Nigeria @ 50- Day 6: Nigerian Youth a Goldmine!

Day 5 Sirius http://www.alittlelightisallweneed.blogspot.com/


I loved these songs when I was growing up:
'I love my country I no go lie,
na inside am I go live and die!

and

'Me I like my country,
I like the land and people,
everything e dey for Nigeria,
make we join hands to make Nigeria better'.

The jingles from the radio and TV stations belted out the danceable tunes daily and as little children I remembered our excitement as my twin and cousins would stand in front of the tv singing along innocently to lyrics that tried to cover the already deepening crevices in the prosperity of our nation. My memory of those years may be like that of an adult who represses those memories too painful to remember or that of a naive child but I remember my childhood as one with a lot of hope for my country. Everyone around me was enthusiastic about the future of the country, how could I think otherwise. The future looked bright and it was!

Then came SAP and its entourage and the story gradually changed. Common household goods disappeared from tables ( a loaf of bread no longer cost 10 kobo), fuel shortages became common place occurrences in a country that literally swam in oil, the military was in charge! The problems had begun long before the military appeared but the cracks could no longer be hidden. Conversations about the ruling powers were in hushed tones, the fear of the SSS (Secret Security Services) became the beginning of wisdom. Dele Giwa, plotters of coups and counter coups were killed, routinely bagged in and harassed. People left the country in droves and even 'Andrews - I am checking out' advert did little to halt the mass exodus of Nigerians from Nigeria. The basic infrastructure were not built as rapidly as the population expanded- Education, Health, Water and Sanitation suffered.

It may be simplistic of me to link the beginnings of our troubles to the military, the problems of our nation started long before then. But one thing that led to the downward spiral of our nation was the loss of hope of the people in the future of the country. A loss of our identity as one nation made us sink into the very depths of hopelessness. Nigeria bashing became our favorite past time. No longer was the love and hope for our nation kindled in the hearts of the young, the fires their fathers carried in their bosoms had long been extinguished by the waters of hopelessness. The young were no longer told to look forward to a bright future, they were told instead to flee the shores of their country so their gifts and talents would not be wasted.

The story of Nigeria down the years is not all barreness, bleakness and doom. Bright lights have been lit at pertinent times in our history. The emergence of a democratic government after a series of military regimes was a bright beacon that tore a hole through the veil that kept us in darkness. Credible elections and leaders who truly have the passion of the people will get rid of the veil once and for all.

Our people have shone brightly in more enabling environments and have been given a chance to reach their full potential. Nigerians are in every country on the face of the earth, shining like stars in other skies even when the sky over their land is in darkness. The first key finding in the next generation Nigeria report(a report compiled by the Next Generation Nigeria task force convened by the British Council) is that the key to Nigerias transformation lies in its youth. 'Youth will be the country's most valuable resource in the twenty first century'1.

Youth who need to realize that the mistakes of the older generations have guaranteed a non-existent future for our progeny unless we tread a completely different path. We need to realize that the future is in our hands. That we can turn around this country not by sitting down, wishfully thinking and praying that change will come but by getting our hands dirty. Who will make the difference? We can and we will! We can start by making sure we are active participants in the electoral process. We will not leave the electoral posts for half baked illiterates who care nothing about making a difference. Men whose god is their belly, who would rather build a mansion in their local government that has no good roads, and whose children die from vaccine preventable diseases because they have diverted the money for immunization programmes into their pockets that are bottomless pits. We can stand for the truth in all we do.

The future is ours to make or break. We have a choice. We can decide to use our momentum to make sure that 50 years from now our children will have a country they can be proud of or we can sit back and allow those who have no hope bury our country under an avalanche of greed and corruption. Nigeria is 50 this year, will it exist when it is a 100years old? Will the jingles ring out with tales of a land transformed or will they tell a tale of what could have been? You decide, I already have!

Reference
1. http://www.britishcouncil.org/next_generation_nigeria_report.pdf

Day 7 Naijabloke http://www.naijabloke.blogspot.com/