The Yorubas have a saying, Agbalagba kin wa loja ki ori omo tuntun wo (I do not know if I got my spelling right; my apologies if not), meaning An elder cannot be in the marketplace and watch the head of the child go down.
This has not been our lot in this country. Not only have our elders and leaders allowed the head of the child to go down, they have also trampled on that head. They have refused to fund education. They send their children abroad. They refuse to make our roads motorable while flying with private jets. They make sure death catches up with us in our prime. It is usually the child who buries the elder, but they have turned it the other way round. As a result of this negligence, our society is now plagued with hunger, poverty, unemployment, prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, not to mention the dreaded Boko Haram and now agitations here and there.
As if our woes are not enough, some Nigerian youths decide to sell their blue ribbon just because they have been offered messengerial soup dumplings. Youths must learn to show dignity of character and purpose. We must tell our leaders what we expect from them, instead of carrying placards and singing praises with the hope of getting 30 pieces of silver, instead of selling our conscience. At the end of the day, we benefit nothing from our foolishness.
We must begin to take ourselves seriously if ever we want our elders or leaders to respect us. There is nothing stopping a youth from becoming Nigeria's Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. After all, we, Nigerian youths know and follow sports better than our older folks. Heaven will not fall if a youth is made Minister of Education. We understand education in this country because we went to schools here, so we know the challenges the sector faces.
But will the government be reasonable with us? No.
They still prefer to have someone who went to Harvard, or a politician who, instead of improving the sector, ends up fighting clan battle with the governor of his state. Even the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology needs a youth to head it. We are the masters of the jet age, aren't we? The Information Ministry should also be within the purview of Nigerian youths. Our leaders and elders cannot place a heavy premium on years of experience while we search for jobs, when they do not make any conscious effort to make us gather that experience. This is hypocrisy.
Unfortunately, no Nigerian political party makes any serious efforts to grant Nigerian youths any prominence. You see our youths joining the bandwagon and address themselves with political slogans.
A few examples: TAN, Buharists, Ebelites, Atikukites, etc.
We can't negotiate our future from the position of weakness, but from that of strength and intensity of purpose. We must realize quickly that this country belongs to all of us, not just to a selected few who keep knocking on our doors season after season. Anyone can aspire and become whatever he or she wants to be in this country. If Patience Jonathan can become a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, I see no reason why bachelor and master degree holders should be roaming the streets looking for jobs. This is insanity.
In a country like this let the youthfulness in us take us the next level.
"God bless our country!"
Written by DANFICO
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