Open letter to Nigerian youth protesting for change

I write you this open and long letter as a youth at heart and as one who has devoted his entire career of over two decades to preparing the youth for excellence, service and greatness from the pulpits, podiums, boardrooms, classrooms and the field. I am a youth, and I have twitted, spoken and rallied for the #EndSars demands in the same spirit of oneness and solidarity.

Without any shadow of doubt, your stepping out to protest against the injustice in our land under the #EndSars movement is the answer to the prayers of a people who after watching decades of worsening leadership performance, abandoned their hope of national redemption to fate. To be honest, not many Nigerians believe the answers to their prayers to God to wake our people up from over two decades of deep slumber and lay the foundation of good government that will drive Nigeria towards sustainable development will come with you as the harbingers of our new hope and promise of redemption.

That Nigeria was not looking to your direction for hope, awakening and redemption prior to now was not an act of callous disrespect for you or lack of believe in your capabilities. Rather, it was based on your acts and actions in the past that have convinced not a few that you were a lazy generation.

Many of us were deeply offended about that stereotype of the ‘lazy generation’ which the ruling class and those who really are blinded to your undeniable interludes of brilliance and flashes of resilience have tried to pin on you. We tried so hard to point your naysayers to the cacophony of accomplishments produced in the crucible of pains, hardships and harsh environment by some of you. But the harder we tried, the harder the actions of the few bad eggs within your ranks and the dead silence of the good ones in your fold to the issues that affect our lives everyday drown the voices of our defense of you.

If it is true that a man’s day begins whenever he wakes up, then would it be out of place to say to you and to all Nigerians good morning?

Good morning great Nigerian youths. Thank you for waking up at last. Thank you for deciding never to be silent in the face of injustice again. Thank you for organizing excellent protests that demonstrate your amazing organizational skills and showcase your passion and commitment to accountability, unity and integrity. Thank you for your sassy slogan ‘soro soke’. Tyler Perry, the amazing American gospel movie producer twitted ‘soro soke’ in support of your campaign to end bad government over the weekend. He wanted to know what ‘soro soke’ means. I twitted him a reply on your behalf to say you were asking your country men and women and every lover of justice and orderly society across the world to ‘speak up’. Reports across the media show that the world has heard your voices. Your country is proud of you. Members of the political class ruling our country have seen your bravery, brilliance, and resilience. They have seen, read and heard your demands. We your partners and fans are praying to God to grant the leaders wisdom, understanding and courage to commit to the building of the new Nigeria you are demanding for. And if they do not commit, we are praying and hoping that God will cause you to see the need to retreat in the spirit of wisdom and channel your energy to generate the strategy to kick them all out of office in the next rounds of general elections coming up in 2023.

Nigerians celebrate you great Nigerian youths for letting the world know we are not the timid, spineless people that many have concluded we are. We want you to be proud of what you have achieved now. Without doubt, your sacrifices in driving this ‘revolution’ have lifted the spirit of millions of Nigerians who have lost hope in Nigeria’s redemption. Your actions have stirred up the faith in Nigeria of millions of our people who were adversely affected by the Covid Pandemic and bore the pains of a poorly coordinated and grossly disappointing relief program by our government.

As the protests enter its third week, it is time for you to pause and ponder deeply about a few things which I will call the ABC of deciding what next to do.

A) HAVE WE BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM?

The excitement from the success of the protests so far is huge and contagious. It can even be intoxicating. It can further inspire the spirit of self justification to make you detach yourselves totally from the realities and the problems that brought us here. Unless you objectively and deeply assess your role in the acts of commission and omission that brought our country to this sorry state and make a strong commitment to purge yourselves totally of your attitude, character and behaviours that allowed things to get this bad in Nigeria before you decided to take a stand and step out, your character and moral foundation will not be able to carry the structure of the new Nigeria you are agitating for.

Let us for example ignore the vices of the youths like examination malpractices, drunk driving, traffic offences, bribery to obtain favours etc and how the youths have contributed to the moral decadence in our country as we try to do our self-assessment.

Let us concentrate only on the role the youths have been playing in Nigeria’s democracy to see if the youth have been part of the problems in Nigeria or not.

