My Apology to the Youth Dear Friends, comrades, supporters and followers: From the depth of my heart, I sincerely apologize to all the youth in Yakurr nation wherever they are in the world, for the political misunderstanding that took place yesterday, triggered by a series of posts intended to awaken our thinking and also test the depth of our political understanding. I am deeply sorry and do apologize to all the youth. I am not a novice in politics. I am not seeking recognition either. I earned my reputation through passion, vision and service to humanity. I understand it’s too early to promote any candidate. I can only do that, if need be, after the primaries. My post was a deliberate attempt to awaken our consciousness. It was framed as an experiment intended to test how the youth in Yakurr-Abi think about politics in general, and about their leaders. It was interesting reading all the reactions - positive and negative. I wanted to know if we are paying attention. And am glad it fulfilled that purpose. However, I take full responsibility for any negative message it might have communicated. The result of my experiment reveals four things. First, there’s deep anger in the minds of the youth towards our leaders. Second, many young men sincerely believe in our political leaders however such men have been condemned by society. Third, every young man or woman in our political constituency wants a better life. They want change. But who will spark the change? This has been our greatest challenge. Finally, change has been difficult to achieve because of the fear in our hearts. At least my experiment has revealed that anger can generate the passion for change. I saw that in the various responses. But why are we bound in chains? Why is it difficult to break our chains? Why can’t we maximize our political power to make change happen in our constituency? The answer lies in three words: fear, hatred and greed. But love conquers these three factors. Love is hope. Love is forgiveness. I will explain these points. No society will ever liberate itself when its young generation is buried in fear – the fear of the unknown. We know what we want from our leaders, yet too afraid to use the ballot box in achieving our dreams. We’re afraid of being hurt. And we’re afraid of being labeled as opposition. Our problems are compounded by hatred. Hatred is deeply ingrained in our DNA. Why do we hate ourselves so much and then we talk about Amon Yakurr? When did Amon Yakurr become a platform for propagating hate philosophy by the same people claiming to be champions of community development? Maybe I was taught a different version of development. Let me clarify today that I have never received money from any politician secretly. During our YES program, I made our donations open, except for public officials who did not want any disclosure of their donations. The only Yakur politician that contributed to our program was my friend Honorable Eteng Jones Williams. In the Yakurr-Abi axis, only my dear friend, comrade and brother Honorable Eko Atu, contributed to our program. If any politician outside these two men has given me a dime within and outside the context of our program, I challenge that man or woman to come online and expose me. I am a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. From my home in Canada I have recommended young men for jobs by placing a phone call to someone I know. How would I be of any use to the youth by fighting every politician? Is that the meaning of activism in Nigeria? That I criticize some leaders is to help them be self-reflective. I cannot create enmity with political leaders. I need them. They need me. And we all need each other. Nobody should push me to war because that is not activism. It would rather be a disincentive to the youth. I am not a Saint either. I take full responsibility for my actions. If my post was a mere opinion, I will not apologize to the youth. I had to apologize because it was a deliberate experiment, which fortunately and unfortunately gave my audience a wrong impression of the intended purpose. Like I said, I am sorry.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:08:29 +0000
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