FUTURE LEADERS OR FUTURE GONERS: ANOTHER WASTED GENERATION?
I heard something on the radio lately of Soyinka's statement sometime ago.
He said, “after a quarter of a century of witnessing and occasionally participating in varied aspects of social struggle in all their shifting tempi, dimensions, pragmatic and sometimes even ideologically oriented goals, I feel at this moment that I can only describe my generation as the wasted generation, frustrated by forces which are readily recognisable, which can be understood and analysed but which nevertheless have succeeded in defying whatever weapons such ‘understanding’ has been able to muster towards their defeat.”
My grief is not far-fetched from Soyinka's. Nigeria is a country that has never risen beyond its potential. We have always been a country of GREAT POTENTIAL. But our leaders have never harnessed those potential for greatness. Nigeria’s post- independence leaders, the generation which Soyinka referred to as “wasted” failed the nation miserably. More than half a century after independence, our country is still grappling with basic infrastructure.
I was trying to keep this article to myself due to the current state of affair of the country. But then, I had this pushing spirit in me who was condemning me! Then the question came into my head, FUTURE LEADERS OR FUTURE GONERS?
When we discovered oil years ago, we were feeling fly and was frittered away by politicians who behaved like drunken sailors. It is an irony that despite the cry for power shift to the younger generation, the country has always looked back to the older generation for leadership. The last attempt at generational shift ended up in disaster.
When then is the future?
My heart weeps and bleeds in pain and agony when I listen to news and watch the role of our so called youths being an instrument of misfortune to our country!
Painfully I'll be forced to say this, I do not see a future for the country even if power is handed over to this youthful generation. Today’s youths seem contented to queue behind old generation politicians as cheerleaders. Rather than mobilise to form a movement, Nigerian youths are being used as enforcers of the old order. Around 2017 and 2018, I was seeing youths who were yearning for change and shift of power to the youths, but I see not to find them again. Where have they gone, have they used up the bullets in their rifles? Have their boiling water suddenly turned cold? Have their bees thar stinging some years ago finally lost its stings and had its stinger broken?
On social media, the educated ones have become internet trolls recruited to spread hate. It's the time of the year again where it's either ballot or bullet in my country and our so called future leaders have been playing a huge role in the toxic manner of political campaigns. This generation is also not immune to the corrupt tendencies of the older generation. Rather than raise a voice against corruption and impunity, they are contented to feed off the crumbs from the same politicians who have been imprecating this country since independence!
One feels saddened that this generation of Nigerians cannot rise above the fault lines that have divided the country. This generation has become part of a vicious cycle of violence brought about by the faulty frontlines. Today, our youths are used to cause death and destruction as ethnic warriors, hate peddlers, political thugs, economic vandaliser!
Ibrahim Babangida was once criticised for saying this generation was not ready for leadership. With the present state we are now, I can categorically say Babangida was absolutely right! I'm not a political enterprising individual, but when we have those that are and they are being turned into puppets and musketeers, it needs serious attention. When I went for service and came back some years ago, when I got into Lagos, I saw posters of political aspirants majorly youths, the euphoria was beyond mine own comprehensive attainment. But, today what do we have? The political revolution has only taken into more calamitous stirring for an unstable society. We are hoping for the best but expecting the worse!
My beloved country has become an enclave of anything goes. No wonder the youths have no role models and nothing to hope for. Really, where are the role models? Who do the youths of today look up to? If you say you have a role model in the political model of Nigeria today, you are worse than Sodom and Gomorrah! When a country is bereft of leaders and mentors, what future does that country have? It is easy for politicians to play the ethnic and religious cards than to appeal to our sense of patriotism. Unfortunately, our youths often fall to their gimmicks. Our educational system has also contributed to the failure to raise patriotic future leaders. Since inception, public education has suffered a gradual but steady decline. As a child, I have the shape of a triangle in my head, but our teachers said no, it has to the shape of a square. They reshaped the shape on our minds, and where has it landed us today? Yes I believe in fate, but many youths today have had their future shaped by the education society all in the name to make money. Many youths future has been decided by tertiary institutions. Universities hoarding admission, when you finally get one, you get to be given a different course which was never being in your sweet mind and believe you me, you will still pay as it will be tagged "CHANGE OF COURSE FEE". You want to drop it? Maybe you'll have to think again, at least if not for nothing but considering the number of years you've spent at home sseking admission. And when such child grows in line with that with no interest, what do you think the future holds for him? It holds emptiness, it holds disappointment, it holds a failed society!
