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By Young Erhiurhoro, Warri
The year 2020 is truly a year of change and restructuring across the globe, especially among the black race. This change is in both positive and negative contending forces. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic that is ravaging the entire world today is unexpected and unplanned for by different countries, including Nigeria. This is a negative change in the health sector of every country and has caused so many deaths and ripples in the hearts of those that are alive. The pandemonium, panic and untold hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic among people, especially those in Africa, appear truly insurmountable. At the moment, many are just gradually recuperating from the trauma of the pandemic especially in here Nigeria.
Again, as if the Covid-19 pandemic is not enough for Nigeria, many of the citizens and residents of the country especially those from the Niger Delta region, the oil and gas rich region of the country, are heavily impacted by severe flooding as we speak. Many communities along river banks and those on the river belts have been swept off by this ravaging flood. Today, many families are in pain as loved ones were lost to the ugly power of the moving waters. What about properties and farms? In fact, the destruction and loss due to this year’s flooding is unquantifiable. Many local farmers are crying uncontrollably as a result of huge debts they have incurred from the loss in their farms. This can also be termed as a negative change in Nigeria. The restructuring is greatly needed in the areas of housing, water resources and agriculture.
As if these mentioned disasters are mere love songs in the mouths of Nigerians, a greater and more dangerous calamity befell the people of the country as the youths recently embarked on protests which they tagged, ‘#EndSARS Protests.’
These protests were staged in almost all the states of the country, including the FCT. All known cities like Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Warri, Ughelli, Asaba, Yenogoa etc experienced the protests. The reason for the protests according to reports from the media was to end police brutality, extra judicial killings by Police and other security agencies and to stop the corrupt practices and injustice of the Police force in Nigeria.
At first, the protests were primarily peaceful until they were hijacked by hoodlums and criminally minded youths to unleash mayhem on innocent, powerless and poor Nigerians. These set of criminals overran the real peaceful protesters and took over all scenes of action with a free use of arms and ammunition to kill helpless citizens and destroy public/private properties. The more prominent incident was the Lekki toll gate shooting where people were reported to have lost their lives, and properties worth billions of naira destroyed during the imbroglio. Some killings and destructions were equally recorded in other parts of the country as the Lekki incident.
Consequently, from the above, we can picture the various disasters that Nigerians are passing through at the moment, which are engendering the urgent need for change and restructuring in the country.
The #EndSARS protests are not only to end police brutality in the country. But more importantly, from the actions of the youths, the #EndSARS protests are to create changes and restructure the government of the country, even from the federal level to the local government level. The youths have now changed the old English saying that, ‘the youths are the leaders of tomorrow’ to ‘the youths are the leaders of today.’ They are no longer interested in pursuing shadows and day dreams in oblivion; where they are being promised by today’s politicians that power will eventually get to them in due time and season. They are now interested in taking over the government of the country from the old junk of politicians, whether they like it or not.
Going by the thoughts of our youths, the president of the country, ministers and other appointees, members of the National Assembly, governors, members of the state Assemblies and other government officials are too old to pilot the affairs of this country in the right political direction that leads to sanity, equity, justice, tranquility and accountability. These and many more are the reasons behind their agitations and demonstrations for good governance and true democracy in the past few weeks.
However, the agitations and demonstrations of the youths will be in the right direction if only they possess these fine virtues of good leadership. First, since I’m a youth, I’m one hundred percent in support of these agitations that the present crops of our politicians are too old to lead this country in the right direction especially in this jet and computer age. Therefore, the number one virtue our youths need to possess to become leaders of today in the country is the virtue of courage and boldness. A leader must be courageous and bold to implement the policies of his government.
Nigeria as a developing nation in Africa needs people-oriented policies. That is, policies that can impact positively on the citizenry to improve their living standard within a short period of governance. And to pursue this kind of government, it needs courage and boldness from the leaders. In this area we are looking at, our present political leaders have failed us. Their mindset, coming into government, is pragmatically self-centered. They bring selfish interests into governance and this has led the government of the day to develop policies aimed at sustaining and improving the well-being of our political leaders and their cronies rather than the populace. They have failed to implement the servant-leadership form of government in our nascent democracy.
Secondly, another important virtue of good leadership the youths must possess before they can come into government is the virtues of tranquility and accountability. In recent times, we have accused many of our political leaders of corruption and looting in public offices. This is true that our government is bedeviled with high forms of corruption. Today, many of our politicians have made the country a treasure and primogeniture for their own children and those loyal and obedient to their government. It is glaring to note that the old politicians are already creating political opportunities of leadership for their children to take over from them when they finally quit office. This is why even in this protest the children of our politicians would not join the protesters. Instead, they are abroad undergoing leadership training, waiting when their parents and masters will finally quit the political scene.
