The youths own the nation. What will they make of her?

I write this because of a very toxic streak that has developed among our youths. The Vice President of Nigeria recently invited some skit producers to come visit him (for whatever reason). Some went and were later treated as lepers by the rest. A few of them came back crawling and rolling on the floor for their friends, apologizing for going. Others spent much time explaining how they ended up with the vice president. When did visiting a VP of a country become such a grimy thing to do for a youth? And then when Governor Sanwo-Olu offered some ‘famous’ youths to walk with him, to turn a new leaf for Lagos, which was seriously destroyed in October 2020, some of them cursed him and others wrote back to say they could never walk with a ‘murderer’. A murderer how? Do our youths know that they are creating a dismal future for themselves?

The seriousness of the ‘youth revolution’ of October 2020 was not to be without consequence. Dozens died in the whole affair, and the nation lost trillions. If youths gather in their thousands, no one should expect that a few of them will not go crazy and engage the state in violence. Some policemen will also overreact especially when they see some of their colleagues mowed down in the most cold-blooded manner.  How such a massive event will be without casualty will be the world’s biggest miracle.  Nations are built on the sweat, tears and blood of people. But nations can choose to ruin themselves or rise from the ashes. I will not comment about whether the youths who have been mentioned – almost with trepidation – by the governor should go for the walk. That is their choice. But I will say here that the general negative, condescending, arrogant attitude is not the way to go. At what point will we achieve some rapprochement and forgive ourselves to move on? Do the youths of Nigeria – the woke ones especially – know that time is ticking away even for them? You sleep and wake up a few more days and adulthood is on you. If you don’t get very creative, very involved, very executive in your thoughts and actions, very responsible, perhaps the legacy of insulting those in government and those who are older than you will bite you even harder… when you are unable to even respond with as much energy as you have today.

And are our youths fallible? How many celebrities have recently deceived Nigerians into being defrauded by so many ponzi schemes? Do you know how many billions of Naira you have made people lose?  Did Nigerians kill them or waylay them by the streets because of that? Do they not usually get paid by those companies that duped people? How many unethical things are you pushing with your famous image? Betting, alcohols, gluttony of different types? Do they know how much addiction they have created, even from amongst their fellow youths who are less fortunate? Do they know how many lives and families they have ruined by hyping betting companies, and such like?  Can they now see that leadership is tough and it is so easy to sit and judge but far more difficult to take the right decisions and lead rightly? 

In the current saga resulting in the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr at Dowen College, Lekki, we have heard the deafening silence of these same woke people, celebrities and activists, because one of their pals – and probably #EndSAR supporter – is the Director of Students’ Affairs in that school which is owned by her father. That she failed those children in her duties no longer matter. But can we ignore the fact that how we perform in our smaller leadership roles today will be how we will perform if granted the whole nation to lead? At what point should parochialism and favouritism come in for people who purport to be objective critics of our leaders? And if you can waive responsibility for your friend, should you blame those who look away from their political friends’ wrong deeds too? Are we all not the same then?

I have a better idea of what our youths can do with your assets – the energy, relative and salvageable innocence, passion, tech savviness, network, numbers, finance, exposure to modernism – but that will have to come in another missive. The biggest issue now, perhaps, is that the youths are being led by anger. Whatever this country Nigeria – or whatever countries they decide to split her into – will become depends on the mindsets of our young ones. This current mindset which tears down, criticises on end, insults, de-platforms, cancels, seeks to ruin others, must be shelved for a more positive, futuristic, optimistic, responsible, valiant, forgiving, creative (especially in terms of tangibles), present-minded, sober, conciliatory one, especially in the interest of your own very future. It will be a process, not an event. 

Not all young people will wake up and attain all of these attributes at the same time. Just a few is what is needed at first, but the circle must keep expanding. Unproductive anger ruins from inside. Let that not be your portion. And in the journey to begin to take spiritual and executive control from these ‘wasted’ old people that you lampoon daily, there are no assurances. You just have to start, brick-by-brick, day-by-day. 

For now, Lagos must heal. Nigeria must heal. We have to contribute positively and work on a glorious, not a dismal vision for the future. Self-criticism is the best form of criticism. So, when the youth criticise, let them also turn the camera inwards for a selfie. No one is perfect, not even the youths. A better nation should be our ultimate goal.