A call to the Nigerian youth to national re-awakening

“In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve but what you negotiate” so goes the tittle of a book by Chester Karras. Negotiation involves a give and take relationship, whether in business or in the relationship between leaders and the led.  The legitimacy of every leadership must emanate from the existence of the led.

While the stark reality of the Nigerian youth may mean that it does not possess N27 million for the acquisition of presidential party ticket or even a lesser amount for local government councillorship, thereby being jettisoned out of the ship of national progress, all hope is not lost, we still possess a card that is a game changer- the capability to influence the direction of the wave and wind and as result the direction of the national ship.

The Nigerian youth accounts for almost 60 percent of the population, an enviable tool for negotiating our collective future, for the present generation and for our unborn children. A 60 percent share in the Nigerian entity is undeniably a controlling share, what we do with this is where the challenge lies and the crust of this piece.

The ripple effect of the Arab spring still resonates, even to the dark edges of Syria. While I do not advocate for the “Nigerian Harmattan”, the Nigerian youth must come to the realisation that there can be more to life than presently being offered to them.  A template in action is the refusal of the youths in Hong Kong to accept censored candidates for political position. In Nigeria, we see a similar trend of censored candidateship emerging through the so called “consensus party flag bearer”. This in my opinion is abhorrent to the spirit and ideology of national freedom and equal participation in our national enterprise.

As the 2015 elections draw closer, every youth of voting age must vehemently reject the imposition of individuals who emerge through unpopular channels. We may not have the money to rent crowd, but we have our voice in all its forms, be it vocal or through the social media. The impact of the increasing hi-tech gadget and internet penetration must be felt in our participation in matters of collective concern. The emergence of the social media has increasingly aided political participation by the youth in all corners of the globe youth, be it in Turkey, Hong Kong or Jacksonville.

The Nigerian youth must fight the spirit and character of complacency, get-rich-quick mentality, institutionalized stomach infrastructure and every form of unproductive social, political and economic ventures. One truth is undeniable, freedom is never obtained on a platter of gold and we must literally wrestle it from the hands of its custodians who measure it out in crumbs in exchange for political god-fatherism and patronage.

Without any iota of doubt, every Nigerian desires and deserves better education, a responsive and well equipped security system, access to finance to start small business, good electricity supply, a well-structured transportation system to minimise the lost man hour in traffic gridlock, access to market for rural agricultural produce as enabled by good access roads to the urban industrial centres, an accessible and affordable health system.

In personal as in national life, nothing worth its time can be obtained without resilience and resolute focus. We must fight the Hobbesian kind of existence thrust upon us by the actors in bad governance. Good governance, a clean environment and its like are results of deliberate and conscious effort of all stake holders. I recently got to know that bubble gum chewing is a criminal offence in Singapore, no wonder it is referred to as the golden city, nothing is left to chance, prayers or wishful thinking.

We must fight our fears and doubt, we must resist parents who may offer to pay for our examination malpractice, even if it means losing their “love” at the moment, Abraham Lincoln once wrote to his son’s teacher to instruct the child that it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat. We must question the bigotry of certain religious leaders who peddle the gospel of prosperity without labour, of wealth without thrift, of  good health without good medication, even as they leave the finer life  made possible by the sweat of the masses.

To the Nigerian youth, I say we must not relent; a good and happy life is possible, even here, even now.

NJOKU T. CHIDIEBERE