As expected, I met with a barrage of flak for my article “For Once, Let’s Blame Nigerian Youth” published in SaraReporters July 8 and in other Internet portals.
Little minds are happy to stay stuck in little ruts, smugly resisting change. Ours is an instant society in which immediate results have become the expectation of our youth. Nigerian youth must be reminded that there are many endeavors that will only be accomplished if the long-range perspective is maintained.
Their ability to learn depends in part on their ability to relinquish what they have held. The close-minded attitude of our youth that excludes any possibility of learning is a perfect recipe for dumbness.
Of all the devil’s tools for making our youth miserable, discouragement is his finest and most frequently used. If seeing is believing, our youth as true skeptics refuse to look.
Sample responses to my article are reproduced verbatim below from SaharaReporters – dumb Nigerian youth … in their own words. Though one thing I applaud them for is that no one can beat them in their own game.
Enjoy!
It is easy for “self-disenfranchised” nigerians abroad to cast the stone at us. We (the youth of nigeria) wonder what made u horrible lot migrate from ur fatherland. Now that the brain-drain u left in ur wake has overtaken the country, u suddenly have the moral right to demand of us a deadly revolution? Nigeria is a free for all economy because of u. I do not believe in “one Nigeria” because it is a fraud. We nigerians did not form this country by our own will. Our fathers were lumped up to make it easy for lugard exploit us. So vicke, shut ur blasted trap. If u want to die like a dog, jump off a cliff in protest. Animal! – Tayo
Here is just a reminder to those who are not aware that the contraption christened Nigeria by idiotic Luggard is on the road to demolition. Amalgamation expires midnight 1st January, 2014. He who is not in the know should start getting acquaintance with this fact. The dungeon Nigeria will be history on this date. No negotiation, no parole or we do it the BLOODY WAY.Only a fool will think that any revolution will ever take place in naija. Yorubas can not deceive us again. We’re aware of their hypocrisy and back-stabbing DNA strands unlike in the past. Anyone who wants to revolt is on their own. Count me and my Igbo people out.Our only resolution is Biafra. Let every region define their future and pursue it. Presently, Ndigbo are Nigerians not as a resolution of theirs but that of the colonial masters and regional oppressors from the west&north. The shackles of 100years slavery will be broken on 1st January, 2014. Pure and simple! – Oleku
Its only in africa that u see humans jubilate any day there is a coup–we saw films from Ghana with youths dancing and singing over the CIA backed coup against Nkrumah-years later are the people of Ghana still dancing on their streets-to celebrate the departure of Nkrumah? Ghana is yet to move an inch from where Nkrumah stopped the clock of progress-same as the south west with Awo-parents are now saying No to their wards who want to further their education IN EKO-cause the likes of Fashola ati Tinubu cannot plan-they got free education but are giving the youth stones- for education-Did their fathers hold demonstrations b4 Awo gave them free education? He did not put any of their KIDS on the anvil of death-or harms way-all he asked of them was their votes-here those who hardly ever empathize with the oil bearing communities that suffer oil spills daily now want youths from d SS 2 sacrifice their lives 4 dem comfort-tomorrow instead of a split! Animals. – Deri
Yr name alone is enough to show that u are an Ibo man with no soul! You who could not defend your tribesmen who were slaughtered like pigs in the fulani North by boko haram, because of the occasional contract that u obtain want to protest against Jonathan-who are the beneficiaries of Odili, Sylva, Alams and Amechis rule in the SS-are they not your tribesmen? Are the oil subsidy thieves from Yenagoa or Port Harcourt.If u were educated u wld have know by now that, coups in africa are always sponsored by western nations? The beneficiaries of the oil wells in the south south which has been feeding yr ancestors since 1958, are the fulanis, ibos and yorubas-Be man enough to call for a split-Your were busy arranging a one million man match for despots like Abacha who ruled us 4 6yrs-kept quiet when the North arranged to hang kensarowiwa-when abiola was killed now u have woken up from your regional slumber to talk rubbish! Cause Egypt is on fire-from d West! Animals. – Deri
A million and one peeps will take a swipe at Deri for saying the truth here, but that does not change the reality on ground. This lope sided Nigeria where some are less citizens than others is not the one youth will die for like this misguided author is asking. What has the sacrifices of Isaac Boro, Kaduna Nzeogu, the youth that died for June 12etc earned us? They all died for nothing! – Mutualfear
Bayo, Pls go to your state of origin, you need to among the first on the foundation for the mountain of corpses for the revolution. It ain’t no use instigating the youths to “stand on a mountain of corpses – and, however terrible the thought, {they} are the beneficiaries of all the carnage.” You are a sadist, Bayo; what a stupid command to the youths. You know fully well that if the youths start in your LGA, for example, an Usman or Dagogo in uniform with an AK47 does not care a hoot gunning all of them down, because he believed none of them could be his relation. You and Sonola Olumhense pick up the keyboard, incite the youth to revolt while refusing to acknowledge that Nigeria is a fragmented society where nationwide popular revolution can NEVER NEVER take place. Common, give democracy a chance to mature in Nigeria. If you people are asking for the break-up of Nigeria, that’s another thing. -Amaka
See this one and his yeye call for revolution. Go to the ballot box for political power. If not, it is now revolution to split Nigeria and not revolution to grab distribution of oil revenues as you are craving. For 38 years, Nigeria was abused, its youths hardly had the opportunity to have a say on the polity, not even to cast a vote. A section of Nigeria – with a few outside collaborators – milked Nigeria dry – we are yet to recover Abacha loots – squashed oil money on religious pilgrimages to Mecca, oppressed Nigeria’s youths, never cared to replace worn-out social facilities, spent fortunes on false transitions to democracy. Waste galore. Throughout, you and your lot acquiesced. Now that the youths can vote, criticize government and have their liberty to participate in the polity, you want them to rise and take over the government.
