The late Chinualumogu Achebe in his memoir There Was A Country referred to himself and people born of his age the lucky generation. That was because they enjoyed the largesse that came with the very well structured system of governance under the colonial adminisration in the spheres of education, social and stomach infrastructures, availability of state of the art facility in training the potential workforce, scholarship, you name it! But can the same be said of my generation? It is common knowledge that parents sponsor their wards in schools through the nose. Graduates are products of mere theoretical meandering having little or no practical exposure. Employment is as easy as kidnapping a cub under the watchful eyes of its mother ( Immigrations Recruitment Exercise? ). Mediocrity is hastily celebrated while bravery, hardwork, and patriotism are given a second thought for reward, that is if it ever comes. Soldiers have taken over from the Police on the highway along with its #50 mandate. The roads... deteroriating. Even the Super Eagles have resorted to strolling! Lets just resound the voices of the street: In Nigeria, nothing is working! Here, anything goes! Our politics is most interesting. This writer does not know of any political party with a defined ideology in the country at present. The only thing that drives our politicians is an itch for power so as to be in the fab lane enjoying first-class treatment and stashing enough public funds as time permits. People of my age have joined in the lashing of our leaders only but in words. We, as citizens, often with a knee jerk response, are prompt to blame leadership for every damn thing that is not right. Like one of my friends irredeemably blames others for his inhibitions, Nigerians are not ready to look inwards. In a democracy, the power is with the people. Paradoxically, our strength is on our THUMBS. The Osun and Ekiti elections go to show that democratic might resides with the people and they wield it as they feel will please them. The time is now to stop misconstruing elections as their thing. As long as you want a change, then, be the change through the ballot come 2015. Borrowing a cue from the National Conference, let every legitimate nigerian electorate represent his/her interest in the choice of a leader as we resume democratic plenary early next year. Walter Carrington, an American diplomat, while fielding questions by a Punch interviewer said How much a democracy (Nigeria) becomes depends on how insistently the people... exercise their franchise at the polls. For my generation, things can be better off. It depends on how accountable we make our leaders become because an uncompromising followership begets an accountable leadership. Lets get involved, not necessarily as politicians, but as compatriots. As youths, we must stop joining the talks and start acting. To people of my age and beyond: be the leader you want to see in Nigeria. Nigeria is 54. America is 238 years old! Obviously, we have a long way to go which explains why we need to get involved in nation building now for posterity to judge us fairly. Long live Nigeria! This piece is dedicated to all persons in their prime. It is a heck of a responsibilty on our shoulders to be leaders of great repute. We need not flunk the test, again. By Oshindoro Micheal.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 05:21:22 +0000