2019: Between The Docile Youths And The Old Rugged Crooks

Iheoma Light Shedrack

During a discussion, a friend said something about Nigeria youths and their passiveness vis-à-vis true leadership.  That got me thinking.  He said the crop of Nigeria youths we have today can hardly make good leaders.  He summed it up “They can only make better and more sophisticated looters”.  I asked him why he holds that belief and his response was something like “Can’t you see it.  Can’t you see that the youths have been wired to act and behave as though they know nothing about morality, sound cohesion, sanctity of life, leadership or even those virtues that make great leaders”.  He summed up by asking “Who mentors these youths?” “The same old rugged crooks!”  He replied.

To a very large extent, I share this sentiment that Nigerian youths are like rolling balls in the hands of the older politicians.  They toss them at will, knowing too well that an average Nigerian youth is naïve, unready to learn, passive, ignorant, negatively creative, and above all lacks what it takes to lead in the truest sense of leadership.

This though may sound as if I’m not on the side of the youths or perhaps that I’m not an ambassador of “too young to run consciousness?” Forgive me..  Sometimes, it’s just too normal to drift from being too normal.  This is worsened by the fact that nothing looks normal today in Nigeria.  From the stories making round to what leadership has been turned to, it’s been more of a comedy than anything serious.

But as direct and as provocative as the topic is, the question is, can Nigeria youths make better leaders if given the opportunity to govern?  Can they sail this sinking vessel of nationhood to safe shores if today they’re saddled with responsibilities of creative leadership?  Let’s say for instance that come 2019,  Nigeria produces her first under-40 president like we have in countries like France, Canada and other farther skies,  can the youths match their young age with sound innovations and ideas that can promote social cohesion, heal the bleeding land, and take Nigeria to enviable better height?

My answer is capital NO.  My reasons are simply.  Who are Nigeria youths and who mentor them? Nigeria youths are bunch of whooping wailers who besiege Facebook and other social media platforms everyday to sing the praises of those who ride on their shoulders to wield powers which in turn spruce their pockets. {You can choose to exempt yourself from this definition.  It’s allowed}

If you want to know who Nigeria youths are, please sacrifice your time and join discussion on some popular social media groups on facebook, twitter and whatsup.  From these platforms, it is easy to know when an Ikechukwu {igbo} writes…. Perhaps fantasizing on his Biafra dream; or when Abdullahi {Hausa/Fulani} writes; obviously relishing his Northern supremacist mentality.  It is easy to identify who’s a Niger Deltan with his “Stay Clear of Niger-Delta Oil” warning.  He will tell you why Nigeria Hausa man should eat his cucumber and forget “Niger-Delta” oil or why his next door Igboman neighbor should not think of crossing the Niger Bridge Head to foist his ‘possessive’ mentality on their soil.

An average Nigeria youth doesn’t know what statecraft is.  He doesn’t know what sound leadership beyond self-enrichment is.  He doesn’t know what “being a great leader without being a celebrity’ is.  He’s religious, myopic, sectional, unenlightened, aggressive, intolerant, violent without any idea of cohesion.  He can be swayed with just the scent of a boiling porridge.  He cannot decipher issues unbiased without considering religious or regional affiliation.   He’s not creative beyond destructive and frivolous creativity.  They quantify wealth as only material possession.  They celebrate ignorance and relish frivolity.  There’s no attempt at thinking out of the box.  They follow a trend without attempt at evolving new ways and strategies towards solving problems.

To ascertain the unpreparedness of the youths, you’d discover that youths spend the large part of their creative time almost on daily basis promoting the vices of hatred, division along ethnic and religious lines.  For others, their average day is spent watching TV programmes that celebrate fake life as much as they celebrate fake news.

Do you wonder why Nigerians spent a whooping over N3.trn on calls and data in 2017?  This is because these telecommunication companies know the vulnerability of an average Nigerian Youths.  They know that a university undergraduate would prefer to load a N3,000 data to buying a book of N1,500.  They know that an average Nigerian youth would spend more time surfing frivolous issues than they spend on creative adventures.  They know that an average Nigerian youth will spend more time and resources surfing around ‘hate-filled’ gossips than he spends in his study.  They know that an average Nigerian youth would prefer to spend his creative time to discussing ‘sex doll’ than he spends thinking of how to create idea that would better his lot.

So when next you feel it’s the time of youths to take over, ask yourself how prepared and ready you are to leave your footprints in the sands of time.

Iheoma Light Shedrack writes from Abuja and could be reached via lightsheddie26@gmail.com