Why are we surprised that youths are celebrating after collecting ‘election money’?

It seems we fail to realise that almost 90 millions Nigerians are living in abject poverty, unemployment is very high, and many others have a certain lasting longing for money, which leads people to only think of the now – “the future is still far.”

Most of that number can hardly access one meal per day, and when they do, it is not really a meal.

Apart from food, these people cannot afford good accommodation or clothing.

Beyond those who are living in abject poverty are those whose quick money disposition supercedes any other thought.

These group may be able to afford basic things of life, but do not understand wealth, and are ignorant of the ways with which to deal with it. They will grab opportunities like that because they know the money can pay certain bills.

Away from these are the ones who want to eat of the national cake at every opportunity, so, will collect money to do the bidding of the flutist – selling votes.

These groups hardly care what you say about the future, they simply want to either eat or be part of the feast. They do not know the candidates, their manifestos, nor do they know political parties the candidates represent.

You could argue: na all of us dey suffer am, but even in an almost perfect government, there is the absolute poor who are also ignorant, and dispositions don’t go away because you screamed on top of your voices seven months to an election.

If you used social media often, you would have seen videos of young Nigerians displaying wads of Nigerian naira, at the ongoing Ekiti election, celebrating their small wins.

Questions are been asked if these youths know that their future is in jeopardy. Other questions bother poverty, responsible leadership, irresponsible followership, but these people don’t know these things.

If you took a walk to a rural town and asked questions about the country’s leaders, you may be surprised that they know the current leadership is irresponsible, but they’ll insist on collecting the ‘election money’ because they need to eat or pay bills.

“Na you go pay my daughter school fees?”

Lets stop pretending that these poor people are not holding on to a thin rope, one that may cut and send them to their early graves. Let’s stop blaming people for trying to eat of the national cake. They grew up thinking everyone has a ln absolute right to it.

Instead, let’s understand the reason they open their hands to receive these monetary gifts before we begin to judge and condemn.

Poverty is real. It’ll take more than social media admonition to bring these receivers out of that mindset to an understanding that these sinister gifts have long term repercussions.

Let’s begin one person at a time.

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