Emmanuel Oko Ogar|18 September 2016
It is a trite that Nigerian elites places high premium on the philosophy of elitism. This, they orchestrated through vocalization and brainwashing which are propelled by financial muscles and political subterfuge. They have succeeded in giving a distinctive attributes why they must have their ways. In fact, elitism is now an ethos where the youths are being coerced to accept in-toto as their heritage.
Since the inception of our sovereign as a nation and the advent of democracy in Nigeria, there have been people who had constituted themselves into the league of Hitler and Berlusconi in political circus and domain.They detest democratic- egalitarianism which translates into government of the people with equal rights and opportunities. It must be all about them alone.
The elites knows the truth and they have told us as it ought to be told. They assured the youths that the future belongs to them. Is now not the future? It is oh! Or when is the future? These are some of the questions regularly asked by young people which are begging for answers. One of our nationalists, Sir Herbert Macaulay postulated and I quote inter alia: “no question is settled until it is settled right”. When is the set time for the youths to take over the reins? The youths are the leaders of today and the children the leaders of the future. This commonplace is not worth debating about because it is a settled matter.
In Nigeria today, there is certain generation of people from different tribes, tongues and geographical locations who have understanding of the uniqueness of time and have resolved to take their destinies in their hands; this is the generation of the children of the Young Democratic Party, YDP. They have a transformed attitudinal change. These children knows what Nigeria ought to do and where to be as it stance now.
YDP family is a distinguished progenies of the poor; the rich, the good, the bad and the ugly who have the rare quality of being able to mend the crack wall and build the ruined house of our nation through selfless services, self-denial and collective efforts.They are young people that are determined to brace up to the monstrous challenges posed by societal incongruity by taking up the Gauntlet. They are equipped to cleanse the Augean Stables in this country.
YDP family is a special breed of young Nigerians with the biblical Caleb and Joshua’s spirit to cut the Gordian knot. These are people that are tired of the old leaders who run with the hare and hunt with hounds. They are people that have absorbed enough from the past and incumbent leaders that are obviously ignorance of even the simplest nitty-gritty of governance.
The coming of YDP has shown to me in particular how distressed; battered, vexed and disgruntled most Nigerians have become over the years. Credence is given to this assertion by the testimonies of the numerous calls; messages, mails and letters I managed to acknowledge receipt on a daily basis. The abled and challenged are indicating great enthusiasm to advance the cause of YDP and nothing can halt us; not even ourselves.
Like Martin Luther King Jr. cried in his baritone and I paraphrased: “you know my people, there comes a time when people get weary of being trampled over by the iron feet of recycled leaders”. These are the days of the generation of Issachar: the generation that understands time.
For seventeen years beginning from 1998 to 2015, the borrowed but unvalued People Democratic Party’s slogan which was meant to deceive the populace caused us racking stomach ache. They echo, power to the people and we never had the power. Only infinitesimal few had it.
When the young radicals, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panther Party in 1966 in the city of Oakland, California chanted the slogan, “power to the people”, their intention was not to entrench corruption and glue power in the hands of few people as PDP did.Power belongs to the people and the youth forms the large percentage of the vast majority of the active people.
In the light of the above, the All Progressive Party, APC had promised Nigerians unconditional change which has metamorphosed into outright trickery because the political mechanism and the economy policies put in place cannot support the actual change needed. Understandably, societal change is not instantaneously but happens gradually. Mature minds would not claim ignorance of the fact that every cloud has its silver lining. So, should our spirits succumbs to the unrealistic will of the change mantra? No sir/ma!
YDP’s children are a chosen generation of the mindset of biblical Issachar. The people that knows that there is always time for everything under the sun. This is the young people’s time in governance. Join YDP movement today and secure the future of the unborn generations.
This piece ends with NECA president’s speech, Mr. Larry Ettah. He said, “The new government has been sharing with us what it plans to do. We must remind it that it will not be judged by its intentions, efforts and actions. What will resonate with all Nigerians is the outcome of all that and there can only be one acceptable outcome: good governance, improved standard of living and creation of an enabling environment for sustainable enterprise”.
All young Nigerians notwithstanding of your educational qualifications, geographical location, religion affinity, social status, cultural like-mindedness or age should join us today as we begin the drive to take our country to that lofty zenith of awe through the YDP vehicle. The young people are saying as the Americans would say: We ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around.
Comr. Ogar, Emmanuel Oko
Cross River State chapter of Young Democratic Party, YDP Publicity Secretary.
