Youths are not to blame

By Femi Oluwasanmi

SIR: Controversies have trailed the EndSARS protest which birthed looting, killings, destruction of properties and opened an unprecedented page in the annal of protests in Nigeria, with some alleging that there were some elements keenly anxious to annihilate the Southwest and destroy its common heritage.  But critically looking at the events that culminated to this protest, it obvious that the youths are not to blame.

Following the shooting of peaceful protesters at Lekki, Lagos State, on October 20, some hoodlums infiltrated the crowd and wreaked havoc on lives and property in Lagos, Edo, Abia, Rivers State among others.  This breakdown of law and order changed the narrative of the protest and led to loss of property worth an estimated one trillion naira in Lagos alone.

This great loss prompted diverse reactions with some people blaming the military for using brute force on peaceful protesters while some blamed the youths for creating a platform in disguise of protest for hoodlums to strike. Specifically, two members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot and Mojisola Alli-Macauley blamed Nigerian youths, social media influencers, celebrities for the unrest.

Though, there is need to condemn in totality the destruction of lives and property done by the hoodlums, but the fact remains that the so-called hoodlums are product of the insensitivity of government to the level of illiteracy and people’s welfare in the country.

Even, the EndSARS protest was an offspring of the failure of government because, if the majority of those that participated in the protest were employed, the protest would have died a natural death the second day not to talk of degenerating to the level where the so-called hoodlums hijacked it.

In a country where the numbers of unemployed hands and poverty continue to increase astronomically, to have an empire of hoodlums will not be difficult. That is the reason people trooped out in thousands to loot both public and private property in an attempt to grab what they felt belong to them.

Unfortunately, the level at which this has degenerated shows clearly that the government cannot solve the problem alone. That is why the calls for entrepreneurship and skill acquisition continue to resonate daily. However, the inability of government to provide start-up capital for the teeming youths raises serious concerns.

In a society where people’s welfare is given priority, the government goes beyond advocating entrepreneurship or, skill acquisition to giving startup capital to people that are interested in entrepreneurship but lack the financial muscle to start. This is because they understand that an idle hand is the workshop of the devil. So, they don’t give breeding space for the devil to manifest.

For instance, the worth of the property destroyed in Lagos alone would be enough for government to give the 500, 000 N-power volunteers disengaged in June/July, a million naira each as an exit package to start up the business of their dreams. This is not to talk of the damages done in the other states.

Though, this might have been the reason the minister of finance allocated N25 billion to the cause of alleviating the pains of youths suffocating under the burdens of policy somersault and inconsistency, but based on the experiences over the years, it seems most governments projects only succeeded greatly on the pages of newspapers.

A veritable testimony to this is the revelation surrounding the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives donated by the federal government and other great philanthropists to mollify the pains of the people caused by the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak. In fact, deducing from this revelation, it seems the dividends of democracy which the citizens in advanced countries enjoy on daily basis only exist in Nigeria during the electioneering period alone.

These are the issues that ought to be source of concern to our legislatures and the executives instead of blaming the youths for the evil committed by the hoodlums. Had there been enough jobs, most of the so-called hoodlums would have been a plus to the society.

• Femi Oluwasanmi, Ibafo, Ogun State.