Don’t compare today’s youths to Awolowo, Zik and Tafawa Balewa

It saddens me when I see adults compare some of the youths we have around today to the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Tafawa Balewa. Some even say Gowon, Obasanjo, Buhari, etc all ruled Nigeria when they were young, so why can’t this generation do the same?

I laugh when I read or hear such comparison, in fact, the comparison grew during the #EndSARS protests. Don’t get me wrong, no one is against the younger generation ruling this country but in all fairness they lack everything that Awo, Zik, Balewa and others had.

These men engaged the British not by physical protests but by intellectual protests. 

These men were philosophers in their own right, they had ideals, philosophy and a clear vision. These men contested the Clifford Constitution of 1922, the Richards constitution of 1945 until they pushed for independence.

They achieved this Herculean task by outlining greater reasoning to the British. They showed time and over again that they know what they wanted to achieve. They didn’t ask for EndSARS in one instance and EndNASS in the other.

Flash your mind back, do you think these men could have been achieved so much through protests on the streets? Do you think these men could have achieved so much through fake news or through inciting the citizens with heinous tweets?

More importantly, they didn’t insult everyone with an opposing view, they didn’t threaten violence or even malice because people disagreed with them, rather they re-strategised and found other ways of outsmarting those people.

The Enahoros, Awos, Ziks, Balewas had content. They studied, they understood governance and that was why they could achieve so much. I have engaged many of today’s youths and I can tell you that they know very little. They don’t even understand how government works, they cannot tell the three tiers of govt apart and they think everything should be blamed on the President.

I’m concerned that the good cause of these youths will be lost because of the lack of knowledge, because of the lack of a strategy and a plan. We see young people lead countries across the world and we look forward to such in Nigeria but these people weren’t just elected because they are young, they were elected because they have content. They have clear plans, the detailed and explained the direction they want to steer their countries.

Maybe it is time to go off Twitter and re-educate yourselves. If you cannot find their books, go to Wikipedia and read about Tafawa Balewa, Zik, Awo, etc. Read what the Zikist and Awoist movement were about. Go and read what they wanted their region to achieve, go and read the constitution of Nigeria, yes, especially the constitution of Nigeria.

Before you can clamour for restructuring you should have good knowledge of what is obtainable and how to achieve it. Take for example, Aisha Yesufu. What does she stand for? What is her philosophy? The answer is ‘nothing’, all she does is make noise and incite violence and there are many more on social media like her.

I charge our youths to go back to the drawing board, read the history of Nigeria, read why one region or state can dictate our election results and most importantly, get their PVCs and vote. With the youth population, the future is in their hands.

Knowledge is power. The youths have the number but what they need even more is knowledge and it is disturbing that they need leaders who really understand the dynamics of government, foreign policies and more importantly Nigeria’s unique religious and ethnic diversity.

God Bless Nigeria