CHAINED NIGERIAN YOUTHS AND THEIR UNSEEN TOMORROW, By Aliu-Ahmad Olalekan Gold

 "CHAINED NIGERIAN YOUTHS AND THEIR UNSEEN TOMORROW"  By: Aliu-Ahmad Olalekan Gold 

The youths are helplessly chained and caged at the backyards of their old greedily-corrupt leaders, who, with their long beaks sucked dry - the unsecured coffers of our epileptic nation. Their today wallows in disgruntled shame and tireless troubles still linger in their unsafe yards. I thought yesterday had traditionally made them the unopposed leaders of today, why are they now rendering slaving services; rascally undermined and ignominiously ridiculed by those Unprincipled Pigs at the helms of affairs. Ceaseless rains of tears beamed my face, anytime I see a forlorn youth fighting an already lost battle; struck by an ailment that has no cure and punished for a sin that he knows not who committed it.

When we were so young, during the eventful days in the creche, there was a song we used to sing, "Parents listen to your children; we are THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW; try to pay our school fees; and give us sound education*. Our parents, subsequently strive to make us a bounty investment for ourselves. They toil and struggle to give us the sound education we yearned for. Now, we are in a tomorrow that supposed to make us its leaders. But today, we are politically confronted with series of set backs in our attempts to be the heroes. 

It is high-time the youthful ones rise up from the keg of gun powder where they are ignorantly sitting and began a pursuit that would scare away their cowardness and unflinchingly move to overthrow the undying old-hags as the best characters in the fascinating history of today. And in achieving this dreams, we must be ready to take the baton even if they're reluctantly refusing to surrender it. We must, henceforth be ready to take certain responsibilities as yet, uncrowned Kings. Going on vacations in Paris, possessing fleets of cars, having mammoth wealth sometimes depicts not, what we misreckoned as success.

We have outstandingly failed to logically design a proper plan that would help immortalise our lofty dreams. Personally or individually, we have bartered our treasure and our birthrights for a mess of porridge. During the electioneering period, they loitered with honeyed words, foodstuffs and unseen guns to murder our today. In return, we gave them votes that would not only and restrictedly fetch them unaccounted wealth and fame, but what accompanied the seemed-political strength we have given them, is the uninterrupted access to our today and unseen future.

As a result, the past owe us no apology. Of course, we ought to be the acclaimed leaders of today, but transient gains juxtaposed with unremarkable demonstrations of political disciplines, subsequently denied us the rights to our social, economic, religious, political and cultural freedoms. Recently, Professor Wole Soyinka posted an article on a social network, urging the youths to wake up from their worthless slumbers... That how long will they continue to be slaves to the actors of yesterday, when today rather, is not singing a melodic song to their ears.

It pains me, when I heard that Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was 37 years, Samuel Ladoke Akintola was 36, Sir Ahmadu Bello was 36, Tarawa Balewa was 34, Okotie-Eboh was 27, and Enahoro 27 when they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after the death of Herbert Macaulay. Only Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe was reported to be 42 at the time. So, what are we now saying?

Soyinka, in his speech says "In 1966, the first coup was led by: K. Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by M. Mohammed 28, T. Danjuma 28, Babangida 25, Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23, and Yaradua 23, and brought into power Gowon 32, Ojukwu 33, Obasanjo 29, and Buhari 24. Most of the military governors who governed the states under the successive military regimes were under 30 years. The brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw some Senators, and the House of Representatives, in particular, populated by members under 30. Under 30's were also not in short supply with.appointments - we have examples of M.T. Mbu who became foreign affairs minister at 23 and Pat Utomi who became a federal adviser at 27 and so on and so forth".

When they were at our age, they had acquired more properties, why is it that today we are still searching for jobs, and not yet married? And with drums and trumpets, we still celebrate their 70th and 80th birthday? 21st century which belongs to us can no longer be claimed as ours, because we have failed to claim it the best time we supposed to.
Olusegun Obasanjo was a Nigerian Head of State between 1976-1979, before he came back in 1999 as a civilian President. Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida made several attempts to rule us for the second time, but he consistently failed in all the bids. Muhammadu Buhari hijacked power from Shehu Shagari in 1983 and ruled as Head of State till 1985. After several failed attempts to become a civilian President, he was, out of no option later elected as an Executive President in 2015. Guess at what age?

The time is now to make it ours again. Abraham Lincoln says "I don't know who my grandfather was; I'm much more concerned to know what his grandson will be". I need to, however emphasize that in the context of the political tsunami, our failing youths are not essentially the culprits. Rather, they are victims of a system that has failed them, and to which the elite class has largely responded to by extracting their own children from the sinking ship. This, it would be better we rewrite the chapters of history today, so that the unborn generation will live with ease and in peace. We must have the courage to move away from our policy tradition and embrace the radical changes that the world imposes on us.

Aliu-Ahmad Olalekan Gold
University of Ilorin
Faculty of Arts
Department of History International Relations

ahmad4gold007@gmail.com
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