Elliott Ugochukwu-Uko
The connection between poverty, unemployment, idleness and frustration is obvious. Unemployment and idleness leads to poverty and frustration. Countries the world over that succeeded in reducing these disturbing scourge, have the lowest crime rate. Their very secure society, in turn, attract visitors and investors, thereby growing their economy.
On the other hand, nations grappling with riots, insurgency and instability of any sort, usually reels and crawls under the yoke of economic crises, and of course social and political turmoil.
Our leaders over the years run down a promising nation, looted her dry, enthroned unhelpful style of governance and brought a supposedly great country to her knees.
Nigeria has been living a lie for a pretty long time. Our shameful poor infrastructure, weak institutions and unorganized society belies our obscene display of wealth and success.
About 40 million able bodied folks are not gainfully employed, the total nonexistence of social welfare programmes, encourages self-help ventures that usually produces only poorly skilled craftsmen ( reason our building engineers prefer Togolese and Beninoise ceiling tylers to our home-trained Nigerian artisans ), haphazard contractors and generally undedicated workmen, whose dishonest and deceptive behaviour discourages any kind of partnership.
Our politicians and public servants successfully influenced the larger society on the culture of indiscipline, corruption, deception, inflation of figures. Forgery, false declaration, burning the finance department and grand nepotism that defined the national culture we handed over to our children.
Whereas politicians and other public officials openly display ill gotten wealth and generally live well above their earnings, graduates and other school leavers are thrown into the hostile, unfriendly and unpredictable world out there, where “educated” street urchins soon inspire fresh folks into the Nigerian way of doing things. Elevating cutting corners and cheating the system as the national culture.
These large army of angry young people, some skilled, most unskilled, betrayed by our leaders and disappointed by the country, do not have any reason whatsoever to be proud or patriotic to their country. For them, survival is hard enough, love for fatherland a dry joke and sacrifice for one’s country, things they see only in the movies.
Which country exactly are you asking them to die for? The one that seems so far away, so unhelpful, uninspiring and uncaring or some imaginary country somewhere.
The country has truly never thought about the problems, fears and welfare of the younger generation, let alone provide for their needs at any time. For post civil war citizens, it has always been every man on his own. The reality that you are totally lost if you don’t have any one to help you, defines the attitude of the younger generation.
Now, marginalised regions of the country, accepted earlier than other zones, that the country is on auto pilot to where nobody knows. And rightly or wrongly, they lost hope and faith in the country.
This was the situation, when Ralph told them 22 years ago, that a new nation was on the way. A nation where they’ll be treated as equal citizens. A country where things work, and they believed him. As their ranks grew, it was only natural that new, more daring and more charismatic leader will emerge somehow along the journey. And the beat goes on.
The political, social and economic realities on ground, will always make any offer of a better life in a new nation, attractive to the angry marooned younger generation, who are steadily denied everything in their country, either because they don’t know anybody or because they are from the wrong section of the country.
The agitation is alive and strong, because the country isn’t hospitable. Sectionalism, oppression, impunity, nepotism, maladministration, hatred, corruption, abuse of office, dichotomy, religious extremism, hubris and offensive parochialism, are the fuel driving the agitation.
The obvious lack of knowledge displayed by both the central government and her advisers, only helped in postponing resolution and also deepened and complicated the situation.
One very interesting development in this crisis, is the fact that the government has applied only one strategy in handling the issue since 1999. That strategy has not resolved the problem, it has only compounded it.
Why exactly is the Government obstinately uninterested in exploring other avenues?
Dr. Alex Ekwueme pleaded with me to collate the grievances of the agitators and explain to Nnamdi the need and importance of engaging the Government in a dialogue, anytime he is called upon.
Nnamdi assured me severally, in my home, that he is ever ready to dialogue with the Government. Why that hasn’t happened is beyond me. Who and who are blocking it, I sincerely cannot say. What Government is waiting for, I do not know.
Since an earlier stillborn attempt at talks, exactly 4 years ago, was violently quashed, there hasn’t been any effort at engaging the agitators.
Another notable point worth presenting here is, the seeming lack of interest by the rest of the country, on the social, economic and political effects, a protracted agitation would impact on the nation.
Instability of any kind is unhealthy and unhelpful. It’s negative impact on the image, economy and wellbeing of the country cannot be ignored.
I have watched at close quarters the behaviour of politicians in this matter. I am disappointed to note a total lack of interest in the resolution of the matter. Pretence, hypocrisy and pushing the responsibility elsewhere will never solve the problem. Rather, taking the bull by the horn and courageously addressing the issue will help resolve the crisis. The political will to face the problem with sincerity of purpose, is needed now.
I testify that way back in to the 1990s, as I traversed the length and breadth of the country, organising my IYM seminars for Igbo youths, I discovered that the Igbo younger generation were of the view that the country was structured against them. That they believed everything in Nigeria was skewed against them. The creation of states, creation of local government areas, delineation of federal constituencies, cut off marks in school admission, headship of military, paramilitary and security agencies etc., were all done in a manner suggestive of eternal domination of Ndigbo. The upcoming generation of Ndigbo believe they have no future in Nigeria.
That the younger generation of Ndigbo, who feel ostracized, persecuted and politically dominated in Nigeria, do not want to bequeath same circumstances to their own children.
The agitation is a loud statement that they are uncomfortable in Nigeria as presently structured and constituted.
The decision not to talk to them, cannot help the situation.
TO BE CONTINUED.
