Our fathers have failed us, but our children would curse us

                            

     The present generation of Nigerian youths seems to have quickly come to terms with the reality that has befallen us. Tired of hearing rehearsed and relayed fallacious statements from our leaders, the youths have taken to the streets to protest against government’s insensitivity to the plight of the Nigerian masses. Reports of government corruption are a recurring occurrence in the Nigerian media. Where exactly do we start from? Is it the oil wind fall of the Babangida regime or the billions Bankole stole? What about the daily lunch money of N3m for the president whilst millions live below the poverty line? We may be contesting for a slot in the Guinness book of records for having constructed the most expensive road in the world which in fact was just an expansion of the existing lane. Motorists are now been scammed for 30years for using the same amenities they have been taxed for. The average senator in Nigeria earns more than the United States president, yet no concrete law which has impacted in the lives of average Nigerians has been enacted. The list is endless, as it seems each successive regime is in a competition to outshine the previous one in looting the national treasury.

     The prickly point evolves around the fact that this generation of locusts actually had enjoyed the basic necessities of life whilst growing up. There was free and quality education, hospitals were fully functional, infrastructures were not in their present shambolic state. Nigerians abroad at that time called folks back home to send them money because the naira had a strong value. But alas, blinded by their greed, our fathers have eaten theirs, ours and are now devouring the fruits of our children. They have mismanaged the entity called Nigeria which our founding fathers fought and died for/ the objective of this great nation enshrined in our anthem and pledge has fast drifted into oblivion.

      Our fathers have made us terrorists, kidnappers, robbers and yahoo boys. Our sisters are now prostitutes giving themselves up for the highest bidders. Even our coat of arms has disintegrated, as the eagle has taken flight while the horses have galloped into the horizon. Our pride and dignity as a nation has been sold for cheap monetary gains. This is a country where the plants and grasses in the presidential villa have more value than an average Nigerian citizen.

     Herein lies the crux of my agitation, are we going to allow the same fate which have been meted to us by our fathers to repeat themselves in the lives of our children? Do we seat back and watch like those of our fathers who were left out of the system, praying for divine intervention?

    Even God depends upon our actions for him to manifest himself. Though he promised the Israelites the land of Cannan, flowing with milk and honey, they still had to contend with the desert, Red sea, Ammonities, Amalekites and other tribes, including the giants in Canaan before they could possess their property. David was anointed king while still a shepherd, but he had to fight numerous battles including with Saul to keep his throne.                 The point is nothing is given but taken. We owe it to ourselves to stand up and fight for the rights and freedom of our children.

    The dream of every good father is for his children to surpass his achievements. Are we doing this or rehearsing the excuses we would give them? Are we going to be caged by the walls of religion and ethnicity whilst the locusts ravage our lands barren. If so, then lets us prepare for the wrath and curses of our children. Let us prepare to raise another generation of child soldiers, militants, thugs and prostitutes. Let us not challenge our kids when they curse us to our faces because we were afraid to do the right thing. A Chinese proverb says, he who plants a seed today, leaves a shade for the next generation. What are we leaving for the next generation? Excuses and regrets? We must break this vicious cycle once and for all unless our children would inherit nothing more than barren lands. The onus is on us to do what is right.

There would be no war, only a revolution

        As the # occupy Nigeria protests gains steam, the psychological warfare seems to have started. Different strategies are being employed by the government and its cronies to stymie the growing momentum of the protests. Panic text messages have been circulated, claiming the possibility of  Boko Haram members  posing as protesters would seize the opportunity to unleash mayhem in three major cities. The federal government still seething from the audacity of Nigerians for having defiled all odds to come out en mass to protest its draconian policies, have ordered civil servants to return to work threatening ‘ no work, no pay’.

       Prior to that, some state governors had already instructed their civil servants to return to work or risk losing their jobs. This action purportedly aimed at creating division in labour’s support base and weakening the protests, has met with a brick wall as workers have asked the government to go to blazes with its instructions. Meanwhile, the reality show continues as more damning figures and implicating documents are released by the petroleum marketers and the federal government officials who are hurling blames and slanders at each other for the rot in the petroleum industry.

       In an attempt to distract the populace from achieving its paramount objective which is the total eradication of corruption and accountability in the public sector, some mischief makers are dangling the carrots of religion and ethnicism before us. If you thought the #Occupy Nigeria protests was all about fuel subsidy, I advise you have a rethink. The protests is about the institutionalised decadence and endemic corruption that has paralyzed the country. Lest I digress, some politicians are trying to cash in on the chaos to bring up tribal and religious sentiments. This is aimed at keeping us further divided so that they can continue with their lootocratic agendas. In response to the Boko Haram ultimatum, the movement for the emancipation of Niger delta-MEND-has issued northerners in the south-south region its own ultimatum. In Benin city, hoodlums hijacked the peaceful protests to perpetuate reprisal attacks against northerners. In the north, the Boko Haram continues with its pogrom against the southerners unchecked.

  This perhaps was the reason for the recent comments by eminent Nigerians that the nation may be heading towards a war. One would hardly blame  them for taking such stance, given the nature and dimension which the protests have assumed. However, there would nothing like a war. The #Occupy Nigeria protest is nothing short of a revolution aimed at cleansing the Nigerian polity of corruption and vampire politicians who feed on the blood of the Nigerian masses. Every leader must be held accountable for his role in plunging the nation into this quagmire.

    Already there are indicators that the protests would not assume religious or ethnic lines. In Abuja, a human column made up of northerners and southerners was formed around Muslims who took a break from the protests to say their prayers. In Kaduna, Christians and Muslims arm in arm, formed human shields against police bullets. In other parts of the country, Nigerian masses have downplayed their differences and have come out in unison to lay show their grievances against an insensitive government. Nigerians have metamorphosed from the invisible wall of religion and ethnicity foisted upon us by parochial leaders for their selfish interests. Besides members of the scripted cabal cut across the different tribes and religion.

       This entails that the problem of this great country resides not in our cultural differences, but in our leaders and the political elite who have ganged up and rapped the nation of its resources. Let us not be swayed by such cheap sentiments. We all have a stake in making corporate Nigeria a feasible entity. As a people with a common destiny, lets us concentrate on the nucleus of the problem, rather than be distracted with the periphery. Waging a war on ethnic and tribal lines reduces us to mere pawns in a political chess game. #Occupy Nigeria is a revolution catalyzed by the strength of the people. Let us not forget that.