Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye, a public affairs analyst, in this piece, used the theory of historical materialism as espoused by Karl Marx to establish that there is a seeming complacency among the Nigerian youths who have allowed their future to be mortgaged by the rich older generation in their efforts to get richer and powerful in a world where class struggle is the bane of success…
Class struggle, as opined by Karl Marx, a German Scholar, in his theory of historical materialism, is about the peasants’ strive for success. It is about war commissioned against perpetual hegemony, status quo and exploitation of the proletariats being used by the bourgeoisies to produce what they cannot buy. Class struggle is about the common people struggling towards restoring their battered souls. It is about the poorest of the poor striving towards becoming the richest of the rich.
In Nigeria today, the spirit of class struggle seems to have died amongst the youths. The youths have had their today and tomorrow strangulated by the older generation that currently holds the insignia of power. Sadly, the youths are not thinking. They have accepted that their future be mortgaged. The youths have refused to take their destiny into their hands.
The Elites are rotating power amongst themselves while the large numbers of the less privileged youths are wallowing in squalor. Our fathers continue to recycle themselves in government instead of giving way for the younger generation. They made education, which most of them in the western Nigeria acquired free of charge, almost unaffordable.
The older generation has refused to retire and quit the civil service so that the younger ones could be employed. Instead, they continue to hang on by falsifying their age. The looting and widespread corruption by our fathers have battered the economy so badly that small and medium enterprises, which should be the main employers of labour aside the government, are virtually non-existent.
Youths are the building blocks of a nation. The stronger, more vibrant and politically aware the youths are, the more developed the nation is. Countries that had empowered the younger generation in the past are now better off. David Cameroon became the Prime Minister of Britain at 43, one of his predecessors; Tony Blair has already retired from politics at 63. Americans elected Barrack Obama at 47.
Furthermore, Juan Barreto became the Prime Minister of Dominica at 32 in 2004. Joseph Kabila became the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at 31 in 2001. Nikola Gruevski became the Prime Minister of Macedonia at 36 in 2006. Today, Macedonia has risen from a periphery nation to a semi-core country in the international politics.
Mikheil Sakashvili fought a fierce battle against the order of gerontocracy in 2004; he triumphed and became the President of Georgia at 37. Faure Gnassingbe was inaugurated as the President of Togo at 39 in 2005. Bulgaria elected Sergei Stanishev as Prime Minister at 39 in 2005. Dmitry Medvedev made history when he became the youngest President of Russia in 2008 at 41.
All the examples cited above are successes recorded in 21st century. In Nigeria today, many youths at 36 are still single, looking for jobs whereas their mates are already Presidents and Prime Ministers in European and American sovereign nations. The next British Prime Minister might be a Nigerian. The young guy,Chuka Umunna, 37, a member of the British Parliament, hail from Anambra State.
Unfortunately, i once coined a piece, arguing that age is not a barrier; hence, Gen. Buhari who served as Minister of Petroleum Resources at 33 and Head of States at 41 in 1977 and 1983 respectively, becoming the President of Nigeria at 73 is not a bad idea. liant young Nigerians can we trace to Buhari’s Many people constantly intimidate the youths (in fact, the youths intimidate themselves as well) that we are too corrupt, but they did not say that our fathers and grand fathers used their ill-gotten wealth to destroy our sense of decency and value system.
Arguing that there’s nobody below 45 to govern Nigeria is an indictment of the older generation. A good leader produces good successors. Nigerian youths seem to have succumbed to the status quo. We have refused to fight. It is no surprise when a former Nigeria’s Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida described Nigerian Youths as unfit and unprepared for leadership. He was aspiring to be the President of Nigeria then at 70.
Most Nigerian youths are so disconnected from political happenings and government’s activities; as they do not know or care how they are being governed. The way youth argue blindly on social media whenever salient national issues are raised call for concern.
One of the cogent reasons Nigeria is moving a step forward then four steps backward is because we lack vibrant and informed youths. We youth are supposed to be the center of gravity of the society. The youth should be the ‘life’ of a society. The youth should be the hope for a better and brighter future of any society. But this is not the case in Nigeria.
Even the older generation does not have ample confidence in us. In Nigeria today, our leaders have abandoned the youths to start grooming their children who will eventually take over from them.
Now, I begin to wonder and ponder, what then is the gain of millions of youth who support these leaders? Is it that the youths aren’t good for anything than being used for “hallelujah jobs” only to be dumped afterwards? For how long shall we continue like this? Nigerian youths, where lies the spirit of class struggle?
Well, very articulate and thought provoking article. I strongly agreed with every sentence in this article at the same time,feeling very sad. But then there is still hope in the youth of this country,when a worker at the airport found some missing dollars and returned it, when most of the youth don’t even wait for government(handout like the niger-delta) before they start their own businesses and chart the course of their future e.t.c. I believe there is HOPE. It is well.