SIR: Many students today have already given up and forgotten what they can gain from school and its extracurricular activities.
Some people will draw the conclusion that “School nah scam.”
This is no longer shocking because young people no longer recognize their own youthful greatness. Is it their faults?
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” Benjamin Franklin once said.
As once said by Nelson Mandela (the late president of South Africa), “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change world.” Here in Nigeria, is education truly the most powerful weapon to change the world? You and I know the answer cannot be unfettered “yes” here in Nigeria. Even if it is, our government doesn’t encourage such.
Sleeping no longer catches our souls, nor do our bodies and minds cling to rest as it is evident everywhere. Nigeria has experienced a lot of troubles in the past six months.
Mama Wazobia was shocked by the kind of offspring she produced, many of whom were scent-impaired and sense-imbalanced. These children are fighting for meaningless things rather than learning how to break free from the shackles of violence, kidnapping, banditry, a crumbling educational system, a broken political system, and dearth of leadership.
Even though they complained about their suffering and refused to deal with the situation, they did not take any appropriate steps toward their freedom because they regarded it as God’s will. They are like uncaged birds clamouring for emancipation.
For them, advocating for good governance is unacceptable, but ranting, maiming, and killing people over issues of politics, religion, or ethnicity is acceptable.
According to them, a franchise entitles adult citizens to vote and to participate in politics. However, the definition is incomplete and subjective because they neglected to include “one’s choice” – My candidate may not be yours, and under our law, everyone has the right to association as well as choice. Then, what could cause the beefing?
In contrast, celebrities who should serve as role models are berating and cursing themselves because they backed different candidates. Do they yearn for a more favorable Nigeria?
This is a call to action for patriotic Nigerians who have nowhere else to turn in times of war or peace. Anything that will endanger our lives should be avoided. The use of our thumbs to revive and rebuild a better Nigeria should be our primary concern. It doesn’t matter if your six is my nine; that is the essence of democracy; to view things from a different but distinctive perspective.
To cap it all, we should pray for the Nigeria of our dreams and the election of the best candidate.
- Hussain Wahab,
<wahabhussain323@gmail.com>