NIGERIAN YOUTHS: TOO LAZY TO READ; TOO LAZY TO LEAD by Nathaniel C. Adoji
I wonder how some Nigerian youths ever thought of ruling this country when they cannot simply watch a five-minute video and make up their own mind. But really, its not down to them alone. They have got an accomplice in some lazy Nigerian media organisations that write lazy headlines to deceive lazy readers.
I will make no attempt to analyze Buhari’s interview for the lazy youths who will rather use their data to read other lazy people write hogwash and peddle it as the truth. For starters, I’m not a big fan of President Muhammadu Buhari and I have my reservations about him but to intentionally try to twist what he said to tarnish his image is something I do not stand for.
How do you ever think of leading when all you think about is muddling things up? How would you lead when you cannot decipher a simple speech? How do you lead when you cannot make up your own mind? How do you lead when you are a typical follow, follow?
As Nigerians, we all know that oratory is not Buhari’s strongest skill set but that is no excuse for him to slight Nigerian youths.
So, I asked about ten persons if they had seen the video before commenting on the ‘Nigerian lazy youths comment’ but about nine of them said NO. But they were all ranting about Buhari labelling Nigerian youths as lazy. They said they had read it on some website or blog, so I sent them the link and their mindset changed.
I think this is how it is with most of those ranting on social media. Then what comes to mind is, are these the people who want to rule this country? They can’t even double check a video online, how could they possibly handle high level intelligence, how could they manage international relations etc.
With the level of ignorance exuded over the last few days about President Buhari’s comment, I do not blame only the Nigerian youths, I blame those who are supposed to be elders and leaders. They were the first to happily point out what was not and of course Nigerian youths jumped on the bandwagon.
As a youth in Nigeria, can you confidently say you follow international politics? Do you think the French president, Emmanuel Macron became leader by echoing the thoughts and philosophy of those old leaders in France?
He knew what international politics was, he knew what internal politics was and applied himself appropriately.
Or do you think Enrico Carattoni, 32, who is the leader of San Marino would have gotten that post as a follow, follow lad? Or even North Korea’s maverick Supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un at 33 and 34. These are youths who carved a niche for themselves, good or bad and have become world leaders.
Let’s bring it closer to home, in the last general election in Kenya John-Paul Mwirigi, 23 and Cynthia Jepkosgei Muge, 24 were voted as MPs and they both used social media to solicit votes without having to spend money.
Instead of properly strategizing themselves for the future (which is now) Nigerian youths allow themselves to be fooled by those who have nothing but deceit to offer.
For the first time in my life, I really question how Nigerian youths reason and why they cannot make up their own minds unless they are led by others.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many Nigerian youths that are doing great things home and abroad but what is the percentage? When you see the staggering number of youths who place more premium on joining the trend on social media instead of craving a niche for themselves my heart breaks.
For me, if there are issues that youths want to express, there are a thousand and one ways to do that especially online. You can even go as far as writing international organizations about your reservations or fears.
This does not only put you in the consciousness of the people and organizations that matter, it also shows what you stand for and how civil you have chosen to approach it. Even the Nigerian government can be reached through many channels and if need be for a good cause get people to push it on social media to catch the right eyes.
Ranting, on the basis of wrong facts and untruth, on the social media will do no good, as of today the talks of lazy Nigerian youths have faded away, it has been quickly replaced by Arsene Wenger’s exit and Big Brother Naija finale. The burden is on the Nigerian youth, to define, control and trend their own destiny and future, beyond what the media feeds to them.
