The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Nigeria: The good, bad and the ugly

    Sir; Nigeria has many sides – the good, the bad and the ugly.

    Let’s start from the positive side. Nigeria has oil and gas in abundance. There are large mineral deposits varied across the country. Nigeria is a vast landmass and everywhere you go is fertile ground. In addition, Nigeria’s climate is one of the finest in the world. Nature is kind to us.

    Nigeria, with a population of nearly 170 million, is Africa’s most populous country. Most of our youths are unemployed and majority of Nigerians live below the poverty line. Despite Nigeria’s many troubles, Nigerians are fascinating and law abiding except for a few bad ones who take undue advantage of our misfortunes.

    According to official statistics, our economy has grown steadily at an average of about seven percent in the past decade. Today, Nigeria has Africa’s largest GDP and also the 26th largest economy in the world. Government says it is making efforts to rebuild and maintain national infrastructure, as well as transform Nigeria into an attractive destination for foreign investment.

    We are like a farmer who planted 100 yam seeds but lied it was 200. If we are lucky we might harvest some 100 yam tubers, but then so will we reap 100 heaps of lies.

    The 1999 constitution is an offshoot of Nigeria’s root problem. The document stands on a false premise “We the people” and appears to be immune to change. So far, every effort made to right the wrong hasn’t changed anything.

    Common sense dictates that a pyramid stands on its base and not on its apex. It defies logic, therefore, that Nigeria stands upside down. Why should a community be denied ownership and control of its resources? Ours is one that robs Peter to pay Paul; a system that pools and shares unjustly. Maybe we should pool our brains as well and give to those who don’t have, or our talents to individuals who have refused to develop their brains!

    The yoking together of the state and religion is chief among many contraptions that have continued to spill our blood, and bring inconsolable sorrows upon us. Any people with odd sorts of unequal yokes can never prosper.

    There are three ‘arms of government’ – corruption, bad leadership, and a dysfunctional system. Corruption and bad leadership are close allies. Each fuels and protects the other in an infinite loop. At the centre of the loop is the system that breeds bad leaders, leading to a self-propagating and self-sustaining series of crises.

    It doesn’t cost a fortune to solve most of our problems. It might cost $470 million to install CCTV cameras but it doesn’t cost that much to make them work. They do as they like and beg others to do the right things forgetting that they govern a system that is hostile to thinking the right thoughts. After every attack, they console us that terrorism is a global scourge. They are quick to remind us that even the United States is affected. But they will not inform us that America is honestly on top of the situation. They will never tell us about places around the world that are fascinatingly peaceful. They expect us to be patriotic but when we speak truth in love they bully us to keep quiet. They detest the voice of reason but enjoy the cacophony of sycophancy.

    Yes, we have problems, big problems. But the problems are not the problem. The real problem is we are busy chasing shadows. President Goodluck Jonathan, at the inauguration of the National Conference, had told the delegates to be at liberty to discuss all our problems except one. Unfortunately, most of the problems deliberated upon are mere symptoms of a terminal ailment.

    When the president defined a no-go area, those that understand Nigeria’s downward trajectory would have known from the outset that the conference was a journey to nowhere. To the advocates of one Nigeria at all costs, negotiating a peaceful coexistence is tantamount to discussing Nigeria’s break-up. They bark, arrogantly, that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable, as if Nigeria is their personal estate. They boast, foolishly, that Nigeria will never disintegrate, as if they know tomorrow. Incidentally, they are largely responsible for bringing the country to the brink.

    These days, we are struggling with a battalion of carry-overs from the past. Today’s troubles are gushing in fast and furious, faster than we can grapple with. Tomorrow’s problems (brand new) can’t wait to come. We may choose to continue to lament our woes until the centre can no longer hold. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s before-it-is-too-late warning sounds louder today. It would take someone who sees beyond tomorrow to convince some of us that it is not already too late. Nigeria is bleeding, and may God have mercy on our souls.

     

    •John Adebisi

    Abuja

  • CBN and ATM charges

    SIR; For many Nigerians, it was big relief when the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was asked to proceed on compulsory leave owing to his numerous draconian monetary policies. Among these were the introduction of N5,000 notes which would have brought about inflation; the limit on daily withdrawal from one’s account; the three percent and five percents charges respectively on extra withdrawal on either saving or corporate account.

