It’s been said that it takes a drug to cure a disease, it takes failure to appreciate success, and as shown recently, it takes an ailing president, overambitious first lady and a helplessly weak vice president to invoke the anger of Nigerian youths.
Human beings all over the world are similar in needs and challenges. Things go smoothly when these needs are met, and the challenges are well contended with. Times immemorial, the history of nations of the world had been written with the tears of the oppressed who couldn’t take unwarranted challenges any longer, having being pushed to the wall and had resolved to put in all it takes to seek and get revolution. In Nigeria, it’s a thing of joy that 50 years post- independence, we’ve finally agreed on one very vital fundamental issue- enough of this rubbish!
We’ve sat arms akimbo for so long watching our collective destinies toyed with by an insignificant few who had held an entire nation ransom. However, our collective silence didn’t connote weakness but timed patience. As followers, we’ve waited for the leaders to retrace their steps back to sanity, yet the insane lane had been their consistent choice. This must stop!
For how long will we continue to live as disenfranchised citizens of our fatherland without any right? How long will it take for those in government to be aware of the impact of their unimaginable weaknesses? And what will it take to have sense restored to the ‘cultists’ in Aso rock who seem to be running another country with our national resources?
Nigeria’s challenges are not peculiar but clear cut hence they are not that difficult to decipher or fathom, yet those expected to lead us into the limelight are walking like ignorantly lost blind men in dire need of direction. Must we leave our fate in their hands? I don’t think so!
This is the time to voice out individual bedroom grievances, frustrations and dissatisfactions. It is an ample opportunity to lend our voices to the widely circulating perception that Nigerians are tired of deception. And who has more at stake than the youths of the nation?
Like a used tissue paper, Nigerian youths are constantly dissociated from the largesse of good governance. The palpable acrimonic selfishness in government coupled with the ills of political politricks in the national assembly had made issues like protracted academic punctuations the slogan of our tertiary institutions. Lack of gainful employment made internet fraud, kidnapping and prostitution new preferred job preferences, and the popular proverbial bright future is literarily not in sight in this part of the world.
Going down memory lane, it’s worthy to note that it took resolute UI students to kick out a minister of education, it was a Kenyan youth that was at the vanguard of the revolution that made the nation enviable, and it was the unflinching, unyielding and unrelenting youthful spirit in Nelson Mandela that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa. Hence for Nigeria to rise, the youths must arise!
If there is no youth attending the Abuja rally that had suffered from the executive and legislative ignorance, just remember Paul.
5 ASUU strikes, 4 NASUU strikes, 3 NLC strikes, 8 years for a 5 year course without failing, scary dreams and countless sleepless nights that still haunt till today. We must agree and resolve that generations to come must not experience these inhumanities.
We need to start asking for answers, demanding for actions and requesting for our rights. Posterity has given us another opportunity to rewrite history in our 50th year as a nation, failure is not an option.
To Toyosi Akerele, MI, Omotola and other youth leaders involved, do not be deceived by the welcoming smiles of the [mis]representatives or overtures from senators, let the tears of the powerless Nigerian youths fuel your anger and be the driving passion of today’s rally. Like Terry G will always say, I request that you Ginja your swagga in Abuja!
Let our united voice be heard around the world, let foreigners see our disapproval of the nation’s current famililocratic style of governance where a family holds an entire nation ransom. Let the world know that this is Nigeria, not Swaziland, or a family compound!
Lord Lugard might name Nigeria while getting a blow job, there is something that I’m cork sure of, it wasn’t a mistake. There is a purpose for the nation and come what may, it shall stand.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is a gift that is why it’s called present. Let’s start stepping out of our shells and take our destinies by force. This is what the Enough-is-Enough rally is all about- using today’s present to resolve tomorrow’s mystery by re-writing our history. Let’s go there!
