A Generation in Disguise… Johnpaul Nnamdi

 KOMMON SENSE:

There are two kinds of women and two kinds of men. The foolish woman and the wise woman and the weak man and the strong man. The weak man will always meet the wishes of the foolish woman while the wise woman will meet the needs of the strong man. After this everything else is tales by moonlight.

A Generation in Disguise… Johnpaul Nnamdi

One afternoon, I strolled into a supermarket on campus to buy biscuits. I was hungry, so I hurried in not noticing other customers inside. As I went to pick the biscuits, something else attracted my attention. In fact, it stole the hunger in me. It was a statement from one of the beautiful girls inside the supermarket. In a sharp and lovely voice, she quipped: “Nigerian men are so wicked”.

I wanted to ignore the statement. No. I told myself. “Why did you say so?” I asked her with a smile on my face. While, she was shying away from the question, a friend of hers decided to answer.

“Nigerian men are unfaithful”. She said. “They do everything possible to win your heart. They promise you heaven and earth. And after messing around with you, they dump you for another lady.” She explained the trauma girls pass through in the hands of these men. Any one in my shoe will feel for her.

I lacked a coherent judgment, considering the testimony of some other boys that a typical Nigerian girl will not go out with you if you do not have the material things to keep her. This, they claim is the critical reason why a guy will lie to a girl just to get his way.

Thus, in constant curiosity, I wanted to know the motivation behind these attitudes as the case may be. I found out that faithfulness and trust is mislaid. Unfaithfulness and mistrust exists among average Nigerian youths who are presumed the leaders of tomorrow. Similarly, these are what our leaders are reputed for.

Chinua Achebe in his seminal work, The Trouble with Nigeria reveal that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a problem of leadership” and the failure or reluctance of leaders to take up “the challenge of personal example.” Furthermore, Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka described his generation as “the wasted generation” to expose the weakness of the ruling class.

However, it is painful that this generation in dire need of positive change has a high record of youths engaged in cultism, drug pushing, armed robbery, prostitution, thuggery, sycophancy, and a host of other vices are.

Unfortunately, the issue drifts to a worse dimension. These vices are predominant in our Universities which are thought to be centres of excellence, but are “amusement parks” as CAMPUSLIFE’s (The Nation) Gilbert Alasa noted. This way, I find it hard what to regard our traditional and religious institutions in the face of extensive immorality.

Obviously, our inherent African value is something we have eschewed. In this generation we celebrate wealth with full knowledge of its dishonest means. A man of virtue remains a laughing stock. Didn’t a writer once inscribe that people do not admire a virtue they do not possess? This is the true state of our society which contradicts description of it as one that celebrates morality.

Sycophancy, today, exists in its highest order. Most youths are involved in the act and the sad side is that they get peanuts from the elites they flatter. This they use as opportunity to oppress their peers. It is seen as a lucrative venture since most vibrant intelligent school leavers admire void portfolio such Personal Assistants to clueless statesmen. Arguments may arise that such moves are not driven by greed, but poverty and depression. But how depressed are we to forget that he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

The character of Nigerians abusing freedom is confirmed following the bad light in which most youths paint themselves on social network media. The fact that the changing trends in technology permits one to be proficient in the new media does not expunge the assertions that an average Nigerian youth is a slave to Twitter, Facebook or his/her Black Berry phone. A report by Chisom Ojukwu of CAMPSLIFE (The Nation) shows that “cell phones prove to be major distractions for students and teachers alike in the classrooms.” According to the report, many students are so addicted to their phones that they have become the “used” rather than the users.”

Instead of channeling energy to positive use, a Nigerian youth will not shudder to mastermind rigging in elections hence the pay is big. Majority in an armed robbery gang/cult are young people. The best heads that have carried out notorious suicide bombings are no doubt young persons. A report by UNAIDS disclosed that over 700,000 young people aged 15-32 are living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, needless to talk about maidens who hang around streets and drinking joints for “paid sex”. For them, cheap solution lies in abortion. Does this not suggest a generation killing itself by itself?

In the intervening time, I wonder, could we have met a sane land if generations before this we had young people with low virtue, wanting to cut corners, lost dignity in labour, irresponsible in the name of freedom or people who lacked value for human life?

Corrupt and ineffective political leadership led to the fall of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. In the same way, none of these ‘might’ be able to sink the hope of a better Nigeria. But the choice of this generation to continue sailing in the ship of ignorance, immorality, illiteracy, corruption, dissolution, and seek for shortcuts, even when it knows what is just and right is the greatest disaster.