    Then also was his failure to compel financial institutions to close their operating units at the National Assembly after it was discovered that they serve as looting avenue for the lawmakers, and his selection of few bank owners for punishment in the name of cleansing the banking sector of corrupt practices to mention a few.

    Many Nigerians were in estactic mood on hearing that someone from the banking sector, Godwin Emefiele had been chosen to head the apex bank believing that he knows where the shoe pinches. Now, not only has he deviated from the main economic issues of the day, he has started badly by re-introducing the ATM charges and charges on the use of the Point-of-Sale machine. This horrendous policy can still be corrected before it is too late. How long will Nigerians continue to pay for the service we do not enjoy?

     

    • Kayode Adebayo

    Wuse II, Abuja

  • Nigeria shall be saved

    As a minister-of-God and as a stakeholder to the nation’s peace, unity and stability, it behoves on me to comment on the state-of-the-nation; and I want to state prophetically that Nigeria shall be saved by God’s grace. Though the challenges the nation is facing are tough, rough and worrisome …. Security breaches, organised killings, bombings, kidnappings, abductions etc, all these are giving a great cause for concern; but there is hope, I assured.

    We should begin to X-ray and find the root causes of the prevailing issues in our nation in order to come up with suitable solutions to the grave situations bedevilling our nation. Now, it is glaring that, in Nigeria today, danger is looming, but there is hope.

    Nigeria is facing serious challenges that openly threaten her existence, but there is hope. Prophetically speaking, we must indeed wake-up to the truth, that, we have a deadly battle in our hands as a nation, we must therefore rise up, to speedily address this grave situations, before it becomes too late. I hope the national conference will be a vehicle we can ride to national sanity.

    I see God intervening in the affairs of Nigeria, sooner or later. I believe very strongly that if we pray and if there is thorough repentance, and we seek the face of God seriously, we are going to have divine intervention.

    Reproach (sin) and captivity best describe our present situation in Nigeria. Our sins are enormous and becoming unimaginable. A nation that was once respected world-wide, is now rebuffed and heavily suspected. We (Nigerians) are also captives because we have mortgaged our resources and destiny to other nations and the devil … however, there is hope.

    God is able to remove our reproach and turn our captivity away. He did it for Israel. He will do it for us (Nigeria and Nigerians). We are in His purpose and plan. Nigeria is a nation of destiny.

    As a man of God, the gospel I bring is a message of hope. Hope of tomorrow and of a brighter future. We should have hope because God will not abandon His purpose for our nation. Prophetically too, whenever a person or a people of a nation repent before Him, He (God) responds …  thus, restoration, transformation and redemption are the fruits of repentance.

    Our God is a God of restoration. His restoration and redemption may take long to come, whatever the situation, it will come. Hence, we have to keep on praying that God should mitigate His judgment on the nation.

    Like the Prophet Habakkuk, our prayer should be O Lord, “in wrath remember mercy”. When and where the Lord shows mercy, healing, progress and prosperity will be the result. Again I decree prophetically that Nigeria shall be saved (Amen).

     

    Rev / Prophet Oladipupo Funmilade – Joel

  • Nigeria: Let’s think unity

    Peace and unity, reconciliation and forgiveness are what we Nigerians should stand to acknowledge through wisdom, kindness, liberty, justice, fairness, love, work to overcoming the negative through the creation of a positive mindset that would lead us to a positive environment.

    We knew that there is more power in unity than in division, more to love than in hate. I read a story by a lady who said in the following lines: “Once when I was young, maybe more than once, when I was extremely disrespectful to my mother, my father angrily called me ‘garbage’ in our native Hokkien dialect.

    “It worked really well. I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done. But it didn’t damage my self esteem or anything like that. I knew exactly how highly he thought of me. I didn’t actually think I was worthless or feel like a piece of garbage.

    “As an adult, I once did the same thing to Sophie, calling her garbage in English when she acted extremely disrespectful toward me. When I mentioned I had done this at a dinner party, I was immediately ostracised. One guest named Marcy got so upset she broke down in tears and had to leave early.

    “My friend Susan, the host, tried to rehabilitate me with the remaining guests.

    “Oh dear, it’s just a misunderstanding. Amy was speaking metaphorically-right, Amy? You didn’t actually call Sophie ‘garbage.’” “Um, yes I did. But it’s all in the context,” I tried to explain. “It’s a Chinese immigrant thing.”