U constitute a lot of insincerity in Nigeria. You falsely believe you are smarter than others. Split Nigeria into manageable countries. – Danay
Under-representation of the southeast in the NASS implies under-representation of the entire south. More than with others, the groups in the south have more commonly shared values regarding what the constitution shall contain. But Governor Fashola, for example, said No to creation of new states, thus No to redressing the structural imbalance and the wrong political system which this writer lamented here. Tribalism is blurring some senses.
A lopsided political structure in which a super political group in the corenorth was assigned overwhelming political representation through undue large number of states and LGA areas is the clog on the wheels of Nigeria’s march to nationhood. So far, no amendments can be made in the 1999 constitution unless it overwhelmingly favours corenorth. It’s no point invoking the youths – and indirectly – the soldiers to take over power. We must drop the pieces whenever the load becomes unbearable. – Amaka
“They should take the fight to the governors and demand their share of the so called security vote. Take the legislators and the president hostage and demand job creation bill. Demand for share of the legislator’s monthly compensation package of N29 million.” What about you? Are you not A YOUTH? Many traveled back to Libya and Egypt to fight, cant do the same? You should be guided by sense of reasoning next time you are writing for public.
were the initiatives of youths of yester-years. What can the youths of today boast they have succeeded in doing for the good of the society? Nothing, except getting steeped in cultism, violence and mass murders! The governments of the day are just messing up and getting deep into criminal misgovernance, thievery and electoral indiscretions. But the youths only complain and that’s all! The military and police are brutalizing everybody; and the youths keep quiet! Nobody asks the youths to go and die, just as the youths of yesteryears did not. What people are saying is that a sustained peaceful resistance by the youths can change a govt or bring it down. – Anonymous
This Deri guy must be the most idiotic person on earth. For months I’ve read comments on SR and I must say, Deri is not a Nigerian. People have fought so hard to keep this country united, not for one idiot to keep writing rubbish here. An illiterate like Jonathan is in power and Nigeria is gradually sliding to chaos and yet all you do is wake up and write rubbish here. Well, I don’t expect much from your type. before you can discuss about Nigeria, you must first of all, go to school and empower yourself. Leave the talk about oil. Japan has no oil but yet they are more developed than Nigeria. One advice for we youths, get education, be empowered so we can put all resources together to fight these illiterates ruling us. – Ezeoba
Bayo, You want polity restructured? What did you and your ilk do or say when Kano, Sokoto and Niger states’ governors were intimidating the leadership of the constitution amendment committees with the objective of having the “political arrangements and policies” that favor mostly the north remain as they were? Now, given what the constitution amendment committee proposed for amendment, those northern governors are on the way to having their objectives achieved. They even stand to gain more if the proposal on ‘indegene status’ is approved, ‘cos northern governors now have fewer non-indegenes to take care of. Most southerners in the north had escaped the north. Who was in position to say No but kept silent when northern military leaders restructured the polity through states and LGA creations to favour corenorth? APC group remains indifferent as others challenge the ignoble political restructuring done for north’s favour? It’s late now challenging balkanized Nigerian youths. – Amaka
This guy is talking out of his a**hole, there is nothing like Nigerian youths, this country is f***edup. The earlier the better everybody knows where they stands. – Anonymous
Most of the comment makers here could hardly have two or more of their comments posted on this page but DERI and his akin have such opportunity because money is not a problem to them in as much as the king of thieves is in power to supply them. DERI is afraid of revolution as corruption and theft are in-laws to his master. A thief is afraid of a Judge but can steal from the Judge. No wonder DERI and his master hate Buhari because Gen. Buhari doesn’t spare a thief or any criminal. He knows that Buhari will give them China treatment of thieves. The Malabu theft will be probe and DERI’S master (Phd minus intelligence but wearing a tax-master’s hat) will surely end his life in maximum prison. DERI should know that with or without revolution Jonathan will never rule human beings again. But if he wants to rule he can rule creeks animals because human beings will not vote animal to rule them. – Sanusi A.Yaradua
