Apart from a negligible part of them who are fortunate to be parented by the Nigerian big men, these are young people who, throughout the short time they’ve been in this world, cannot effectively lay any claim to having had uninterrupted electricity for, at least, one month. They are used to NEPA, now PHCN, constantly reminding them through darkness that their job description mandated them to always turn off the power source. And each time NEPA gets gracious enough to allow them a sight of electricity, you hear them holla in happiness, UpNEPA!
But that is for those of them who live in the major cities and towns. Majority are covered by trees and hills in remote villages where there is no electric transformer and no money for generator. They don’t even have the opportunity to praise NEPA for their one-off acts of benevolence. They, however, may have heard – through stories told them by their kit and kin in towns and cities - of the language with which NEPA is hailed each time they give light. UpNEPA!
The only idea this generation has about pipe-borne water is the water from private boreholes. Their thinking, based on what they have so far seen, is that water can either be hauled by Malams in gallons or hawked in sachets as “pure water”. Those in the villages are okay with the streams and rivers that, sometimes, are miles away from residential areas. A good part of them have never seen government-supplied water from the ministry of public utilities. Their idea of a good school is the private schools – from Nursery to University. If their parents are unlucky to afford the tuition, then they are condemned to the public schools. They think roads must constantly be bad. They grew up to know this.
Political language means deceit to them. What is said isn’t always what is meant. They have learnt from experience to brand somebody “a politician” if he’s usually evasive or quick to tell lies. They grew up to see the only feasible ways of becoming rich: getting into government, becoming a government contractor, being the friend or relative of someone in government or being a miracle performing pastor or Imam. They see opportunities in Football and Music, but appreciate that the rise to wealth in these fields aren’t as fast and easy as it is in the earlier mentioned ones. They observe the good things of life from a distance: the rambling high rise buildings in the country’s choice areas, the beautiful cars owned by the fortunate; the good life lived by the capitalists. Members of the UpNEPA! generation have not, in summary, witnessed anything called good governance in their lifetime.And interestingly, this is the generation I am part of.
You will then appreciate why it is difficult to engage them on issues of good governance. They’ve not seen one, so they know not one, they can’t define it. The jean sagging guy with collar-up is full of hope. He thinks he or any member of his circle of friends will somehow get “there” – seat of government, that is – and the perquisites of political office will naturally become theirs to control. He prefers listening to Beyonce to discussing issues on public finance. He believes that, from all he has seen in his lifetime, nothing will change. He thinks Nigeria has accelerated way beyond a rescue point and therefore prefers watching the English Premiership to talking about the depletion of our foreign reserve.
They belong to the age of Apple and Blackberry; Facebook and Twitter and Google and Yahoo. They are globally connected to people they’ve not touched and have seen places they’ve not visited. They are young, imaginative and full of energy, but in their youthfulness, they do not understand that their reality may forbid them from witnessing the next 35 years. In their country, they are not expected to live beyond 48 years. Their men are expected to live for just 42 years. Their country is littered with man-made enemies of longevity, from stray bullets to bad roads to lack of hospitals. Many of them don’t know this, and the few who know find it difficult to comprehend. Of course, there’s always a pastor to assure them, or an Imam to prophecy to them.
But they have also witnessed the most important political events of the 21st Century. They watched the son of an African immigrant ride on the audacity of hope to the presidency of the World’s most powerful country – a country divided by the memories of slavery and the savagery of racism. Most importantly, they witnessed –albeit from some distance - the eruptions in the streets of sister African countries where oppression and impoverishment held sway, years before they were born. They witnessed the demolition of the fortresses of the African strongmen and observed that, in the end, no man is more powerful than the owners of power –the people. They saw Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D’Ivoire captured in dirty singlet, Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali of Tunisia flee for safety, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt caged and brought to justice and Muamar Ghaddafi of Libya ripped with bullets. They heard how Saddam Hussein was caught in a rat hole and how he begged the young boy who captured him, “Let’s negotiate”. The UpNEPA generation saw how the world’s number one enemy shook the foundation of American civilization, dodged justice from the deserted mountains of Tora Bora to the opulent mansion in Abbottabad, and still was removed from the face of the earth a decade later.
This generation has the rare opportunity of seeing that oppression by man will continue until stopped by other men. This generation has been blessed with practical lessons on the costs and benefits of freedom. They have observed that, in the end, the power of the people is impossible to resist. Now can the UpNEPA! generation take some moments to start re-educating themselves? Can they deploy their imaginative powers to see a world where electricity can light up their rooms and streetsevery day of the week? Can they change their thought patterns about wealth and the possible ways of acquiring it? Wealth is gotten with continuous, honest involvement in productive activities. Political positions are not supposed to be for the acquisition of wealth, they are for rendering of service. Whoever therefore gets suddenly wealthy after ascending to a political position must be made to give explanations on the source of such wealth.Can they start seeing roads built with our money, not the present death traps we have, and for which money for their repairs had long been fully paid?
Water doesn’t run on gallons and sachets, water runs on pipes. The government has the duty to ensure this happens. Education is the bedrock of any country that is serious about development and schools should be built and funded adequately by the government. Electricity drives development through industrialization and government has a duty to provide this, especially when so much money is budgeted for this provision. There should be hospitals, adequately equipped and with qualified personnel to take care of our health challenges. Okada isn’t a means of transportation. It is a clear sign of a state that has failed. It is the duty of government to provide adequate means of conveying humans and goods. The culture of policemen only being at check points isn’t what policing means. Your security is the primary job of the police. Their workstation shouldn’t just be in the kitchens and gates of politicians.Police work stations should be in your streets and communities. There are many more, but let me stop here.
Now that we have known some fraction of what good governance should be, can the UpNEPA! generation ask why they have not seen any sign of it since they were born? Is it because the country doesn’t have the money to provide these fruits of purposeful leadership? No. They can, but they refused to. The resources for the provision of these infrastructure are the ones the wicked ruling class have stolen and shared to their friends and family members. The over N240tr lost annually to corruption is money for your comfort and development. The death traps they brand roads shortening people’s lifespans have all the contracts for their repairs fully paid for without the roads fixed.
The UpNEPA! generation love life, but the life they love has been cut short by those who want them dead.
Now this is where a solution comes near: fight to live. This generation has a duty to fight to live. They must draw strength from the courage of their youth and motivation from their fertile imaginations. The UpNEPA! generation don’t need to reinvent the wheel, they already have successful models to copy. They saw how Tunisia did it. They saw how Egypt pulled it through. They saw how Libyans overcame. They will be the next success story.
Theirs wouldn’t be a challenge against one man who sat atop the state for three decades and made his words the law; it will be an action against a tribe of criminals that stashed away the future of a generation into their pockets in the last 35 years. In the field where they’ll fight to prolong their lives, this generation will find unity in the attack of a common enemy; hunger and disease will be the only tribe they’ll accept; poverty will be the only religion whose doctrines they’ll hear and survival will push them to the front line.
Now, will the UpNEPA! generation members please stand up?
Chinedu C. Ekeke wrote from Lagos.
Follow him on Twitter @ekekeee
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