Youthful participation is a strong pillar of any growing community. As youths, we have plenty of innovative ideas with which we can make wonderful things happen. We are blessed with potentials which if appropriately used, can transform our state, country, and the world at large into betterment. We have what it takes to change the story of our dear nation. But believe me, that will only happen when we are ready to act, when we stop folding our arms, if we are ready to give it our all. I know, and I believe you would agree with me, that our country is in a sorry state, that a lot of things are wrong and none of us is satisfied with the situation of things. The country is battling the same set of problems since her birth in the year 1914. As we know, our independence in 1960 was just another form of colonialism because apart from the fact that, white men vacated our land, all other forms of abnormalities keep thriving within the governance of the country. The political players in which we place our trust failed us and the country itself. Every single one of them is struggling to wet his or her tongue with the juice of national wealth.
Politics remains a Game of Death that can only be played by demonic desperados’ due to the series of unfortunate events that bedeviled our post-independence days, many activists rose to speak against injustice. They condemned all forms of fallacies that our leaders are exhibiting. They criticized all forms of misappropriation, they advocated for the human rights of the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and they campaigned against every bit of injustice, but despite all that, here we are today, roaming within our problems with no viable solution. Have the efforts of our heroes past been in vain? Due to the high level of corruption which hitherto is hampering our progress on the track of development, many people especially the youths, have lost hope. But believe me, giving up as to the betterment of Nigeria is a big mistake we cannot afford to make.
Although it may seem like the works of our heroes past have gone wasted, but they have not. Because if not for their firm stand against injustice in this country, things would have been much more worse and state of anarchy would have erupted. As youths, our nation needs our help. Our dear country is in a trial time and is crying for our help, for the help of all patriotic citizens of Nigeria especially the youths because we are the leaders of today and tomorrow that is yet to come. If we keep watching without acting, regret is certain. If because we think our efforts won’t count, we stop making the right efforts, the coming generations won’t be proud of us. Heaven helps those who help themselves they say. Are we ready to help ourselves so that the heaven can come to our aid? A Yoruba proverb says, “it’s the child that stretches hands that a mother would lift”. It is only when we are serious with facing the problems on ground that real changes can come to existence.
In 2018, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (INEC Chairman as at then) made a statement in The Guardian Newspaper that Nigerian youths would determine the outcome of 2019 general election and indeed that was exactly the case. The youths have power and potentials to move this country to a higher pedestal. Despite the large percentage of youths, it’s sad to still have youths out there without voter’s cards. Just as it happened in 2019 as Mahmood has posited, youths would still determine the outcome of the coming 2023 election, meaning that we are the fate of this country, but only if we are ready to act.
I am imploring everyone of us who has not obtained or register for voter’s card in preparation for the 2023 election to do so. Because that is a way through which we can change the situation of our country. We are the hope of this country. We are the route towards her greatness. We are the Youths. We are the intellectuals. We are not lazy. We are ready to work! Aren’t we ?
In Conclusion my people, I want you to remember that nothing about the situation of our country will change except we are ready to change our ways of doing things and our manner of approaches. Only when we step forward to do the right thing is when real changes can take place. On a final note, this should serve as a reminder for us all to go on and do the needful. The chaos that’s rampaging our country can be stopped if certain simple steps are taken.If you and I obtain our voter’s card and exercise our civic right in the coming election.