Dear Nigerian Leaders, We Youths Deserve Some Accolades Not Insults.
Many of us grew up in a nation(Nigeria) that has continuously denied us our rights and refused to pave way for a brighter future for us… we have suffered and toiled years after years under the harsh sun to make ends meet in a nation that does not recognize hard work nor sincerity of intent but only recognizes and rewards CORRUPTION AND PRIVILEGES- privileges which only a few like Nigerian politicians and other elites in the nation have been granted.
We are conductors, barrow pushers, hawkers, athletes, entrepreneurs, ICT gurus, bankers, scientist et al…amidst all the disasters your generation have left for us, we continue to make due with and prospering beyond expectation- to envy of many non-Nigerians at home and abroad.
Do many of us Youths truly feel entitled and waiting for handouts as some politicians continue to suggest?
I guess you already know the answer to that but incase you don’t, I would respectfully tell you NO, we do not feel entitled nor waiting for handouts; There is NO SANE Nigerian Youth that waits for handouts from our government…it just doesn’t make sense when we know very well we have over the years been cursed with leaders(From bottom to top- reps,senators,governors and Presidents et al) who are not only incompetent and insensitive to our plights but have somehow vowed to continue to make life a ‘living hell’.
So remind us how entitled we feel again?
And as for those who choose not to go to school… How dare any of you self serving leaders blame them for choosing not to go?
None of you in government or the past leaders have the moral right to blame them when after graduating they end up not getting a job nor having a better life they deserve. What is equally frustrating is that those of us who decide to go to school end up living like prisoners in over crowded school accommodation with toilets that is sure to give us diseases. Our classroom lacks a conducive infrastructure and our laboratory lacks equipment needed to teach us. Many of us end up finishing school without getting a practical knowledge of what is taught because of incompetent teachers and lack of practicals due to poor or no equipments for science experiments.
Need I talk about how getting admission seems like waiting for a ticket to heaven? People like me spent about 3 years continuously waiting to get admission but being denied; not because I did not meet the grades but because the system is flawed and corrupt. After some years I ended up getting admission into a polytechnic but we went on strike at least twice every year… of course when you attend a very annoying school like mine, you tend to realize that strike has become a law and part of the curriculum. I spent roughly 4 years doing a 2years National diploma program due to strike.
So remind me why you should blame those who choose not to go to school? There is simply nothing about our education system that makes it attractive for anyone not even I.
If anyone in Nigeria feels entitled it is You politicians- those self serving senators and reps who do not do anything but sit all day shouting Ai and Nay and then collect millions in name of salary and other attachments and also end up embezzling more; they are those who feel entitled and lazy.
My name is Idris Chijioke Muhammad Ngene, I am a Nigerian Youth from Enugu state and I am not Lazy.
At age 16 I had already started hustling and making small money, by the time I was in my first year in higher institution I was already able to pay for my school fees and other expenses in school without waiting for my parents.
At age 17 amidst so many odds my book was selected by a ukrainian publisher to be published after trying hard to get a Nigerian publisher to publish it, at age 20 I had started talking of building my own company and laying foundations for its success which I subsequently started even with the many ups and downs. At age 23 I founded a charity I named Youths For prosperity aimed at helping Nigerian youths grow financially, teaching them several skills and discussing importance of peaceful coexistence. I achieved all this in a nation that continues to work against us(Nigerians). And there are many like me out there who at young age like me have fought to achieve their goals. We may not be where we want to be or achieved what we want to but at least some of us are taking practical steps
You don’t go about as leaders of a nation talking ill about us… even if some truth is contained in it, you should tell us when you organize an interactive session with the youths but you wouldn't organize community sessions because you know too well how angry the youths are.
Words of a leader has severe impact on things and this is why many nations try to paint good image of their people even when the reverse may be the case.
Today as a Nigerian youth entrepreneur I continue to struggle to make my business a success because there just isn't help from government nor business friendly policies to help us succeed. Even as a young writer, it is tough. If anyone feels entitled or Privileged it is the elites and your kids…
People like your wives and children who publishes a book and has in attendance ministers, ex heads of state and plenty elites, how then wont they be make millions from book launch? Even when I am sure what I have written over the years has similar or even more value. But which minister will attend? Or attract others? You see? We are not lazy, we just don’t have the privileges your kind has.
When your daughters decides to organize exhibition they end up making millions not because their work is awesome but because of privileges they have.
When you or your children are sick they are flown abroad for treatment just like when the President's son was injured in bike accident he flies out to Germany and when he was in Nigeria it was the minister of health that was personally attending to him while before he landed in Germany top Nigerian government diplomats were waiting to receive him. So again, how are we entitled and waiting for oil money?
Every nation has lazy people but they do not go about at home and abroad to shout it as if the whole youths are lazy especially when you haven't been helping them.
In Uk and UsA many of their people do not want to work and waits for government handouts yet they do not come to Nigeria and say it during press conference. Even with all this, we Youths continue to prosper amidst disastrous leadership.
So how again have we felt entitled or pampered?
Written by Idris Chijioke Ngene