I did not have the opportunity to attend the Enough is Enough rally in Abuja. But I was with there in the spirit. And through Facebook. And twitter. I gathered that a certain police chief, Assistant Commissioner Godwin C. Nwobodo, said to the hundreds of young people at the rally –which included the not so young but young at heart personalities like Charly Boy Oputa and Dele Momodu – that they would not be reckoned with until an ‘adult’ was available among them.
Well, Mr. Nwobodo himself was no where to be found when the barricade of the gun-totting zombie (a la Fela) mobile policemen was broken through, his words echoes the mindset of the political class; which incidentally is made up of considerably older citizens.35 million Nigerians are under the age of 35.Does that mean that the voice of 35 million people – about the population of Ghana, Togo and Benin, combined – does not count? No. Does that mean that the voice of 35 million people is not heard? Yes! Because we have been quiet. For far too long.
The political class is largely composed of Wrinklies. While we do not begrudge them their calendar years, their old age, which is supposedly and physically geriatric senile professional embezzlers. They say we are not mature, we are not responsible and we do not have a say. to reflect wisdom, uprightness, has been eroded by sheer incompetence, irresponsibility, bad leadership and their general ‘I-don’t-care-attitude’. They have less than 30 years to live. The best of them have barely 20 years to be active. Yet they control our lives. Worse still, they control our destiny. Wrecking the infrastructures that are supposed to guarantee our future. Meanwhile, what future are we talking about? At the rate at which we are steadily declining, this house will completely disintegrate. It has been said that Nigeria might cease to be a country in 15 years. These ‘adults’ are on that route. If in a nation that has more than 90% of its citizens living below poverty level, and a supposed ‘elder’ flaunts the fact that he has $500 million and doesn’t know what to do with it, then we are indeed doomed. The present is bleak now – no light, no schools, no roads, no security, no hospitals. If this continues, then the future is very non-existent.
Brothers and sisters, silence is complicity; consent at least. We cannot fold our arms and just look. We cannot just rant in our one little corners and cliques. Stand up and matter. Our strength is in our intellect, and in our multitude. The Enough is Enough rally gave them some bellyaches. I hear the Sergeant-at-arms was begging and the Chairman Committee on Youth was not paid attention to. That, my friends, is just the beginning. We will no longer be quiet, and come election year, we will use our votes.
Each of us 35 million young, has the sacred duty to put our vote to work. The truth is, they are scared of us. If we do nothing, it is to our own disadvantage and misfortune. Do not say,’ There’s no need to vote because it will be rigged anyway’. Yes, we know politicians lie and steal, but that is, in the conducive environment that we have unwittingly provided them with. But if we vote and monitor our votes, they cannot cheat us. Be careful not to join the bandwagon of fashionable cynicism. The fact is, older people are more than three times likely to vote that us young people- regardless of all the fears of rigging. So ask yourself, if you were a politician, would you look after the 20% that you never hear from, or the 60% who go out and vote, write to you, visit, organize lobbies and rallies to influence you? Odds favour the latter. Silent minorities rarely prevail. You have a voice. Raise it and use it. Become a vital part of the political action. Become active in a political party. If you do not believe in any of the existing ones, join a movement that can make a difference. (Come to think about it, can’t the Future Project mobilize and start a political movement? Think about it…). Get involved. You only need an S.S.C.E certificate to contest as councilor. Join organizations that promote equality for younger voters. Contact your political representatives. They will succumb to persistent pressure, no matter how hardened or unprincipled they are. Shebi the National Assembly succumbed to national pressure to approve of Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President in the absence of our non-resident/missing president…
In short, build a lobby for your future. Educate yourself, and educate your parents about the world we have inherited- and work together to build a society where life will have meaning. We need the basic amenities of civilization. That isn’t asking for too much. We need education. In the fast evolving world we live in today, we are getting left behind. The number of people who do not know the simplest facts of the world is disheartening. How many Nigerian youths have seen an iPod before? America will not come over here and help us. As a matter of fact, they might stop us from visiting all together. Terrible as it might sound, we have no other country that is ours. The future is ours, we are the future, and the future is NOW.
Olajide Taiwo.
iVote.
