An open letter to Nigerian youths

BY TIMOTHY OLA BAMGBOYE

Dear Nigerian youths,

LEST YOU SINK THIS COUNTRY OF OURS

It is yet another perplexing endeavour putting my thoughts in print. It is increasingly becoming difficult for me to attempt any intervention in the series of political discourse as they unfold in the Nigerian polity. This is not for want of what to say but as a result of such barrage of sordid tales that have reverberated hoarsely around the country in such a short while, so much that one is at a loss on which should be addressed first and fast. Yet, I am compelled by posterity to for once shift my attention from the political gladiators to the electorate themselves – especially you, the Nigerian youths, arguably on whose shoulders the rise or fall of this country squarely rests.

It is worrisome that in spite of our education, and at this point of our political trajectory, a good number of us still direly require being schooled on the need to imbibe the culture of civility, tolerance and comportment in the course of our political participation. Yet, this is what I am set to strongly do in this piece. For if we fail to sound the alarm, and this ugly trend is left unchecked, sometime soon, we will all look back, shake our head pitifully and say “there was a country.”

You need to know first and foremost that politics is not war. Never mind the “do or die affair” that has characterised its practice within the Nigerian context. Never mind the dirty mudslinging that has defined the process in recent times as championed by PDP and APC. Whether you belong to these two parties or not, yours is to redefine how politics should be played by being the vanguard of civility and comportment; not joining the bandwagon. You need not be uncouth and launch into tirades of personal attacks and name-calling to sell a candidate. Like a friend put it, you need not allow the veins in your neck protrude dangerously just to make a point. It’s simply not worth it.

I’ve seen another evil being perpetrated by you, Nigerian youths: that of toxic intolerance. Why do you have to resort to attacking everyone who expresses a dissenting opinion from yours? Some in fact go as far as deleting comments of such persons from their timelines on social media. Is it not possible to disagree without appearing disagreeable? Pray, why must everyone reason same way you do, when they are not robots? Conversely, I have seen brothers pitch their tents with opposing parties and argue their points in a civil manner. I have friends who strongly believe my decision to vote Kowa in the presidential elections is a waste of vote. And I do not hesitate to respond with Richard Nixon’s quote, which says “Finishing second in Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.” Indeed, my default response has been “If Kowa comes 14th in the forthcoming election, and your party comes second, what difference does it make? Why should I vote a candidate my conscience is opposed to just to add to the number?” Happily, we respect each other’s opinions and can still collaborate on some other important life matters. What should matter to you is whether your friends’ choices are based on convictions, not necessarily whether you are in the same political boat. As long as we share some similar life values, it matters less whether we see things from the same perspective. After all, eyes that look are many; eyes that see are few.

And with that comes another evil that some Nigerian youths wear as emblem: this tendency to denigrate people for the choices they make. I have very strong opinions about the unsuitability of both Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s presidency. And I do not mince words in highlighting their many defects. Every leader that is worth its salt, I believe, must face the onslaught of thorough but constructive criticism to be fit to occupy any public office. But it is one thing to sell my candidate or expose the flaws of an opposition candidate, it is another to fatally denigrate those who align with an opposing candidate or party for reasons unknown to me. If you believe everyone who doesn’t vote your candidate is plain stupid, please keep such mindset to yourself. It is sheer arrogance to pontificate that anyone who votes Candidate XYZ is a fool. What shall it profit you if you severe irretrievably a cordial relationship you once had with many a people on the basis of political myopia?

Again, why is it that you don’t see anything good about the party on the other side and can hardly find anything bad in the glaringly ignoble action of the party you favour? I see some highly respected persons labour hard to justify the vulgar vituperations of some politicians just because they belong to the same camp; and I stop short of losing the respect I have for them. Does packaging poo using a very attractive wrap make it less poo? It is too early in the day to be living a lie. If you cannot be consistent in speaking the truth, even when it does not favour your political affiliates, do the world this favour: remain mute. For me and many others, each action of every candidate should be analysed and judged on its merit. And the more you sell your candidate to us as an angel without a flaw, the more we distrust him.

Yet another evil that you should eschew going forward, dear Nigerian youths, is this prideful hesitation to eat the humble pie. I see many youths waiting in the wings, ready to pounce on the slips of that candidate that is a political threat to theirs. And when it turns out that what was reported by the media as a factual incident is a figment of the writer’s imagination, they resort to boldface. Rather than apologize for an unjustified criticism of the object of their venom, you hear statements like “Well, he did something similar in the past. No apologies.” That, for me, is dull-witted. If you have ever been misunderstood; if you have ever been at the centre of false witness; or if you have ever been lied against, you would be more circumspect in doing same to others in a most degrading way.

At this juncture, can I put across to you that a large fraction of the Nigerian media that you so much depend on for your infallible facts have sold their souls to mammon? Do you know that a vast majority of them, rather than being the conscience of the masses that they are touted to be, are the mouthpiece of the highest bidder? Indeed, it is so bad that truth has been commercialised and politicised. Except you can read between the lines and take time to cross check, truth as you know it is what is packaged as truth by the channel or tabloid you subscribe to. Nothing is sacrosanct anymore. Investigative journalism has been given a decent burial by most media outlets, while half truths and lies now hold the ace. Dear Nigerian youths, if what you depend on to form your strong opinions is suspect, shouldn’t you be more circumspect in your words and deeds?

Can I also remind you that most of these parties, especially the large ones, are bereft of any identifiable good-willed ideology? How could you be so consumed by the urge to advance the cause of such parties? Where do you get the faith to believe so strongly in unions of strange bed fellows that are called parties in Nigeria? And if you are the type that emphasizes good personalities over and above parties, how could you be so fully persuaded that the many bad eggs that surround him will not sabotage his efforts? By all means, be fully involved in the political process, associating with any group that you think can salvage this country from collapse; but take along with you a full dose of restraint.

If we the Nigerian youths would not desist from perpetuating the unchecked evils identified in this piece, then Wole Soyinka owes his generation an apology for describing them as wasted. For in the final analysis, we would have by our utterances and actions proven that we are better suited for that inglorious title, “the wasted generation.”

Yours truly,

A concerned Nigerian youth.