    This is typical of our country, Nigeria. We are like the lady and her father in the story. We have been called ‘garbage’ and in return, we call those who called us ‘garbage’ the same. But two wrongs, they say, do not make a right.

    It is my wish that if there is any website we must host about Nigeria, that website must be for peace and unity. Not for bitterness. We already have the 2015 elections in our hand, yet we seem not to be after the issues that matter to our collective welfare, but our different political parties and interests.

    We cannot achieve harmony, peace and happiness as well as spiritual, social happenings in Nigeria if we do not shelve hatred by the side and welcome all and sundry as one. Just as it is written in the Bible, so also it is written in Koran and in other writs.

    According to religious scholars: Islam teaches us through its two main authentic sources: The Glorious Qur’an and the Prophetic sayings that we can attain peace of mind, happiness, and salvation, by knowing and believing in the one true God (Allah) willingly and wholeheartedly… (Am only quoting the book…).

    Our universality requires that we embrace unity and love and forgive all who may have offended us in one way or the other and also go to plead for forgiveness from those we may have offended. It is written: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” (God here to me means peace and unity, reconciliation and forgiveness, wisdom, kindness, liberty, justice, and fairness, love, work… Not a sky daddy).

    And when we submit ourselves respectively to God, we will not see members of the different political parties as rivals, but as Nigerian sons and daughters. We will work in tandem as one family for the growth of the country.

    We should not be behaving like those who are far away from civilisation. Nigeria is ours and should not be made a jungle of a sort due to our different political aspirations and interests. When we look up far off in the distance, we will see hope. But no one can bring the Utopian world around us if we do not work towards having such around us and making sure that we bring it.

    It is not a Spartan babble that this treatise is made up of. We have to be in the front string to build the very-well towers. We cannot continue to fight with narrow minds. We must compel ourselves to change our mindsets about what we think our country should be. We should outgrow the level of bickering and tinkering and looking for whom to make prey.

    I beseech all and sundry to pursue excellence and stop this argument, this fusion of wars, but focus on the way forward for the country. We are a great people that should not rub mud on the face and yet looking for who to correct.

    One Chuck Palahniuk said: The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up. The shortcut to closing a door is to bury yourself in the details. This is how we must look to (providence). As if everything’s just fine.

     

    By Odimegwu Onwumere

    Port Harcourt.

     

  • Still on CBN’s latest ATM policy

    SIR: Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, is set to reverse some of the legacies of his predecessor with the re-introduction of charges on ATM withdrawals, bringing to front burner the US President, Barack Obama’s warning few years ago that Africa does not need strong men but strong institutions to achieve development. The new ATM policy neither conforms to the bank’s core objective of promoting sound financial system in the country nor in tandem with its cashless policy being pursued across the country.

    In retrospect, the removal of charges on the so-called remote-on-us withdrawals was first started by one of the new generation bankers long before the CBN issued an official memo backing up the initiative in December, 2012. As a result, Nigerian customers no longer have to embark on endless search for their bankers since they could always make withdrawals on any ATM free. However, that good old days will soon disappear as customers will be required to pay N65 after every three transactions on other ATMs in a month, effective September 1.

    Worst still, the CBN has turned itself the mouthpiece of the bankers all in a bid to justify the policy. With the manner and way the bank has been defending this policy, it creates a sore on the image of the regulatory body which ought to be neutral in discharging its functions. One is being forced to reach a conclusion that there may be more to it than meets the ordinary eyes. The argument being canvassed by the apex bank that ATMs are expensive to maintain and that “customers were beginning to abuse the use of ATM through countless daily withdrawals” is fallacious and does not sink. At best, it could be described as crying more than the bereaved. CBN should have directed its searchlight towards finding the cause of the said “abuse”, rather thab which often insist that virtually every withdrawal should be done on the ATMs. The CBN has not convinced Nigerians how this policy will eliminate the identified “abuse”.

    While CBN want Nigerians to believe that the charge is applicable to the fourth remote-on-us withdrawals in a month, it has not demonstrated what mechanism it has put in place to ensure that bankers increase the amount withdrawable by their customers at a go on ATMs. The reason for this is that most bankers place a ceiling on the amount that can be withdrawn per transaction on their ATMs. Some of this ranges from N10, 000 with N20, 000 being the maximum per withdrawal. The implication of this is that one can exceed the so-called three times charge-free allowable in a month in just one transaction and, this is where the exploitation and the insincerity of the policy lie.

