by Asandia Hogan
The Nigerian youth. That’s what’s on my mind.
I’m no more a youth (18-35 should be the age range not 48-year-olds for youth leader). So I will talk as a “young” person.
You see I get worried about the “youth”, especially in politics. Most aren’t really youth anymore, young at heart maybe but over the threshold of what “Nigerian youth” should be. There’s a school of thought that stipulates youth is (18-40). Maybe. Whatever the age is, it doesn’t negate that there is the tendency to want power for the sake of power. Not for service to humanity or for any positive difference to the citizenry. The fear is that the Nigerian youth may fall into the same pool of greed and mediocrity of their predecessors. And that really should be our biggest worry. How do we get young people to see their leadership roles? Leadership for service to humanity sakes.
The Nigerian youth have the numbers to influence the political atmosphere. Their votes are the largest percentage in our voting sphere. Why then are they not projecting and leading the narrative? Why are they not redirecting and redefining the political space? What makes it hard to unite and speak as one? Could it be this two-headed monster called greed and mediocrity? Are they too docile yet unnecessarily hot-tempered? Could there be a concerted effort for mentoring programmes? To channel these energies? And no, not mentoring these youths for the older one’s gain but truly to impart value in their lives and the country as a whole. The question that arises from this becomes who should be mentoring these youths considering there’s only a small percentage of older politicians alive worth emulating and learning from.
On social media, the youth have #SquadGoals. So who’s in your squad? The few youth that have gotten into the thick of politics, who do they surround themselves or align with? Folks that aren’t on par with them intellectually? So they’re the only superstars? Do they become pawns in the hands of our predecessors hence they sacrifice intellect at the altar of tokenism and “superstardom”? How much do the youth help themselves within themselves?
Elections are expensive. Politics should be sacrificial. Two somewhat contradictory statements. How does the Nigerian youth who’s maybe 40 years old ensure they have the finances to support their dream of becoming President of Nigeria come 2019, for example, without being soiled in some form of corruption however minuscule? Does independent candidacy help? Realistically does a young person have the structure to cover the entire country and all the 8932 wards and 150,000 polling units in Nigeria without a dominant political party or independent candidacy is for state/ senatorial positions? The logistics of any election, even councillorship, let alone a nationwide position are enormous, how does one avoid it being hijacked by a money bag? Are the youth hungry enough to throw their weight and resources (finances especially) behind a young person who isn’t lining their pockets? Politics of money has trickled down, unfortunately. Maybe it’s not #TooYoungToRun but #TooBrokeToRun
How will the Nigerian Youth escape the trap of its predecessors? Is there a solution to this quagmire? Are there suggestions out there?
The race to 2019 elections will surely be interesting.
Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Asandia Hogan wears many hats: She is the Creative Director of the fashion label, Asandia Hogan; a Political activist, Restaurateur and History buff.
