darker, and more-so a really telling excruciating period for Nigerians than it was while GEJ was our President. Ironically all of this darkness is as clear as daylight for us all to see even if we pretend otherwise. Nigeria needs redeeming and indeed the time for our state of affairs to negotiate its turn around back to the glorious days when we were the giants of Africa should no longer be scheduled for a tomorrow, let’s do it now, let’s start now, now.

Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon in an interview with Okey Bakassi postulated, and I borrow his terms here, that ‘we are a generation engrossed in Instagramming, Facebooking, Whatsapping and Isuewulising’. Even the most revered Prof PLO Lumumba asserted in an interview that ‘we are a generation whose thought processes revolves around an obsession with Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and the likes’. This sort of scathing attack on my generation cannot go without a rejoinder, because I feel that whatever is wrong with the African youth today is factly a result of the ways our elders have gone about governance and the examples they set. They have done us no favor, most of them went to school for free in the early ages of Nigeria after independence yet they have succeeded in mismanaging our schools, rendering us without the requisite amour of proper education with which to proceed and better our lives. They have succeeded in ailing the economy with the most potent stage of cancer, opportunities aren’t available to hone our talents and skills, we live perpetually depressed and dejected, we pit our wits with greed rather than healthy competition for a better tomorrow, the situation is that the environment due to the vicious manner of leadership leaves us also with no option but a life in a vicious continuum.

In the revolutions of the past in climes like the United States Of America whose narcissistic president now has the temerity to refer to African countries as a shithole and be right in my own very candid perspective (Which doesn’t mean it was an appropriate statement from the leader of the free world) yet it is true, at least for now. Martin Luther King was only 34 when he delivered the “I have a dream” speech in 1963, here in Nigeria the primary focus of this piece, Obafemi Awolowo was only 45 when he became premier of the western region in 1952! We have to take back our land from a recycled set of greedy rulers.

I do observe and will not be negligent in my postulations by refusing to talk about the current youths in positions of influence today. We have individuals in their vibrant prime in positions of leadership today, yet these men have shown no signs of any astute leadership qualities so it is wrong to simply assert that the panacea for this sympathetic and completely demoralizing situations lies solely on the younger ones coming out to actively participate, get their PVCs and vote, but in a democracy where majority wins. In my dear national abode – Nigeria, youths make up the bulk of the population. The “Not Too Young To Run” Bill shows there is light at the end of the tunnel, albeit it is still very dim, yet it must be taken advantage of to the utmost possible fullest.

The office of the citizen is within my own understanding the most important office in a democracy, we give the powers to those whom we trust that they may pilot our affairs in a just manner. When they do not do so, it is imperative to seize that power and vote out an incompetent leader, they must be paid in their own coin. Let us use our powers and move the nation forward, I urge every youth in Nigeria to take cognizance of this power and rise to exercise our franchise as citizens, to choose leaders that actually mean business as they’ve used their own power to exploit us for far too long. Action and reaction must be equal, hence no laxity, no self pity, we cannot let them kick us while we are down. Let us all get out there and equally throw them out… the thievery that ensues in the corridors of power is a merciless one, it is time the electorates mercilessly approach the elections as well and 2019 is an opportunity we cannot waste.

Moreso, I have been following the Oby Ezekwesili “RedcardtoAPCandPDP” movement, that is a laudable step in a journey that is indeed that of a thousand miles. I admire her tenacity and concern for Nigeria because the future, our future is what she is all about as she has already made a name for herself and doesn’t need any greek bearing gift. She indeed wants a better Nigeria and we need to ride with her on this journey. South Africa had Nelson Mandela, Burkina Faso had Thomas Sankara, Ghana had Kwame Nkrumah et al, we can also have Oby Ezekwesili.

In order that there might not be any misconception about how daunting a task I think this is, I concur that it will be difficult, requires dedication, tenacity and willpower… I draw inspiration from the latin maxim ‘Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex’ (the will of the people is the supreme law), therefore it is doable.

I consider it apposite to also air my views as a citizen on the practical divorce between Nigerians amongst those who voted GEJ in 2015 and those who were strongly behind PMB. I also at least within my powers, even if only within my nuclear family canvassed for PMB and so I comprehend the friction as I was also greatly disappointed. PMB has just in simple terms fallen far below expectations! The civil war in the polity between these 2 factions must be doused and we have to be united to understand the positives. The last election that brought in PMB has shown Nigerians that their votes can count.

Having said all of these, I personally believe the President is a dignified incorruptible politician, not that I know him personally but my instincts tell me so. However, Nigeria’s complexity and very unique democracy is far beyond his capabilities, the signs became ominous the moment he wasted 6 whole months before appointing ministers. If the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) didn’t provide for appointment of ministers, he might never have appointed any. He made himself minister of Petroleum and we all know how that has turned out, even God doesn’t rule the universe without angels perhaps in a bid to teach us humans that division of labour is integral to any sort of governance.

It is from the foregoing that I have drawn positive lessons and come to the conclusion that as strategic as politicians get, the polity, the masses and electorates like me and you need to also be strategic when exercising our franchise. Let us not be gullible any longer.

Special attention needs to be paid to our National assembly, in the 2015 elections everyone simply thumb printed the APC across board and allowed charlatans vicariously benefit from PMB’s reputation to win elections, it also helped errant politicians who simply defected to APC to win governorship elections in their states.

Therefore we should all disregard party affiliations across all levels of Government, cast our votes for candidates we believe in, completely turning a blind eye to what party he/she belongs to, let us hibernate partisan politics for competency, the joker card in politics when elections come around is especially the grass root, they are the ones kept hungry to be given bags of rice in exchange for votes on the election day, we should realize that this is akin to giving you something with the right hand and taking it back with the left. Some of us do not even know what constituency in our states we emanate from or who the senator representing us is. Let us pay more attention to the second arm of government, let no one be deceived by body language. A candidate that is not ready to go on a TV debate to explain his plans in detail to fix Nigeria or better the lives of his people if given the opportunity to represent them should not be paid any attention, a candidate that does not show that he possesses intellectual capacity to help rebuild Nigerian economy should be disregarded.

Out with the old, in with the new.

God bless the Federal Republic Of Nigeria!

Muhammed M.Belgore