In the years leading to the 2019 general elections, some young Nigerians who were frustrated and angry with the way the country was being governed decided to stop sitting on the fence. With their hard earned money, they registered political parties like ANRP of Tope Fasua, AAC of Sowore Omoyele, AAN of Fela Durotoye and a host of others. They offered the youth and all progressives very sound alternatives to the PDP and APC that have been running the country aground. These young men and women campaigned painfully but gallantly across Nigeria with their own money. Unlike those who campaigned with money for roads, hospitals, infrastructure and jobs that would have been created for you, they brought innovative ideas that are radical, revolutionary and developmental. Rather than stand up behind them, the youths overlooked them and divided themselves into three classes of responders. The first category consists of youths who stood solidly for their oppressors and helped them to win at all cost. The second category is that of youths who did not believe in the process at all. Many of them who registered to vote refused to exercise the right. The rest neither registered to vote nor make any sacrifice to help change the status quo. The third category took a risk with these new democrats but in all, it was less than 200,000 out of over fifty million youths eligible to vote in Nigeria who voted for all the young presidential aspirants combined. If the youth who are twenty seven years above have voted for their kind, Goodluck Jonathan would not have won in 2011 and the huge resources squandered under his administration could have built us a Dubai in Nigeria. If the youth who are 25 years above have voted in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari would still be doing his farming in Daura by now and would never have ruled Nigeria. The huge debts we have ratcheted under Buhari would have been avoided. And if the youth who are 20 years and above have adopted and voted in 2019 for one of those brilliant and young presidential candidates, APC government would have caved in and yielded the ground to a party of ideas, passion, vision and rapid development to guide Nigeria to greatness.

That you have risen now to demand for a better Nigeria is very good, but the truth is that it hasn’t blotted out the errors of the past contributed by the youth to the level of impunity and madness in our country. Looking at those errors and making a determination to never repeat them going forward is very important and beneficial. It shows you are truly ready for change and you are serious enough to lay a brand new foundation.

B) WHAT DO WE REALLY WANT?

Knowing what you really want from the protests is very important. It will let you know when and how to call off the protests when the time comes.

It is good the way you have carefully marshalled the 5 key points that Governor Babajide Sanwolu presented to President Muhammadu Buhari on your behalf last week. I also love the way you have been making the list to grow longer. All the issues you have raised are very important and should be addressed by any leader who means well for the people.

To address these issues you have raised, there is need for dialogue between the government and your team. Taking part in such a dialogue and agreeing with any reasonable timeline agreed with the government doesn’t make you weak. It makes you reasonable, matured and strategic. Subscribing to such a dialogue and working out the timetable for performance will make room for you to see whether the government is serious or merely playing games and it will further win for you the love of the nation you are fighting for.

If these demands you have already made are not all that you intended then the protests must go on. But even if the protests are made to continue indefinitely, it is incumbent on you to let the whole world know why you are continuing the protest. Are you protesting so that President Muhammadu would resign and the National Assembly of representatives that are experts in watching out for their own interest alone to resign and hand the government over to the youth or their representatives? Are you protesting to force the president to dissolve the government and schedule new elections?

If these or any other reasons are the rationale for the protests to continue, you must communicate the reasons clearly and sincerely for all to know.

C) WHAT NEXT AFTER THE PROTESTS?

No matter how long the protests last, it will still end one day. What are we going to do after the protests have ended?

I strongly believe that the Nigerian youth can sack every single member of the current Senate and the House of Representatives in 2023. Mathematically, the Nigerian youth has everything it needs to determine who becomes Nigeria’s President in 2023. I am of the opinion that the Nigerian youth can produce the governors of the 26 states that the protests have already covered now in the next general elections.

God makes all things beautiful in his time. These protests have been so beautiful, so inspiring and so invigorating. Change has been born in Nigeria and the fire of change will born hotter and bigger if this momentum is sustained innovatively. By sustaining the momentum, I am not talking about continuing the protests. Protests will not deliver the New Nigeria we desire, wisdom will. I feel wisdom is urgently calling us to do two very important things:

1). End the protests this week and take the negotiation approach by driving through the route of dialogue with great grace.

2). Turn this movement into a community and political development machine that will prepare the youth to take over the governance of Nigeria through the ballot boxes in 2023.

‘Wisdom is profitable to direct.’ May God grant the leaders of these wonderful protests the wisdom to take the best decisions going forward.

We salute your courage our gallant youths. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the falling heroes of this movement. God bless you all for your love for our country.
Happy new dawn Nigeria.

Osho is a development specialist, change architect, public affairs analyst, public speaker and author. He is a passionate believer that Nigeria will be great.