THE DILEMMA OF NIGERIAN YOUTHS
By Kamoru Sodiq
It is no news in Nigeria the brutal fact that our army of
youths are groaning and moaning. They are stubbornly lamenting like the
biblical Jeremiah with no end in sight. In fact, whooping number of them
occupied - floor members of the federal republic - called 'wailing
wailers.' The reason is not farfetched. They are simply unemployed and
unproductive to themselves let alone their community.
I have lamented so much about anything and everything
around us and it seems there is no hope in time. The problem I want to
share today is interestingly unique. It is not the common tale I usually
present. This subject matter affects all at different stages of
progression and developments. I have reasoned at supersonic speed and I
concluded that I should register my mental dissatisfaction to know if
there is similar perception out there. Actually, I want this piece to
serve as a springboard with the aim of developing a workable rolling
plan for our disillusioned youths.
Nigeria is our dear beloved country. It is sometimes called
a land of possibilities by some thinkers. This is a country where our
governments at various tiers are managing nothing but they are eating
everything including our future. Nothing thrives here except the
business of corruption and connection. Politics is the surest road to
instant success. Religion is the secret code to divide and rule.
Everything in our planet is supernatural. Nothing is man made here.
An average Nigerian does not believe anything could happen
based on cause and effect formula. Lucifer must be blamed for all the
errors of commission and omission. We attributed wrong influence to
unseen power which is not the case. Truth is, those forced exist but we
have our separate paths to follow. This is why when great countries of
the world got independence, they all went to work while Nigeria went to
pray and fast. Instead for us to invest in infrastructure, research and
human capital developments, we continue spending blind on churches,
mosques and BBnaija. At a time the world is celebrating the Obama magic,
Nigerians are chanting Sai Baba. What a deluded people!
Our country got independence from the colonial masters in
the year of our lord 1969. The joy in the land knew no bounds and the
world congratulated us endlessly. This freedom is a rarefied eldorado.
It travels with so much aspirations and expectations. Here lies the
mystery. No one could guess that the feat marks the beginning of another
Israelite journey. As it is today, our life does not better than under
the colonialist. There is no clear direction in our national life.
Everything looks like a bad dream, a nightmare in reality. It is a
common adage that if you want to know the real identity of someone, just
give him power. Our leaders have failed the test of trust and power.
They have betrayed their soul and abused their destiny.
The only success story they were able to tell is
corruption. The dividend of democracy they could hand over to the masses
is poverty and hopelessness. Not too ago, someone wrote that "if you
weren't in Minna yesterday for Ibraheem Badamosi Babangida's daughter's
wedding, you are just a tenant in Nigeria. The landlords gathered to
wine and dine. Private jets were flown into the city as the Abuja Minna
road isn't motorable." Shame!
There is no way you will not have your story to tell if you
come from the less privilege class. The reason is simple; negotiations
and appointments are made based on class and status. Many have told
sordid tales about our unacceptable life. It appears the trend is fast
becoming natural without slightest form of paradigm shift. Our parent
suffered, we are suffering and our children will soon join us. Do we
ever take time to ponder over this generational failure? Who will pay
the price for others to walk free? How can we turn this dangerous slide
around?
As a young growing Nigeran youth, the greatest challenge I
have faced in my life is hopelessness. I have been dazed and dazzled
many times to take hard decisions. There is restrictions and
frustrations everywhere. If you turn to left, they will tell you you
cannot blow. If you turn to right, they will tell you you are not fit.
This is the horrible reality we are grabbling with. I have refused to
see despair out of faith not by conviction. As youths, we don't know
where we are going, we only know where we are. Everyone is carrying
his/her dreams around without any definite means of accomplishing them.
The level of uncertainty within the youths could be cut with a blade. It
is the reason some guys are proposing 'mass burial' for all our leader.
If you want to get real about our youths, don't look at
their borrowed jeans and shirts. Ask them one simple question; what do
they really want? And you will understand this topic better. It doesn't
stop there. Go to our campuses in the country, conduct a research among
only the final year students and ask them few questions like; "what do
you want to pursue after graduation?" "Where do you see yourself in ten
year's time?" You will get as many incoherent and funny responses as
possible. We shouldn't write them off. The system that produces them is
just a scam. They deserve our understanding and sympathy. This is what I
called the dilemma of Nigerian youths.
One certain thing I know is that, if a referendum should be
conducted in Nigeria today and our youths are offered to reside in
Nigeria or live abroad? I don't think anybody will settle down to toil
in Nigeria! This is the highpoint of their aversion and revulsion for
their fatherland. It is the reason we have lost and donated our super
talents to foreign lands. Many are still running today in all crazy
manners to taste honeycake abroad. They would rather prefer to take a
menial jobs abroad than a blue cheap appointment at home. This is acute
frustration and dilemma.
And this situation is not exception. It is the rule. The
story of Anthony Joshua from Ogun state; the current heavyweight
champion in the world. Kelani Aliyu from Sokoto state; the designer of
the famous car; the volks, and numerous others are people's delight any
day. Something needs to give. Life shouldn't be as harsh as it in our
dear country. We need serious interventions to get out of this eternal
doldrums. It is time to wrestle power from the aged and the past. It is
time we decide for ourselves what we want. Nobody does it better and
faster than the youths!
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