However, on a very serious note, will our youths toe the path of accountability in the bid to uproot the ravenous monster called ‘Corruption’? If truly they want to become leaders of today as they are clamouring for, then they should begin to be accountable to every public fund in their hands. Remember, those that go to equity should go with clean hands. You can’t accuse a person of evil and take over to perpetuate the same evil. This is uncalled for.
Thirdly, our youths must be ready to acquire the tenets of good leadership. Leadership is not just about the name or a means to amass wealth. It’s far from this meaning in the hearts of political leaders. If the youths must take over leadership of this country today and not tomorrow, then they must imbibe the virtue of sacrificial leadership. This is the kind of leadership that is being provided in the US, Canada, UK and other advanced countries. This kind of leadership has created and will continue to create a big economic gap between the developing countries and those developed countries mentioned. As a dedicated and committed leader, your major goal is to improve the well-being of the citizenry and not to acquire and convert all government properties to your name and those of your cronies. This is where injustice and oppression is on top of the roof in Nigerian government.
Succinctly, Nigerian politicians have changed the true and most acceptable definition of democracy as ‘the government of the people, by the people and for the people,’ to ‘the government of the few, by the few and for the few.’ This is the definition of democracy Nigerian politicians are using to rule a nation of over 200 million people. Only selected few benefit from every known programme in the country especially in area of employment.
For instance, recently the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in conjunction with the Federal Teachers Scheme (FTS) announced temporary employment for over five million young graduates across the country. But it’s very disheartening to note that only twenty persons were picked from Ughelli North LGA in Delta State, a local government council where over ten thousand young graduates applied. Our politicians had already shared the job slots amongst themselves, and were deceiving the multitudes of the youths to apply just to fulfill all righteousness. Who is deceiving who in this country?
Therefore, our youths must lead the people by giving what I describe as ‘sacrificial leadership,’ so as to create the difference between the old junk politicians and the new breed of politicians in this country.
However, a section of Nigerians, even among the youths themselves, were of the view that the peaceful protesters that are clamouring for a change ingovernment are not matured enough to take over the governance of the country. Many are saying this as a result of the behaviour and actions of the present youths.
Truly, many of our youths lack the virtues of good and sacrificial leadership that we really need to change this country for the better and place Nigeria in the list of advanced countries of the world.
If the present crop of politicians in the country is considered to be too old to lead us to the Promise land; the same way people are saying the present youths in the country will make Nigerians spend more years in the wilderness than what the old politicians have caused the country already. If this is the case, then where do we start from here? It’s really a terrifying moment for Nigerians.
We shouldn’t forget that we have a constitution that guides us on how to choose or select our leaders. Another question we must answer is that, will the present crop of youths have the financial strength to run the kind of expensive elections we have in this country? Even if they are financially buoyant to run the elections, do they have the political muscle to participate in a free and fair election? These are few of the many questions average Nigerians are demanding satisfactory answers for before we consider bequeathing power or leadership to the youths of today.
In fact, to embark on or engage in peaceful protests across the country is not enough to bring about the needed changes Nigerians deserve in this country. But they must equally match the songs of change they are singing or chanting everywhere with the necessary actions to bring those positive changes to the government and humanity in general.
Conclusively, it is an undisputed fact that Nigerian youths are productive, elegant, courageous, humble and accountable like their counterparts in those countries we call ‘advanced or developed countries.’ Many of them possessed those fine qualities that can make good leadership across the world. Without doubt, we have received countless reports from foreign countries where Nigerian youths earned praise and honour for great academic performance, for new innovations and inventions in sciences, information technology, entertainment industry and the business world.
If our youths have measured up in these areas of human development, then they can equally pilot the affairs of this country if they are considered for any political position in the country.
In this case, the Buhari government should set the pace by preparing the 2023 electoral year as a test run to allow many of our youths to contest various elective positions in their various constituencies and according to their political strength. To boost the interest of the youths in the 2023 general elections, the ‘Not too Young to Rule’ bill in the National Assembly must be pursued vigorously by our lawmakers to pass through the constitutional process of becoming a law in the country. This is the only way our political leaders can prove to the youths that they have them in their hearts.
Without giving the youths the opportunity to come into leadership, their hands and minds won’t be properly developed for leadership. Let Nigeria as the most populous nation of the black race test her youths for leadership with the 2023 general elections that are around the corner.
Young Erhiurhoro; Kjc is a reporter and a member of the Urhobo Historical Society
