Creating colours in chaos

Our beloved country, Nigeria, is in such a situation that can be best described as “chaotic”. In the political sphere, our leaders, who are supposed to work in harmony for our common interests, are caught up in an egoistic fight for political superiority among themselves. The state of our economy is being determined by the currency of another country. More than half of the Nigerian population lives below the poverty line. Nigeria is one the largest manufacturers of agricultural products in the world, yet majority of items consumed and utilized by its citizens are imported on a daily basis. To make matters worse, we live in fear everyday in our own fatherland. The ones who are saddled with the responsibility of protecting us are the ones killing us. We have forgotten the value of brotherhood that has brought us this independence we now enjoy.

Shell rejected me as fresh graduate, I rejected them years after —Awodeyi

However, it is quite sad that the youths are the biggest casualties of poverty, unemployment and social vices. Little wonder, the entire country is said to be plagued with underdevelopment and poverty.

There is absolutely no way of denying the fact that our country is in a state of chaos. In fact, our problems are unlimited. These problems cut across every sector of the Nigerian economy. However, many Nigerians have succeeded in making colours amidst this chaos. For the first time ever in the history of Nollywood, Nigerian movies like Lion heart and Chief Daddy, were acquired by Netflix, one of the best film streaming media providers.

The National football team both in the male and female categories recorded great success in the Africa cups of Nations and the World Cup respectively. One of Nigeria’s brilliant teenagers, Nnemdi Ozoemena won second place in the 2019 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. Three Nigerian students emerged winners of global Huawei ICT competition after competing with 49 other teams from 30 countries. In all, the truth still remains that in the face of our never-ending crises, there are other memorable stories to tell and records to boast of about our beloved country.

However, the truth remains that only a section of the Nigerian youths have realized that they have the power to change the story of our nation. Nigeria has clocked 59 years of independence and rather than celebrating, more than half of her population is groaning about her failed infrastructure, corrupt leaders and underdevelopment.

The youths make up the larger percentage of those groaning and mourning. It is high time we looked beyond the never-ending chaos and thought of how to create colours amidst this never-ending chaos. We are the heart of the Nigerian population. We have the power to change the story of our nation, yet we have turned blind eyes to this fact. Instead, we have chosen to accept it as our fate. The choice is ours, we can keep folding our hands and allowing ourselves to be consoled by the popular saying: “You are the future leaders” or we can choose to take actions to change the damning narrative.

Sillah Fatima Fatou

University of Ibadan.