IT TOOK me time to decide finally to
write this. Courage was needed to
embark on this self-imposed
assignment. This is because, while I
thought very deeply inside of me that
this should be written, I was also
considering that I should not make
some people feel really bad. But, then,
this has to be written. And my reference
to my father’s generation, for clarity
sake, is a reference to Nigerians that
were born in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and
60s.
My father’s generation also comprises
those Nigerians that were still pretty
young or mostly in the universities or
just joined the civil service in the 1960s
(when most African nations got their
independence), and suffered the
Nigerian Civil War; the ’70s; the ’80s;
and, therefore, definitely inherited a
very young Nigeria. I am referring to
the generation that started managing
the country’s affairs since the late ’70s
and has done so for decades.
I am referring to the generation that is
still currently handling the affairs of the
country: the president, ministers,
permanent secretaries, governors,
senators, commissioners, House of
Representatives members; retired and
about to retire civil servants, judges, big
business men, top shots in the army
police, navy, custom etc. The generation
that has started fading away; retiring
from the civil service, military,
businesses, superior and inferior courts
of record and other aspects of our
national life. Conversely, for clarity sake
also, my reference to my own
generation is a reference to Nigerians
that were born in the 1970s, ’80s, and
’90s for now. This exposition is
necessary primarily because a
generation prepares an enabling
environment for the generation
succeeding it, as obtained in most
developed countries. These developed
countries epitomize a functional society
where there are public goods:
functioning hospitals, schools, roads,
and metro stations; with 95% of the
population having access to food,
shelter; with low inequality gap, great
standard of living, strong working class
etc. Such developed countries are also
characterized by a responsive police
force, where you call the police and
within minutes, the police is knocking on
your door. The policemen in these
countries know everyone on the street,
and can address everyone on this same
street by their first names.
Though I see a serious lack of faith in
my own generation, and harbour the
suspicion that my own generation may
be worse in managing the affairs of
Nigeria, I seriously think that my
father’s generation caused it, which you
will have cause to believe too as we
further explore this topic. Already, my
own generation has started showing
traces of pre-failure: a highly money-
conscious and materialistic generation;
a generation where someone leaves
the university today and wants to own
cars, houses, and all the modern
gadgets within a year; a generation of
showing off, and with little or no
patience to grow in a responsible
career; a generation afflicted by the
worst side of corruption; a generation
with apathetic attitude to academic
excellence, exposed to low quality
education characteristic of the Nigerian
education sector with graduates that
cannot speak good English as its
regrettable products; a generation that
graduates from the universities by
sorting-bribing lecturers; a generation
that browses answers with telephones
during exams; a generation that
depends on question-paper leaks to be
able to pass West African Senior School
Secondary Certificate Examinations
(WASSCE), National Examination
Council (NECO), Joint Admission and
Matriculation Body (JAMB) exams etc; a
generation of exam malpractices across
all levels of education; a generation that
wants to make quick money as soon as
possible through any available means
whether such means be by crook or by
hook; a generation of a good
percentage of school dropouts, all
pursuing careers in the music industry,
as a gateway to instant financial
freedom and yet never sang anything
meaningful; a generation of young men
wearing dreadlocks, earrings, with
funny guitars, sagged trousers and all
manner of chains which they call blings
hanging around their necks; a
generation that is marked by eroded
values, integrity, and morals with sex as
the order of the day. A generation
where the National Association of
Nigerian Students’ leaders do not have
any cause that they are pursuing, never
criticize the government or
demonstrate, except to follow
politicians up and down for financial
gains.
Every father that I have met criticizes
my generation, affirming that there is
no hope in us. But the truth remains
that every problem has a root; and this
root, unchecked, developed into the
socio-cultural malaise pervading the
country today. Few of us have bothered
to ascertain the origin of this trouble. I
have therefore taken it as a burning
passion to focus on the cause of the
problem while looking at the problem.
This is what I called a holistic approach.
I am not trying to defend my
generation. Hell No! What I have set out
to do is to present my case. This is
because while it is convenient for my
father’s generation to blame my
generation, it is also incumbent on my
generation, especially those
impassioned members of my
generation who share the same ideals
and values with me, to remind my
father’s generation of their legacy of
profligacy which has landed Nigeria into
the very state in which they leave us.

Brother, I totally agree with you. I've also pondered over this issue and the truth is the older generation created a very poor foundation for us. Despite all the "gone are the good old days" stories they want to make us believe, the truth is that things are not really different now as from then.

Our older generation saw the corruption building in our institutions and never fought against these things when they were at least controlllable. They never took advantage of the low currency exchange rate or the fact that there was fewer population. They invented nothing, fought for nothing and laid nothing down.

If you watch Fela's videos, there's a particular track that showed Nigerians about to commit "jungle justice". People say that Fela was a prophet but the truth is he only observed what was going on around him at the time and unfortunately, those things are still happening today

Yes,of a truth they failed our generation,they created this future for us, a future of CONFUSED AND MONEY-MONGERS,but u know what? We can still CHANGE dis generation

If we have 20% of the youth who can think like this in every community, the problem of this country can be easily solved but the reverse is the case.