I feel very sad when I hear young Nigerians say they have given up on Nigeria. However, it is so understandable why they have lost hope in the country, given the myriad of attacks they have been made to face by clueless and wicked leaders. I have said it before that so many young people in Nigeria have passports of other Countries in their minds. They have left the country psychologically.

Why won’t they lose hope?!

The Nigerian youth hears about trillions spent on power but he cannot find his shadow.

He reads that Obasanjo spent 16 billion dollars on darkness and Buhari spent 10 billion looking for oil in the North-East. While one; a subset of the ruling class is asking “Where is the power?”, another is asking “Where is the oil?” He knows that for the ruling class, there would never be any consequence for doing wrong. He knows!

He reads on the pages of newspapers how they are recruiting in CBN, only to find out that he is not ’employable’. The ’employables’ are sons of the elite. He was the one who struggled to go to school, thinking he would be educated as a mechanical engineer and therefore employable, only to find out that the equipment in the laboratories are to be pampered, for a lot of them are older than he.

His sister just died as a result of the protracted industrial action of JOHESU. But he also knew of the time when Yusuf Buhari sustained injuries while playing with his friends and was flown to Germany. He has also read how the Aso Rock Clinic, according to the wife of the President, does not have syringes despite the whopping sum of 10.1 billion naira allocated to it in the 3 YEARS OF DEMOCRATIC INTEGRITY. He has asked himself- ‘If the Aso Rock Clinic could be like that, what then is the fate of my relatives and other Nigerians going to LUTH?’

Just last week, his brother was picked by kidnappers-in-uniform because he looks ‘fresh’ and uses an iPhone. He was implicated and sent to prison because he was not ready to ‘bail’ himself. Bail for no offence! He and his family could make an academic paper and deliver an ‘inaugural lecture’ on Police Brutality.

Do not forget that his father is a pensioner but the agents of Maina have made him a ‘penury-er’. And when his uncle and aunt left for Libya and Italy respectively, it was Thanksgiving.

He has been polarised totally from good governance.

His hitherto gentle soul has found succor and peace in drugs and bets.

In all of this, the good news is that all hope is not lost.

Why?

I would not want to go far to show examples of countries where citizens challenged the status quo; nations like Russia, China, USA were very backward than Nigeria. I had shared before, on this platform, a letter written by Great Britain to Nigeria, calling our leaders to a meeting to help the UK. Yes! This same country! Nothing has changed but the quality of leaders emboldened by the relative silence and acquiescence of the followers.

How Can Nigeria Help Britain

The citizens of the aforementioned nations saw the need not to give up and keep complaining. They stood and fought gallantly for the ‘little’ they are enjoying today.

In South Africa, the political activist, Nelson Mandela, was thrown into one of the deadliest prisons for 27 years. Most of us who have given up already are not yet 27 years old.

We have a chance to change the course of history. I am not in the illusion that what would change Nigeria and the society is the Ballot. There is no such thing as a BALLOT REVOLUTION. The only revolution known in history to the best of my knowledge is the SOCIAL REVOLUTION – Cultural/Political.

We must, nevertheless, within this space, explore the electoral means and other means provided by the law as we forge ahead for the greater struggle.

Why not go out today to register for your PVC? Tell your Dad to tell your Mum that hope is on the way. We only can change our destiny because it is in our hands.

Article by Femi Adeyeye

#Sowore2019 #TakeItBack #ThisIsNigeria

Check out https://sowore2019.org/ for more info about Presidential Aspirant Sowore.