My father’s generation was a very selfish one. They failed to lead by example. My generation has only mostly rogues to look up to. They never planned for us. And never mentored anyone positively. And they failed in a lot of respects when compared with their mates in other countries, especially outside Africa. They could not build sufficient infrastructures when there was a boom in oil revenue which are sine qua non for favourable economic environment. Yet, it was during this period that a former head of state, a member of my father’s generation, infamously declared that Nigeria’s problem was not money, but what to do with the money. Today, after he had failed to make the most out of the abundance in his days, he now traverses the length and breadth of the nation praying for divine intervention. Thus, we can say with an assured measure of confidence that my father’s generation also failed socio-economic wise. They saw everything deteriorate, while they inherited everything, brand new, good and fine. They never demanded anything from the government. They never wanted change. They are the ones that tell us how beautiful London is but never worked on any city in Nigeria to be that beautiful. My father’s generation failed in everything, from governance to administration. They never sustained social goods. And while they criticise my generation, they should look at what they are about leaving us with.
Chambers Umezulike is a Nigerian Secular Humanist, Revolutionary, and Novelist. He is a co-author of the 1000 paged Nigerian centenary compendium: “The Metamorphoses of Nigeria (1914 – 2014),”a thorough work that chronicles stages of economic, political and social developments of Nigeria since 1914 that the British amalgamated her Northern and Southern protectorates. Follow on Twitter or Facebook.
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