YOUTHS

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Monday, June 25, 2012Message to Nigerian youths
by Eze Onyekpere


No country develops or makes progress while being contemptuous of its youth. The youth, we are told, are the leaders of tomorrow. In some climes, the era of youth leadership has even arrived. By holding the youth in contempt, I mean that the nation fails to plan for the education, health, housing, employment and generally to equip the next generation with critical life skills and tools that will position them to compete with their peers from other parts of the world. Nigeria is exactly in contempt of its younger generation. And to a great extent, it is indoctrinating the younger generation to become worse than the present.

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The fact of the dominance of the Nigerian society by men and women whose ideas are stuck in the decadent moral jurisprudence of the last four centuries, essentially that might is right and that subversion of the system is the norm instead of being an aberration, leads us directly to the underdevelopment we find ourselves today. The atrocities and crimes that have been committed in the name of democracy since 1999 bear eloquent testimony to the subversion of God's plan for Nigeria which is a stable and prosperous nation, where the populace live in dignity. Let us recall the fact that virtually all elections conducted since 1999 have not truly reflected the real voting patterns of the people of Nigeria. Billions of naira have been severally allocated on a yearly basis to poverty reduction and these have never been accounted for. As a result, poverty is deepening and laying siege to the doorstep of the majority of Nigerians, especially the youth.

All the people get are budget documents with very large figures and yet nothing ever changes except the lives of a few in the corridors of power and their cronies. From the power probe scandal involving over $16b, to the Halliburton, Siemens and Malabu scams, all the financial felonies documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation's reports that have not been addressed, to the latest oil subsidy thievery, there is a surfeit of reasons to be angry and to insist that perpetrators of these scams be brought to justice. Over 80 per cent of the scammers are alive and walking free, some occupying positions of authority. Yet, these are ordinary felons that should be occupying prison cells in sane societies.

However, all hope is not lost. This is a new generation. The generation of the internet, the Occupy Movement, fast trains, innovation, great thoughts and redrawing of boundaries. I have a direct message to the youth who for no fault of theirs have been marginalised, brutalised and oppressed by the system. You have a right to reject all sorts of tyranny, intimidation, oppression and domination. Yes, you have the right to ask questions about how public resources are generated and spent and if the answers are not satisfactory, to demand that such resources be returned to the treasury. The legal system may be slow and outdated but you can still use it to seek redress and expand the frontiers of whatever the system can offer. May I remind you that you have the constitutional right to freely express your opinion and disseminate your ideas, the right to mobilise and assemble and to occupy public spaces as part of your constitutional right to freedom of movement. You have the right to the dignity of the human person which essentially means that you must have access to the means of living a life in dignity either directly provided by the state or the state providing the right enabling environment for you to live out a dignified life. You further have the right to refuse to be recruited as thugs and hoodlums to perpetrate evil. Essentially, there is no duty to obey the devil, there is no duty to obey illegal orders and there is no duty to work for the preservation of a decadent system! In the alternative, there is a fundamental duty to work for positive change; to preserve your future and the generations unborn.

The challenges that you face should be seen as inspirational, although the thoughts may spring some level of confusion as to the right direction. You do not need to listen to prodding that implore you to join the decadence and madness if you can't beat them. I feel ashamed each time I see Profs Wole Soyinka and Ben Nwabueze, Tunji Braithwaite and other elders who should be resting and enjoying some good time with their grandchildren still leading the charge against tyranny while some younger elements prefer to look the other way. These men have paid their dues and there will be no proper documentation of Nigeria's history without a record of their contribution to the struggle to make Nigeria a better place. Thus, this is the time to concretise the abstract ideas about change into a coherent ordered whole that will produce results. A time to start building a mass movement that will serve as a bulwark against corruption, ensure that thieves will not be allowed to rig the 2015 elections and that the vote must count. This is the time to weed out ethnic and religious trends of thought and seek out the man or woman of vision, mission, passion and great ideas who would begin the process of cleaning the system.

Traversing four cities in the last seven days and talking to hundreds of Nigerians on fiscal governance issues and challenges gave me a clear idea of the burning desire and passion for change that run in the heart of many Nigerians especially the youth. They are angry about the level of decadence and the fact that impunity is rife. They are angry because the federal, state and local governments are simply working for the occupants of the seats of power. They perfunctorily do one or two things in remembrance of the fact that they are supposedly elected. But the bulk of their time is spent to foster their personal agenda, which is the agenda of corruption, subversion and oppression of the majority. But the anger of the majority needs to be properly harnessed and channeled into a movement for social change.