(Egyptian soldiers and police guarding a military building opened fire on supporters of the ousted president Monday-JUST TODAY in bloodshed that claimed at least 40 lives, officials and witnesses said, and plunged the divided country deeper into crisis with calls by Islamists for all-out rebellion against the army.)unquote. Yet he calls himself an educated donkey with no brains of his own–all he wants is a revolution because egypt has one-how can u have a revolution without a clear revolutionary ideas-Mubarak should go has he not gone? Why are they still killing protesters-thought they said the departure of Mubarak ati Morsi or the sack of GEJ in 9ja, will usher in the real dividends of democracy? Do we have peace in Tunisia, egypt , syria ati libya? which is easier to do with your fake Yoruba ideas of tinubu-relax over a glass of pure water sachets talk and to split and a revolution which will result in the murder of our youths? Animal – Deri
HEAR THE MUMU-(the Nigerian youth should not be afraid of police beating, arrest, or being killed if need be to free them from poverty, meaningless, wasted, and unfulfilled life) After 60 yrs in d saddle with more than 58 trillion stolen from the SS-by d tripod? PERHAPS HE WOULD FLY IN FROM THE USA TO PARTAKE IN THE PROTEST-what we yearn for in the South south is separation-resource control or fiscal federalism-if we throw our oil money into the gutter or drink ogogoro with it-its not of your blood business-None called for revolution when his tribesman OBJ was in power-now that an Ijaw man is there-he wants one for tinubu-ati Buhari! Has BUHARI NOT BEEN THERE B4? show US one road that OBJ constructed in the entire south west with our oil money while in Aso Rock rock 4 8 solid years! Who among the Nigerian youths took 2 d streets of Lagos when OBJ bombed Odi and leftover 20,000 dead-Or came to the aid of the SS when Gbaranmatu was bombed? – Deri
In 2011 when these same Tunubu ati APC agents came out with the idea of floating Buhari and Ribadu from the Fulani Empire for us to buy, I told that that they should move beyond the web to go and sell their ideas on the duo to the masses. Them refused! Thought buhari could be marketed on the web-with their dogo turenchis-unaware that the parents of the youths that they want to protest often go on holidays to Dubai with dem kids-during elections-the commoners who will vote for Jonathan in 2015 don’t even have access to an internet-that was why Joe igbokwe insulted the Yorubas by alleging that they voted for Jonathan because of their desire to tap into the luck hovering around his head–that it was their belief in d Ifa oracle that led the yorubas to vote for jonathan-here we are with anoda aje butter pikin who is yet to ask why the youths of Ondo preferred OBj to late Gani coming up with his crayfish article-to disturb our peace! – Deri
Well said; you came in last july so you were never here,I should presume. Hence, your calls are wrong. Nigeria has gone beyond protest because we have been divided alond ethnic and religious line. The last protest, South-south, south-east never came out because the president is from that area. The m ilitary never supported the people, where the protest had worked, the military were for the people. – Anonymous
Only God knows where these syndicated APC writers managed to bail themselves out from-where were the youths of these nation when Ibos, Yoruba ati Middle Belters were gunned down by members of Boko haram-in d North-where were the youths when buhari directed his supporters to lynch voters-who came to the rescue of the 11 youth corpers killed by BH in the fulani north-on the orders of buhari? Why have d the youths of 9ja not protested against the ongoing killings in the north? Sometimes these misguided aje butters-who relax in the comforts of their homes in the USA, think our youths are fools-has Tinubu who climbed on the back of Abiola to rule lagos state-ever thought of setting aside a day to mourn those youths that abacha gunned down at Yaba Bush stop during the pro-democracy demonstrations- while buhari was drinking kunu with Aabacha in aso rock? Can we tell this 419ner to ask Tinubus in law to defend his credentials? – Deri
These are the echoes of haunting melodies from our youth … wonderful tales that swarm in their heads!
Written By Bayo Oluwasanmi
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