    The CBN’s governor should concern himself more with eliminating the dubious in-house practices by the bankers that impede the interest of their customers. Some of these bankers continue to steal millions of naira from their customers’ accounts every day while the regulatory body practically does nothing other than its usual non-effective directive to return the stolen money. This is not to mention all manner of dubious and irregular charges that the customers are forced to pay everyday by their bankers.

    By and large, Mr Emefiele should not only be interested on the wear and tear of these machines as it affects the bankers only. He should equally be interested on the quality of services being delivered to the customers of these bankers. He should find out why most of these ATMs will debit customers’ account without dispensing cash to them. Also he should seek to know while most Debit cards which are supposed to expire in four or five years suddenly become “inopperative” only for the holder to be made to cough out N1, 500 for requesting a replacement. The CBN should not put the cart before the horse; he should do the needful first.

     

    • Barrister Okoro Gabriel,

  • Is Nigeria better off as one country?

    SIR: The map of the world is being drawn and re-drawn as countries split up into many nations. There is no guarantee that a country will remain undivided, permanently. Strong countries annex weak ones while the watchdog of the world and UN watches helplessly. Most homogenous ethnic nations in our today’s world want to achieve self-determination. Consequently, federal states break up into smaller nation states.

    USSR was a counter force to America; they were the two superpower countries flexing muscles on the global stage, then. But, the failure of the Glasnost and Perestroika heralded the disintegration of USSR. It was not only USSR that split into many smaller nation-states. Czechoslovakia was dismembered. Yugoslavia broke up; and Bosnia and Croatia came out of it. India and Pakistan used to be one country. Back home in Africa, South Sudan has become the youngest and newest nation-state on the African continent.

    Currently, some ethnic nations are agitating and fighting for self-determination. Scotland will conduct a referendum in September to determine its continued stay as a member of the United Kingdom. And, the Basque people want out of their union with Spain. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine have started fighting for their separation from Ukraine. The two pro-Russian states are fighting with Ukraine for months with its dire consequences and casualties. Thousands of people have died in the battle. And Russia is accused of backing the separatist regions. But, for how long can Ukraine successfully put down the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s agitation for state-hood?

    In the Middle-east, Islamic state fighters have captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria. It has established its capital in Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic state fighters, who are mainly Sunni Muslims, persecute non-Muslims, such as Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims, whom they regard as heretics. They want to create an Islamic caliphate in the regions that straddle Syria and Iraq. And, the Kurds in Iraq are very conscious of their ethnic origins. They nurse self-determination notions. The Kurds’ army that is called the Peshmerga is fighting the Islamic state fighters in Iraq.

    In Nigeria, Boko Haram, a terrorist group that is linked to al-Qaeda, has been waging war against Nigeria. Boko Haram insurgents have seized some towns in Borno State. They hoisted their flags in Damboa and Gwoza towns in Borno StateThe group abducted almost 300 Chibok school girls and took them into captivity. Their aim is to Islamize Nigeria, and create an Islamic caliphate in Northern Nigeria.

    Nigeria is not a united country. People from one ethnic group view other people with deep distrust and hatred. Sadly, our efforts that are aimed at achieving national integration and unity have not yielded the expected results. For example, our participation in the NYSC programme has not disabused our minds of prejudices we have about other ethnic groups other than ours. We view issues through religious and ethnic prisms. Besides, religion has become a divisive factor when it comes to politics.

    We fought a gratuitous civil war, which claimed the lives of millions of Nigerians. Ethnic hatred and religious intolerance partly caused the outbreak of that Nigeria-Biafra civil war. So, I was taken aback when the issue of our continued existence as one country was expunged from topics that were discussed at the concluded national conference. Delegates to the national conference have concluded their discussions and handed in their recommendations to the president.

    Are all the people(s) from diverse ethnic groups that make up Nigeria happy to be in Nigeria? Is this country not too big and unwieldy to be governed by one central government? For how long shall we continue to pretend that the marriage of the Southern and Northern protectorates is working? Does egalitarianism, which is a force for national growth, exist here?

