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By Young Erhiurhoro
Even as strange as this subject, there is a hidden truth in it which we are ready and eager to unravel in a moment. To me and many Nigerian youths, Peter Obi is the hope of this country and the dream of the “New Nigeria” in reality where there would be no unemployment confronting the youths and security challenges bedeviling the country again.
Since 1999 when this new democratic dispensation began, there have been two major national problems which the federal government has continuously and deliberately failed to solve for the citizens of this country. They are unemployment and insecurity. These are the two national problems that are confronting Nigeria in the face, and they are hard to deal with in every government since 1999.
To start with, the high rate of insecurity in the country today, ranging from kidnapping, banditry, ritual killings, religious crises and other criminal acts is as a result of unemployment in the country. This is so because, majority of the criminal acts being perpetuated in every part of the country today are done majorly by the youths. They are the ones that are virile and energetic enough to embark on such criminal acts. From available records and statistics, Nigeria have over one hundred universities, both public and private. Each of the these universities turns out graduates every academic year to only increase the rate of unemployment in the country. This figure is excluding those of polytechnics and colleges of education and other tertiary institutions in the country.
In Nigeria, labour is readily available, but no market to absorb them. Tertiary institutions will continue to produce graduates into the labour market, but there are no companies or government establishments to employ those graduates. Today, there are thousands of Nigerian graduates that are doing menial jobs to survive. Some are into subsistence farming in their different communities, just to make both ends meet. If you don’t know, you should know today that, there are many male graduates that supposed to live comfortably well with their wives and children. But since when they have graduated for the past ten years, they have been looking for white collar jobs from one city to another, without finding none. What do you expect of these set of young men?
In fact, to so many of them that can’t cope with this system of living in Nigeria where a university graduate will be hawking foodstuff from one local market to another or take to Okada riding, then any available means to make it to the top would easily be grabbed by such deviant ones. This is why, many of the youths that supposed to be leaders of tomorrow in this country are now venturing into different criminal acts to make both ends meet. Our leaders in this country are deliberately doing this just to frustrate our youths and to also destroy their political dreams. They never wanted the youths to rise to any political position in this country.
However, my spirit is always down whenever bandits and gun men attack innocent and poor people and farmers in different communities across the country. How I wish they can attack these governors and president of the country for sitting on the infrastructural development and growth of the country, by closing every door against unemployment and opening every door for every form of insecurity. Yet, they are well protected and secured with their families by our common resources and heritage. In this case, these so-called political leaders in the country want to make the youths powerless and hopeless in life. They are bent to frustrate every step taken by our youths to make it to the top. They only want them to be their thugs, drivers, security men and errand boys. They are only using the youths to prepare the political ground awaiting their children being trained abroad.
More importantly, the era of political slavery in Nigeria is over. The era of unemployment is over and the era of insecurity in Nigeria is also over. This prophetic declaration can only come to pass in Nigeria if the youths of the country wish to take their destinies in their own hands. We shouldn’t continue to rely on those old political folks. They have nothing to offer us than to pluge us into deeper waters of suffering, slavery and hardship. This is not the issue of political party per se. We are talking about the saviour that will redeem this country from the stormy sea. Yes, somebody may say that, some youths have benefited from the political system since 1999. But this is not enough to justify what these evil leaders are pillaging from this country.
This is therefore a clarion call to all Nigerian youths, within and outside the country to stand up for their rights. We can’t continue to allow these evil leaders to crush our destinies and future in every electoral year by giving us peanuts as our due benefits. We can’t allow them to use our future and destinies as beddings for their children to sleep on. We must know that, any vote to Tinubu or Atiku is adding fuel to already burning fire. At this time, we need water to quench this fire and not to add to the intensity of the fire again. These two old politicians have nothing to offer Nigerian youths better than their predecessors. They are birds of the same feathers. They are like the nostrils of a dog. No matter how you wash it with water, it can’t be cleaned again. These set of politicians are power drunk and they are publicly being intoxicated.
This is when the youths of the country should take it up their heads and rise above every political sentiment to work for the victory of Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party. The fear to meet up with his campaign promises and political mandate will always be there since he’s tasting the national power for the first time, unlike the old rats that their eyes are already used to the everyday smoke of corruption and dictatorship. Without doubt, a vote to Mr. Peter Obi is a vote to remove unemployment from the country. It’s a vote to make the country more peaceful and harmonious. It’s a vote to bring unity and oneness to Nigeria again. It’s a vote to end ASUU strike and to have a stable university education in Nigeria again. It’s a vote to allow the youths to fully participate in the political leadership of this country. This is the time to fight for our fundamental rights. Let’s vote out Tinubu and Atiku from the political sphere of Nigeria and vote in Peter Obi as our next president.
Young Erhiurhoro;Kjc is a reporter and a member of the Urhobo Historical Society.