Our youths have become not an instrument for change but of DISASTER! You can remove yourself from this deteriorating situation, but trust me, if you run away from it today, your generation will meet it in the future just as our past leaders ran from it yesterday and we are the ones facing it now!
Our youths are diligently obeying the clarion call of godfatherism. Obeying the clarion call of vandalism, obeying the clarion call of hooliganism, obeying the clarion call of nepotism, obeying the clarion call of tribalism, obeying the clarion call of ethnicism, obeying the clarion call of terrorism.
We are lost!
We fight for no reason, we kill ourselves.
If you sell your vote in this forthcoming election this year, you are a cursed generation and your generation will surely suffer from it!
Now the situation has become worse. Indeed, our country is in dire straits and we can only hope that our youths will learn from the failures of the older generation and get their asses right. The future is now. If you're a lazy youth it's fine, but if you're an accursed youth, then you're who we call WASTED GENERATION!
Let me leave you to this:
INEC officially released a report of the statistics of registered voters for the 2019 General election. The total number of registered voters are 84,004,084 so far. Let me give you the break down, By gender:
52.86% are male
47.14% are female.
By age:
Old (70+) 3.69%
Elderly (51-70) 15.22%
Middle Aged (36-50) 29.97%
Youths (18-35) 51.11%
Are you now pondering what I'm pondering? I will say no more!
I am so sorry for my outpour and outburst, the situation is hurting and hunting me about some of our youths who are doomed for life after watching some video clips with my brother few days ago! I sincerely apologise for taking your time. I never imagined it will be this lengthy.
SHARE THIS PLEASE, WE DON'T WANT TO BE ANOTHER WASTED GENERATION!!!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!!!
Adeshile Bright (c) 2019
He said, “after a quarter of a century of witnessing and occasionally participating in varied aspects of social struggle in all their shifting tempi, dimensions, pragmatic and sometimes even ideologically oriented goals, I feel at this moment that I can only describe my generation as the wasted generation, frustrated by forces which are readily recognisable, which can be understood and analysed but which nevertheless have succeeded in defying whatever weapons such ‘understanding’ has been able to muster towards their defeat.”
My grief is not far-fetched from Soyinka's. Nigeria is a country that has never risen beyond its potential. We have always been a country of GREAT POTENTIAL. But our leaders have never harnessed those potential for greatness. Nigeria’s post- independence leaders, the generation which Soyinka referred to as “wasted” failed the nation miserably. More than half a century after independence, our country is still grappling with basic infrastructure.
I was trying to keep this article to myself due to the current state of affair of the country. But then, I had this pushing spirit in me who was condemning me! Then the question came into my head, FUTURE LEADERS OR FUTURE GONERS?
When we discovered oil years ago, we were feeling fly and was frittered away by politicians who behaved like drunken sailors. It is an irony that despite the cry for power shift to the younger generation, the country has always looked back to the older generation for leadership. The last attempt at generational shift ended up in disaster.
When then is the future?
My heart weeps and bleeds in pain and agony when I listen to news and watch the role of our so called youths being an instrument of misfortune to our country!
Painfully I'll be forced to say this, I do not see a future for the country even if power is handed over to this youthful generation. Today’s youths seem contented to queue behind old generation politicians as cheerleaders. Rather than mobilise to form a movement, Nigerian youths are being used as enforcers of the old order. Around 2017 and 2018, I was seeing youths who were yearning for change and shift of power to the youths, but I see not to find them again. Where have they gone, have they used up the bullets in their rifles? Have their boiling water suddenly turned cold? Have their bees thar stinging some years ago finally lost its stings and had its stinger broken?