    Against the background of our fragile peace and unity, is it not imperative for us to discuss and negotiate our continued existence as one country? Isn’t it time for us to spare a thought for factors that corrode the foundation of our national unity? It is an incontrovertible fact that the greatness of Nigeria lies in its ethnic and religious diversities, large land mass and humongous population. But, the peaceful resolution of our issues is better than resorting to violence to achieve our aims.

    As the 2015 elections draw nearer, I am filled with apprehension owing to the utterances and threats issuing from ethnic chauvinists. If they are not checked, they can make America’s apocalyptic predictions about Nigeria’s demise in 2015 come true.

    • Chiedu Uche Okoye

    Uruowulu-Obosi,

    Anambra State

  • Onyebuchi: Paying for the sins of another

    SIR: In year 2007, when both Governor Sullivan Chime and his deputy Sunday Onyebuchi rode confidently on the back of the then unassailable Ebeano political dynasty of former governor Chimaroke Nnamani to become the governor of Enugu State and deputy respectively, many thought that it was a marriage consummated in heaven. However, pundits knew that it was a matter of time before the marriage hits the rock. The deputy governor was the candidate of former Governor Chimaroke, while the incumbent governor had his eyes on another as his preferred deputy but could not have his way owing to the circumstance that brought the two together.

    Nnamani was at that time the political lord of the manor in Enugu who never brooked nonsense from audacious individuals who dared to challenge his decisions and sense of judgment. He had his way and “installed” Onyebuchi as his “eyes” in the administration. Not long after the inauguration of Governor Chime, the much expected crack in the “Ebeano Dynasty” became visible even for lizards to pass through.

    Consequently, the deputy governor carried on gently, respectfully, and diligently with as much responsibilities as were assigned to him by the governor. He proved a patient, loyal and good team player.  Banana peels capable of springing up any form of face-off between him and his boss were quietly avoided. During the governor’s three months medical trip to Germany, the office of the Deputy Governor was allegedly subjugated to that of the Chief of Staff. His resolve not to take instructions from an appointed officer was a challenge his traducers will not take lightly.

    The impeachment of the taciturn deputy governor was not all about the persona or the poultry farm in his lodge, but about the unseen hands behind his doggedness, political strength and successes. It is about the figure behind his intention to contest the Enugu East Senatorial seat against a preferred government candidate, an ambition which those behind his impeachment felt their candidate was most qualified to aspire to. Therefore easing him out as the deputy governor at all cost will inflict heavy political blow on the perceived enemy camp and force him to capitulate.

    The former deputy governor was simply caught in the cross-fire of political supremacy between his two godfathers. It is like the popular saying that “if one cannot physically confront the king, one looks for his favourite he-goat.” It was unfortunate that the sins of former Governor Nnamani were visited on the former deputy governor.

    This political umbrage will no doubt strengthen the resolve of the former deputy governor to pursue his ambition. The impeachment might turn out to be a launching pad to a successful political journey. The sympathy of the people of Enugu East Senatorial Zone whom the impeached deputy governor wishes to represent goes to him considering the fact that he is seen as a scapegoat suffering for what he knew nothing about. The present governor of Sokoto State suffered similar fate in the hands of his former boss. Eventually the crisis turned out in his favour and the rest today is history.

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Samaru, Zaria

  • Adadevoh: A tribute

    SIR: Early April, Lagos State Health Ministry and Commissioner, Dr. Jide Idris, appealed to all health practitioners to watch out for patients presenting symptoms of Ebola so that Nigeria would be delivered from the endemic disease already spreading through Guinea.

    The burly patient that she admitted on Sunday, July 20 had just flown in from nearby Monrovia, having cleared airport screening for hidden weapons, hazardous materials, and illegal substances, with the might of ECOWAS bureaucracy beside him, a passport of the United States of America with him, and powerful Government connections behind him.

    What the airport security was ill-equipped to detect, however, was an even deadlier national threat – the virulent etiological agent for Ebola! Hence, in his medical history, he conveniently denied his recent contact with a case of Ebola, visits to any person infected with the virus in a hospital, or participation in a funeral of a person who died of the disease. All three criteria, it turns out, precisely described Patrick Sawyer’s status vis-a-vis the late sister, Princess, whom he lost to Ebola, on July 8.

    In Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, an epidemic met its match that effectively stopped its incurable match of death. Obligations to the Hippocratic Oath of her noble profession compelled the Senior Consultant Physician to do no harm but only good. Her august patient had just landed from endemic Liberia with distinctive symptoms; therefore, she summoned uncommon courage, ignored his denials, queried Ebola nonetheless, arranged for blood analysis, and skilfully turned his hospitalization into quarantine! By doing this, she stopped an epidemic and saved a nation from a deadly virus.

