by Jude Feranmi

In the last article on this series, I talked about the glass ceiling that is at the core of the many factors responsible for the myriad of negativity that currently bedevil the average Nigerian Youth and how this glass ceiling is about to be shattered through a bill that has passed second reading at the House of Representatives in the National Assembly.

As has also been obvious, there are different sides of this argument and there are almost as much opponents as there are proponents even though most opponents do not disagree with the concept in its entirety and would raise arguments around the subjects of the context, the time at which such a bill is coming up, the current realities of the average Nigerian youth and even at times, the experience of the sexagenarians and septuagenarians who currently occupy the seats of power.

It is therefore necessary to provide answers to these questions in ways that are explicit enough for the layman on the street to grab. Today, I will be trying to answer the question why as far as the #NotTooYoungToRunBill is concerned. The questions that surround the mother question why are so enormous and varied that it will take a painstaking journey to provide answers to them all. I will endeavour to provide answers to the big ones and the reason is simple. If one does not understand the purpose of a thing, it is more often than not abused.

If we cannot answer the questions that surround the purpose and the justification for this bill and why it should be passed, then we might not be worthy of the generational milestone in our time and should it even be passed nevertheless, we will not be able to appreciate the level of impact it is capable of making in the path to the development of our society.

So this mother question WHY manifests in a variety of ways? The first one is usually Why should it be passed? Is the time right, interpreted as Why should it be passed NOW? Why should young persons be included politically up to the level of the Presidency? Why should we pass a bill that puts us on a level playing field with young people at the polls? Why should we open up the political system to the mates of our sons and daughters?

Amazingly, even young people who belong to the demography to benefit from the impact of this bill tend to ask in some amazingly incredulous manner, Why should we be able to contest at such an age? Are we not even more corrupt than these same old politicians which you can as well interpret as Why should we trust young people with the treasury and the whole apparatus of government?
In providing answers to all these questions, I will be careful not to equivocate answers for those having issues with trust to answers of those having issues with rights and inclusion to answers of those having issues with timing and opportunity and as such will take the issues one at a time.

TIMING: Why should this bill be passed now?

There is the popular sentiment that it is time for the young people to take over this nation. It is heard almost in every corner of the country and it’s not just the young people who are positioned to take over that are championing the sentiment. Nigerians of the old generation currently in their sixties and seventies form a bulky chunk of those who belong to that school of thought. The excuse is usually that of hearing the same names since 1960 and what is being done is only a recycling of the old guard and a transformation from the khaki into the agbada that is now popular a symbol for reformed democrats. The question however is, is that reason enough? Should we then go ahead and hand over the whole apparatus of state to young folks just because we want to hear new names who might even repeat the same feats or even worse feats than the ones who preceded them? Or to be more explicit, should we now start making and amending our laws based on sentiment?

The answer to these questions is an obvious NO! The most important argument, for me, in this campaign which is if I am asked even late already is the need to prepare for a future that is already here and the only person(s) capable of this preparation is the young Nigerian as s/he is the only person who will feature in that future.

The global economy is now so interwoven and interconnected that the idea of competition is no longer a function of locality or nationality. The competitors that businesses deal with are now businesses led by people of different races, origin, place of birth, education and environment, the much more important factor being the environment and we have not even started yet.

In a world that gets flatter by the minute, there is need for the creation of a conducive environment where business can be done, religion can be practiced, charity can be given and life can be lived.

The future we are headed to is a much diverse, interconnected and fragile future and the citizens of this country who will be a part of that future cannot afford to be mortgaged by those who are only concerned with the gains of the present at the detriment of a future they would not be part of.

The most sincere sexagenarian in charge of any kind of policy is under way less pressure to deliver than the average young Nigerian in his/her 30s or 40s because s/he would not be a part of that future while the young Nigerian would be a part of that future.

A brilliant example is the current activism going on in the ministry of Agriculture on genetically modified foods (GMOs) that are to be accepted in the country on a commercial scale; a policy that has been shown to increase the vulnerability of Nigerians to CANCER twenty years down the line.

The dilemma now is how to expect that a ministry headed majorly by those who won’t be a part of a future that is likely to have cancerous citizens as the norm will prioritize the safety of citizens for the future against a magic formula solution to the food crisis that is currently being experienced in the continent, a sharp divergence from the initiative to seek for real solutions.

The ripple effects of the policies that are made today affects the average Nigerian Youth on the long run and in years to come and this is particularly important to note as lots of people possess the mentality that the only issues which affects youths in policy making are the immediate issues of employment, empowerment, entertainment and sports. This HAS to be stopped. All Policies affect Youths, Now, Later or in the Distant Future.

As I earlier mentioned, this is the major argument for me. There is a need for the average Nigerian to wake up and realize that we are the last generation that can do something about youth inclusion that will suffer from its dire consequences should we choose to do nothing and unless we act, advocate, rally, cry and make our voices heard with all the force of technology that we have on our side, we may end up being the generation that came, saw and did nothing.

And let us be rest assured that the generation that comes after us, armed with all the forces of technology and earlier exposure to the benefits and the powers of the tools in an environment that would have already been degraded by today’s policies, will not just kick us out vehemently, their version of history and posterity and the way they write and document it will be nothing close to a depiction of the Dark Generation.

The argument I have put forward in this piece is one of my major arguments in support of this bill and answer to the question why. Tomorrow, and in accompanying pieces, I take on the issues of TRUST, RIGHTS, INCLUSION, OPPORTUNITY and other themes associated with the question WHY?
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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

Jude Feranmi is the National Youth Leader of KOWA PARTY and he supports the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill. He can be reached via Twitter -@juded27 and email [email protected]