Opinion: The Youth And President Buhari…Before We Move On – By Opara O. Peter

Of recent, it has become an issue whether or not Nigerian youths are lazy.

In fact, the contention flows from a recent comment credited to the country;s president, Muhammadu Buhari.

It is a known fact that Nigerian youths are hardworking, despite the challenges, either man-made or natural, doting the geographical space they inhabit.

Their error however may be that, both at home and in the Diaspora, they appear to have demonstrated undue indifference in participating fully in leadership processes.

A country with vibrant youth right from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial era has lost its glory due to the activities of the unrepentant gluttons of political power.

Unfortunately, their political power tussle has left the country in a shamble and in a state without a structured ideology.

It might be of interest to the readers of this little piece to know that we as country upholds democracy as a process of governance but the political leaders who are feudalist, anachronistic oligarchic in nature uphold the ideology of oligarchic collectivism – powerful few, enjoying the benefits of the country’s resources at the expense of the powerless many.

This institutionalised ideology in a democratic milieu has continuously posed a lot of threat to youth involvement in the process of governance, which is a cause for their incoherent negligence in involving in leadership process.

Most perceive leadership process inept, as a result loathe the word – politics – or rather they involve in political process of leadership with a notion of losing the leg in order to save the head from being severed.

My question is, which youth will participate in governance with a well distinguished platform for corruption of the highest order without developing a claustrophobic reaction caused by delving into a very dark and narrow political passage?

It will be by happenstance for a young fellow to win a presidential or governorship election in Nigeria because in Nigeria, political power brokers do not give youths the privilege of running the country’s affairs.

Since our closet gluttons in politics uphold oligarchic collectivism in a democratic dawn where youths, despite the fact that the country, both economically and politically have been thrown in shambles, still struggle and are content with the handouts they get from hustling then, there will be no moral grounds to use word to portray the youths as a symbol of ridicule.

A question needs to be asked: What is the motive backing the utterances made by Mr. President, which has provoked reactions from the citizens at home and in the Diaspora? The reaction of the citizens, I am sure metamorphosed from the notion that the man who they constitutionally elected as president through his utterances has dented their image and portrayed them as lazy people.

He did this, forgetting he was among the incorrigible military power mongers who negatively re-organised an organised Nigeria from inception and turned it into a place of bafflement.

I classify his utterances treasonable because it is a hate speech and that shows that the person who owes allegiance to us, the citizens, perceives us as lazy. He has portrayed himself as an enemy to the people whose mandates he sought before election.

We know, despite the stain inflicted by a few Nigerians in different countries, there are still honest Nigerians all over the world, who do honorable jobs and are being applauded.

Yet, some are being victimized and envied by the citizens of the country where they reside.

This is my opinion, even if Nigerians are lazy, should our Number One citizen be the one to wash our dirty linen in public?

Should the president be the one to create a ground for Nigeria to be known as a SYMBOL OF PUBLIC NRIDICULE? Our country needs to be sanitised because we are been led by predators who have lost all manner of semi-permeable membrane of sanity and honesty.

The youthful citizens are tired of the charade garnished with international disgrace and suggest divine intervention for a change or performance of rites of exorcism (spiritual cleansing) to wade away the evil in Nigerian politics.