Arise, O Compatriots!

There is never a day that Nigeria does not annoy me. A great annoyance that — sometimes — makes me wonder if being born here is a misfortune. From the poor state of power that makes something as simple as having a fully charged phone a great privilege, to the consistent act of foolishness that our leaders put up and I have to read with disgust and dismay in the dailies.

This country has witnessed a steady decline since 1960 and quite honestly, with the direction we are heading, things are not going to likely improve in the nearest future. The projected future if we continue on this path is dark, bleak and full of sorrow.

There has to be a change.

A change in our idea of governance that puts the comfort of a few over the wellbeing of millions; one that places our resources and taxes in the hands of leaders who gladly share same amongst their friends and family; one that constantly seeks to reduce our humanity, our influence, our participation; one that makes our life hell in a country with so much potential and promise.

There has to be a change, a real change.

Now look, for this change to happen, I’ve kind of figured that we must pay a price. For nothing good happens without labor, sacrifice and effort. It is a standard rule of life. We must be willing to sacrifice blood, tears and sweat. It is a long, tiring struggle but you must look on the bright side and consider what we stand to gain.

Imagine a society where all that separates the rich and the poor is the quality of their ideas, and not who they know; a society where there is a level playing ground for all and your future isn’t decided by your background; a society where knowledge reigns supreme and leaders are accountable to those they are elected to serve.

Do not fool yourself by saying you are too busy for stuff like this one. Do not delude yourself into thinking your job will protect you from the madness of the mad men who presently parade themselves as our leaders. Between now and 2015 when Buhari rode on our desire for change into power, millions of jobs have been lost. Thanks to several failed economic policies, several businesses have closed down. The owners of these business, by the very nature of running a business, did nothing wrong. They were just victims of a poor government decision. And if you open your eyes enough, you would see that you are also a victim. All that you are striving hard to build can be wiped away by just one ill-thought and typically self-serving policy from the government.

Theodore Roosevelt put it succinctly when he said way, way back in 1883 that “The people who say that they have no time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community”

Politics shape our lives. And my advice to you, my peers, is that you need to pick up interest. We need to get involved. We have been docile for far too long. While we endlessly argued amongst ourselves on who the better artiste is between Wizkid and Davido, the likes of David Umayi, the Governor of Ebonyi State, are doing an unfortunate generosity with public funds. They are dashing out Prados to their friends and are fighting hard to legitimize paying salaries from government funds to their acquaintances who are both irrelevant and unproductive. They are mortgaging our future and leaving for us debts that we may never be able to repay.

We need to speak up and start making demands.

There is a present struggle and call for the inclusion of youths in politics, join it. Support it. Lend your voice and where possible, body.

Now that is not all you need to do, you also have to educate yourself. For our ‘youthfulness’ should not be our only claim to power rather, sound alternative ideas and policies that will chart our way out of this mess. There is no point if we are plenty in number but lacking in ideas. Our assembly would be no different from that of idle men who both lack direction and vision. We owe it to our country to develop our minds. So if you are still in school, study with all of your heart.

Do not worry if the credibility of those fronting this idea of ‘youths in politics’ is questionable. Or if you suspect their intentions are not noble. Abraham Lincoln once famously said “Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.” For now, we are united by one common goal. And our principles align. We have to stand together. For only when we stand together can we make a noise loud enough for those helping themselves to our funds at the top to hear. Only then can we gain relevance and make impact.

Register with a political party if you can. Form or join a movement if you want. Set up an online watch if that’s your forte. Do anything that will further the cause and help redeem this country. It is your duty. You owe it to yourself, your country and unborn generations.

I can go on and on, but this has to end. And to conclude, I leave you with something Theodore Roosevelt said in one of his famous speeches; “In facing the future and in striving, each according to the measure of his individual capacity, to work out the salvation of our land, we should be neither timid pessimists nor foolish optimists. We should recognize the dangers that exist and that threaten us: we should neither overestimate them nor shrink from them, but steadily fronting them should set to work to overcome and beat them down.”

There is no better time to start than today. Nigeria is calling for you, you have to obey.