On social media, the educated ones have become internet trolls recruited to spread hate. It's the time of the year again where it's either ballot or bullet in my country and our so called future leaders have been playing a huge role in the toxic manner of political campaigns. This generation is also not immune to the corrupt tendencies of the older generation. Rather than raise a voice against corruption and impunity, they are contented to feed off the crumbs from the same politicians who have been imprecating this country since independence!
One feels saddened that this generation of Nigerians cannot rise above the fault lines that have divided the country. This generation has become part of a vicious cycle of violence brought about by the faulty frontlines. Today, our youths are used to cause death and destruction as ethnic warriors, hate peddlers, political thugs, economic vandaliser!
Ibrahim Babangida was once criticised for saying this generation was not ready for leadership. With the present state we are now, I can categorically say Babangida was absolutely right! I'm not a political enterprising individual, but when we have those that are and they are being turned into puppets and musketeers, it needs serious attention. When I went for service and came back some years ago, when I got into Lagos, I saw posters of political aspirants majorly youths, the euphoria was beyond mine own comprehensive attainment. But, today what do we have? The political revolution has only taken into more calamitous stirring for an unstable society. We are hoping for the best but expecting the worse!
My beloved country has become an enclave of anything goes. No wonder the youths have no role models and nothing to hope for. Really, where are the role models? Who do the youths of today look up to? If you say you have a role model in the political model of Nigeria today, you are worse than Sodom and Gomorrah! When a country is bereft of leaders and mentors, what future does that country have? It is easy for politicians to play the ethnic and religious cards than to appeal to our sense of patriotism. Unfortunately, our youths often fall to their gimmicks. Our educational system has also contributed to the failure to raise patriotic future leaders. Since inception, public education has suffered a gradual but steady decline. As a child, I have the shape of a triangle in my head, but our teachers said no, it has to the shape of a square. They reshaped the shape on our minds, and where has it landed us today? Yes I believe in fate, but many youths today have had their future shaped by the education society all in the name to make money. Many youths future has been decided by tertiary institutions. Universities hoarding admission, when you finally get one, you get to be given a different course which was never being in your sweet mind and believe you me, you will still pay as it will be tagged "CHANGE OF COURSE FEE". You want to drop it? Maybe you'll have to think again, at least if not for nothing but considering the number of years you've spent at home sseking admission. And when such child grows in line with that with no interest, what do you think the future holds for him? It holds emptiness, it holds disappointment, it holds a failed society!
Our youths have become not an instrument for change but of DISASTER! You can remove yourself from this deteriorating situation, but trust me, if you run away from it today, your generation will meet it in the future just as our past leaders ran from it yesterday and we are the ones facing it now!
Our youths are diligently obeying the clarion call of godfatherism. Obeying the clarion call of vandalism, obeying the clarion call of hooliganism, obeying the clarion call of nepotism, obeying the clarion call of tribalism, obeying the clarion call of ethnicism, obeying the clarion call of terrorism.
We are lost!
We fight for no reason, we kill ourselves.
If you sell your vote in this forthcoming election this year, you are a cursed generation and your generation will surely suffer from it!
Now the situation has become worse. Indeed, our country is in dire straits and we can only hope that our youths will learn from the failures of the older generation and get their asses right. The future is now. If you're a lazy youth it's fine, but if you're an accursed youth, then you're who we call WASTED GENERATION!
Let me leave you to this:
INEC officially released a report of the statistics of registered voters for the 2019 General election. The total number of registered voters are 84,004,084 so far. Let me give you the break down, By gender:
52.86% are male
47.14% are female.
By age:
Old (70+) 3.69%
Elderly (51-70) 15.22%
Middle Aged (36-50) 29.97%
Youths (18-35) 51.11%
Are you now pondering what I'm pondering? I will say no more!
I am so sorry for my outpour and outburst, the situation is hurting and hunting me about some of our youths who are doomed for life after watching some video clips with my brother few days ago! I sincerely apologise for taking your time. I never imagined it will be this lengthy.
SHARE THIS PLEASE, WE DON'T WANT TO BE ANOTHER WASTED GENERATION!!!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!!!
Adeshile Bright (c) 2019
Comments
God bless you sir.