Opinion

Cry not ‘oh ye’ lazy Nigerian youths, the deed is yet to be done

By Adetunji Ayobrown

A Yoruba adage says, ‘Eni to ba ba teni je, lo ma koko fi bu ni’ – meaning “it is he who destroy your life that will be the first to accused you of non-performance”.

When you are a citizen of a country where truth, sincerity, and justice are sold instead of being earned, and you are born amidst abundance resources, yet, you have to pay your way if not throughout your entire life in other to live…and a major contributor to your suffering wakes up last week to call you lazy, then you are a Nigerian youth, as described by our dear president, Muhammadu Buhari.

Our dear President was speaking in London at the Common Wealth Business Forum in Westminster where he refer to “Nigerian youths as lazy, uneducated; and don’t like to do any work because they believe their country is an oil-rich nation, thus always wanting free oil money,” though, it came as a surprise to many that their only 2015 hope could be dashed in such manner and in the presence of the international community.

Before the 2015 general elections, like many Nigerian youths, I belong to many online and offline groups, in terms of political alignments, sport groups and many more, but my major disagreements is just on politics.

Don’t blame my associates, friends and colleagues, who then differed politically, though they never saw anything good about the person of our president, if you ask me, all said and predicted came to pass….except one, but let us leave that last one for another day.

Analysing some points of disagreements, made me to put up this in other to align and re-align myself politically, don’t blame me, while majority of these friends are then anti-Buhari, I can tell you, I was then for him, just like most Nigerians ….but that’s not anymore.

Some of them are of the opinion that President Buhari may have good intentions, but knowing who he was, we believe he can deliver, but little…. so it is happening. Some of the reasons, President Buhari allowed himself to be caught in the web of sectionalism. The killing of innocent Nigerians in some part of the north should have been strong enough to call for his resignation, he thinks the Mayatti Allah are too big for him and his APC government to handle….if you ask me, my friends were right. They believed that his body language shows support for the killer herdsmen.

Calling a spade a spade; my friends believe that Mr. President is a blunt man, who will “hold no bar” when discussing our dear nation with international community. YES, give it to our number one citizen, the World needs/must know where our shoe pitches, but, they think even the rich also cry, they are of the opinion that our dirty linen must not be washed outside.

That some youths are lazy, if you ask me, I don’t blame the President, he ought to have said this before 2015 general elections and see for himself how lazy Nigerian youths can be, maybe he should ask the PDP.

The ruling APC still calling on the old man to run again in 2019, is like calling on typewriter engineer to fix a computer system, if you ask me, his knowledge is obsolete, old-fashioned and if he is to have his way, I think it is just with the keyboard.

But give it to Mr President’s antagonists, instead of these lazy youths to vote for real change, they only voted and if you ask me, it was for a younger Buhari the youths don’t know.

One of my online friend agreed with Mr President when he said and I quote, “Sir, you are absolutely correct. One of the lazy Nigerian youths who is enjoying free oil money had an accident with the power bike he bought with free oil money not too long ago, and he was flown abroad for treatment with free oil money, then he hired a jet with free oil money from London to Abuja after his treatment”.

“Sir, we Nigerian youths completely agree with you that the Nigerian youths are lazy and uneducated and always wanting free oil money. They believe that their role models are winning and dinning in Aso Rock, enjoying free oil money without solving any security or economic problem till date. Even, when they are ill with just ordinary headache, they fly abroad for medical vacation/tourism, still with Nigeria’s free oil money”.

Why would anyone disagree with President Buhari, that the Nigerian youths are uneducated? It’s very obvious. That’s more reason we should know and stand for our rights! Some ignorantly keep defending the ineptitude instead of taking the mantle of leadership from you and rescue our bleeding nation from dying.

Sir, going back memory lane, at age 19, when you left secondary school to join the Nigerian Army… and at 21, you were commissioned as a second lieutenant and appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta, Ogun state, today how many ordinary Nigerian youths can have such opportunity without knowing one powerful person, or politician on who’s back he can have easy ride to get such juicy appointment?

People of your age and generation enjoyed free education, but today the youths are deprived of ordinary basic education. You were once a governor, a petroleum minister and a Head of State as a youth; but today, youths are on social media defending your failures, when it is obvious that all is not well with your government and our country, Nigeria.

Honestly, Mr President, should we agree with you that the Nigerian youths are lazy? That’s why you ruled Nigeria as a youth and have also grabbed the job as an old man. The youths are too ignorant to even know the implication of your comment, because some indolent ones would still rationalise it as an “ordinary” comment, forgetting that ‘out of the abundance of the mind, the mouth speaks’.

The interesting aspect of your statement is that, if I was born in better-led nation, my country would provide basic infrastructure, free education, free WiFi, free healthcare, free investment loans for their youths, but your own APC-led Nigeria with these lazy and uneducated youths’, provide their own electricity, schools, security, roads, healthcare etc.. Yet, the indolent youths use their ‘free oil money’ to buy mobile phone and, data to defend your ineptitude…no wonder the Yoruba adage is right ‘Eni to ba ba teni je, lo ma koko fi bu ni.

We have heard and seen many youths who were made almost useless here in Nigeria, but when they crossover the border to the western world, they transformed almost immediately and excel in any field of their endeavors. What do you think is responsible for their positive output in the foreign land? Sir, your guess is as good as ours, the reason is not far-fetched: A responsible government usually plan for the youths and create enabling environment for them to be able to create wealth and contribute to national development. Can we say the same of today’s Nigerian government? Certainly not sir.  Instead, we have lazy, uneducated youths who would wait by the roadsides, hang on telecommunication masts and electric poles to shout “SAI BABA” whenever you visit our states. Only wish we knew better.

Finally, sir, let us ask you, apart from the free oil money this country has been paying you and other past leaders since your days as a youth till date, what have you been able to create for yourself? Do you have thriving businesses that are providing employment for the teeming Nigerian youths? Have you invented anything on your own? Sir, you can now see that this free oil money is what has kept you going for over 50 years. Perhaps this laziness is not limited to the youths alone. We guess some 75-year-old incompetent presidents are also lazy and love free oil money; and that’s why they want to remain in power till they are 80. If we take away the free oil money this country has been paying you so that you then appraise your life, are you sure you will have any worth, sir? We leave you to your conscience.

But, we hope that all intelligent Nigerian youths will realise that you are now using their time, after you had long-ago used yours.

We hope that all intelligent Nigerian youths will stop being lazy and join hands, to take charge of their own destiny in their own country. Equally hope Nigerian youths  will make a change come next year with their Permanent Voter’s Card ready, and give you appropriate response in 2019.

*Ayobrown, is the Senior System Analyst, National Pilot Newspaper, writes via: [email protected]

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