    As soon as his test from LUTH came back presumptive positive, she promptly alerted Federal and Lagos State Health Ministries. In so doing, she identified the index Ebola patient on Nigerian soil, stopped nationwide spread of the virus, and saved a nation from an epidemic!

    A private clinic that relies on corporate retainer-ship and patronage of the affluent to get by, should not mess around with a VIP patient; but that, in a nutshell, is all she did by defying the petulance of a Liberian ECOWAS delegation that pressured her to discharge Mr. Sawyer to attend the “8th Joint Retreat of ECOWAS Institutions, Permanent Representatives and National Units”. By denying him medical clearance to proceed to Calabar, she saved Nigeria from an imminent epidemic….

    While she gave him medical care for his disease, he gave her medical disease for her care! But she patiently absorbed the impact of the infection that she contracted unwittingly without spreading it. In so doing, she saved her nation and averted a looming epidemic that was not!

    …Yes, with her very life, she made a supreme sacrifice but saved a nation from ominous Ebola epidemic!

    If ever a case or nominee for posthumous National honour is needed, CASE CLOSED…!!

    Much Respect, many Thanks, and GOD bless the memory of Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh…!!!

    • Joe Okungbowa (Ph. D)

    Miami, Florida, USA.

  • Re: Oyo’s urban renewal in context

    SIR: The piece with the above title published in The Nation on Monday August 25 is an eye opener on the impacts of the urban renewal programme of the present administration in Oyo State on the economy of the state. The writer, Abubakar Oladeji, no doubt produced a balance sheet on the programme and any discerning mind would realize through the said article that Senator Ajimobi actually meant well for the state and not just out to punish the people.

    Hitherto, I, like few other sceptics believed the urban renewal was a misplaced priority. However, with the said article, I have come to realize the multiplier effects of the programme in terms of attraction of investors to the state, neatness of the state capital, which was categorized among the dirtiest in the world before the inception of Senator Ajimobi’s administration.

    Obviously, the programme is not without its Achilles heels; however, the positive effects outweigh the adverse effects.  Consequently, I will advise the state government to expedite action on the construction work ongoing in major cities in Oyo State particularly Ogbomoso where it appears the construction company has reached a dead end. Also, compensation should be paid without delay for those whose properties were affected by the demolition exercise occasioned by the road expansion.

    There is no other way to endear the government to the people than for people to see that government is compassionate and that it considers their plights in its day to day activities.  Hopefully, government would continue to demonstrate, that the programme is not meant to inflict unnecessary hardship on the people of the state. One vital way to show this is to finish the on-going works on time and put them to use for the benefit of the humanity.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • On 30% youth representation in govt

    SIR: With the refusal our octogenarians to relinquish the space  for the younger generation in the political sphere, it has become imperative to seek for ways of making them see reasons why the younger generation should be given the opportunity to govern .

    The recent pronouncement by President Goodluck Jonathan that youths should be allowed to vie for the presidency could not have come at a better time.

    To fully understand the demand for 30% representation of youths in elective and appointive positions, we must have a clear view of how our present elders emerged in positions of leadership.

    Former President Shehu Shagari became a federal legislator at 30 and minister at 35; M.T Mbu became minister at 25, and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at age 26. Richard Akinjide was Education Minister at age 32; Maitama Sule was minister at 29. Audu Ogbe was minister at 35 while at 32 General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), became head of state and successfully led Nigeria through one of the most difficult times in her history and prevailed.

    However, since the advent of democracy in 1999, our elders have consistently  monopolized virtually all leadership positions, transforming young people  into glorified thugs and tools for electioneering. This self -serving policy and greed have combined to exclude intellectually sound young minds with great ideas from governance .

    Over the years, our elders have insisted on the fact that we lacked the requisite experience to lead. But how do we secure the experience  when we are denied the opportunity to serve? They say we are leaders of tomorrow, while stubbornly refusing to allow tomorrow to come.

    The youth might not have the financial muscle to struggle for power with the elders on equal terms , but in the words of Lupita Nyong’o,  our dreams are valid !

    •Oche Joseph Otorkpa

    ochejoseph@yahoo.com