To the civil society and the youth, let us get back to the starting blocks, begin afresh and restart the process of mobilising and empowering our people; build vast and large movements and networks with ability to respond timely and pointedly to violations of public trust. We have done it before and the military were forced to retreat in 1999; we can still do it again. If the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, the way Nigeria is going, that tomorrow may never come if this decay continues unchecked. It may overwhelm all of us and lead us to a full-fledged failed state in the mould of Somalia. We must step out of our comfort zones and rescue Nigeria from the brink. This we must do before the system finally implodes on us.

- Onyekpere, a lawyer, is the Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja. He wrote in via censoj@gmail.com. 08127235995

WHEN A CHILD IS LOST

When word came out that the Camerons had accidentally left their eldest daughter Nancy alone in a country pub, rather than condemnation the confession elicited widespread sympathy and cries of “it could happen to anyone.”

Because even the most assiduous of parents – including those with a security team, numerous personal assistants and curious strangers watching their every move – can turn their backs for a second to find a child has done a vanishing trick.

Whether disappearing among the aisles in the supermarket, ambling off to admire someone else’s sandcastles on the beach or – like Nancy – going on a trip to the toilet without reporting their intentions, kids can be only to easy to “lose”.

But in the event that your little one does get separated from you in a moment of distraction, does he or she know what to do to… or is panic and scream the place down their only mode of defence?
Here’s our guide to what to tell your kids in the (hopefully unlikely) event that they get lost:

Don’t frighten the children

Of course you have to instil a certain sense of danger in your kids and the understanding that they ought not to go wandering off or chatting to strangers. But be careful about frightening your children and therefore inhibiting their interest and interaction with the wider world. Arming them with some simple knowhow will help them feel more confident – and hopefully easier to find should they get separated from the group.

Teach them the basics

Your child should be taught their full name, address and a telephone number (perhaps these days a mobile is more useful than a landline) as soon as possible. If they can memorise that info they can provide other adults with the details needed to reunite them with you ASAP.

[Related article: Child Safety Week: Do your children know about safety in the home?]

Safer strangers, safer buildings

The Children’s Safety Education Foundation has devised a simple code to help kids look for a “safer stranger” who can help them if they get lost.

A safer stranger is “a person who is working at their job, which helps people”, such as a police officer, community support officer, traffic warden, shopkeeper or checkout assistant.

If your child cannot find a “safer stranger” outside, teach them to find a “safer building” such as a bank, post office, library, supermarket or medical centre to ask for help.
For full details see Childs Eye Media where there is a video to help children understand what to do and info for parents to help their little ones with the ‘code’.

Always arrange a meeting point

Whenever you are out and about, always set a meeting point should you become accidentally separated from one another.

In a shopping mall for instance, it may be the central fountain, or a local landmark on the high street.

In department stores show your child where customer services is so they know where to go if they get lost – and show them the uniform of the staff working there.

At beaches and theme parks always check where the lost children meeting point is in advance.

[Related article: 10 questions parents dread from their children (and how to answer them)]

Dress ‘em up

It may sound silly but if you’re heading on a big day out to a busy place, consider dressing your child in an eye-catching colour – and adding a name tag sewn inside their coat or cardigan to help them to be easily identified. You might even add your mobile number to that tag.

Take their photo

It can’t hurt to take a snap of your little one at the start of the day, on your mobile phone, so that should you become separated you have an immediate visual reference to show others when you are searching for them.

Buy an ID tag

There are ID cards and tags that you can buy which allow you to write on important information, such as your child’s name and a contact number. Some can be affixed to clothes or bags; others are capsules on necklaces or wristbands.

Teach them the 3-step plan

•     Stop, stand still and tall (“like a tree trunk” is good advice) and look around you – your Mum or Dad may be able to retrace their steps quickly and find you if you stay where you are. Call their names as loudly as you can.

•     If you can see your parents, go back to them straight away. If you can’t see them after a while try to find a ‘safe stranger’ – a uniformed person or, perhaps, a woman with children (women with children are statistically “safer”) and tell them you are lost.

•     If you can’t find a trusted person find a ‘safe’ building and go there to ask for help.

When lost in nature…

Teach your child to stay in the closest safe place to where they realised they were lost, and wait for help. They need to know that you will look for them.

Tell them it’s OK to yell when frightened

Teach your child that if they feel threatened it’s OK to kick and yell to get other people’s attention, and to run from the situation to the nearest safe stranger or safe place.

And as for you… don’t panic

If your child has disappeared, try to keep calm. Depending on where you are, locate a member of staff or a person in authority as quickly as possible. They may have clear procedures in place to deal with finding lost children. And don’t wander too far from where you last saw your child: if there is more than one of you, let one adult stay put while the other goes for help.