I’d rather die than exist in the present day Nigeria without trying to make a change. It was the same thing the older generations did, and look at where that got us today.

Our society teaches us to show respect to our elders. As a matter of fact, the holy books preach the same values as regards our relationships with older people. But I have lived long enough to know that respect is earned. Respect is a condition of being honored (esteemed, respected or well regarded) and in most cases, people prove themselves in order to earn it.

Our parents and the older generations keep complaining about our generation, about how our moral values have been so corrupted and how we have successfully achieved a big feat; creating a living hell on earth. But who is to blame?

When our past leaders fought hard and worked for our independence, they had a vision to make this beloved country a glory in the African continent. I was watching a morning TV show on AIT sometime ago and I heard a man say that Awolowo was the reason why he could speak good English because (Awolowo) provided free education for every child in the western region at that time. Decades after, many children still can’t afford to go to school. The whole system has failed. Infrastructure is dead. Public schools are bedrocks of criminality. Nothing works perfectly in this nation. How can we explain that the 7th largest oil producer in the world cannot refine its own fuel within its own borders?

These news and stories of suicidal corruption keep coming up every day on Nairaland and I see posts and comments. What I see shows that we are probably even worse than our irresponsible older generations. Yes, that is how I see them. They are cowards. They are selfish and useless to themselves. During the Arab Spring, lives were lost. As I type this, people are dying in Syria, fighting for their freedom. What are we doing here in Nigeria? Posting news on the internet and expecting God to come down and fight for us? No. That will never happen.

We have been blinded by our elders in this nation. We are the change we seek. Our irresponsible elders have made us this way, and we have conformed to their cowardly attitude. All they know how to do is bully us to show respect to them, when they cannot respect themselves and come out to fight for our sake and the future generation of this country. Providing clothes and shelter isn’t enough for us. We need to know that we have the potential to be better than any country in this world. I am not exaggerating.

I am not a coward and I don’t believe that any child raised in this blessed country is pusillanimous. We need to understand that these irresponsible generations will keep cheating us until we rise up against them and do what is right. Enough of the big comments and grammar we post on the internet. We need to rise up and fight these devilish people before we don’t have any country to call our own.
Finally, I want us to see one another as one, irrespective of our tribe and ethnicity. The reason why America is so great today, (regardless of their multi-racial community) is because they all had a common goal; the future success of their country, and provision of a better world for the coming generations. Our elders have pitched us against other tribes. This was part of their political campaigns back then, but now things have changed. Most especially in Lagos where I grew up, I didn't know the difference between a Yoruba boy and an ibo boy. As a matter of fact, everyone is my brother and sister, and I don’t generalize the fault of one person towards his/her tribe. It is totally wrong because the truth is that nobody is perfect. But we should know that moral values can change all of that. Let us all learn to treat one another with respect, and the basis for judging ones character should be on how his behavior has affected the society as a whole…not just a tribe.

I dream of a future Nigeria that other nations would regret not being a part of. I hope it happens in our generation.

brownlolly: I’d rather die than exist in the present day Nigeria without trying to make a change. It was the same thing the older generations did, and look at where that got us today.

Our society teaches us to show respect to our elders. As a matter of fact, the holy books preach the same values as regards our relationships with older people. But I have lived long enough to know that respect is earned. Respect is a condition of being honored (esteemed, respected or well regarded) and in most cases, people prove themselves in order to earn it.

Our parents and the older generations keep complaining about our generation, about how our moral values have been so corrupted and how we have successfully achieved a big feat; creating a living hell on earth. But who is to blame?

When our past leaders fought hard and worked for our independence, they had a vision to make this beloved country a glory in the African continent. I was watching a morning TV show on AIT sometime ago and I heard a man say that Awolowo was the reason why he could speak good English because (Awolowo) provided free education for every child in the western region at that time. Decades after, many children still can’t afford to go to school. The whole system has failed. Infrastructure is dead. Public schools are bedrocks of criminality. Nothing works perfectly in this nation. How can we explain that the 7th largest oil producer in the world cannot refine its own fuel within its own borders?

These news and stories of suicidal corruption keep coming up every day on Nairaland and I see posts and comments. What I see shows that we are probably even worse than our irresponsible older generations. Yes, that is how I see them. They are cowards. They are selfish and useless to themselves. During the Arab Spring, lives were lost. As I type this, people are dying in Syria, fighting for their freedom. What are we doing here in Nigeria? Posting news on the internet and expecting God to come down and fight for us? No. That will never happen.

We have been blinded by our elders in this nation. We are the change we seek. Our irresponsible elders have made us this way, and we have conformed to their cowardly attitude. All they know how to do is bully us to show respect to them, when they cannot respect themselves and come out to fight for our sake and the future generation of this country. Providing clothes and shelter isn’t enough for us. We need to know that we have the potential to be better than any country in this world. I am not exaggerating.

I am not a coward and I don’t believe that any child raised in this blessed country is pusillanimous. We need to understand that these irresponsible generations will keep cheating us until we rise up against them and do what is right. Enough of the big comments and grammar we post on the internet. We need to rise up and fight these devilish people before we don’t have any country to call our own.
Finally, I want us to see one another as one, irrespective of our tribe and ethnicity. The reason why America is so great today, (regardless of their multi-racial community) is because they all had a common goal; the future success of their country, and provision of a better world for the coming generations. Our elders have pitched us against other tribes. This was part of their political campaigns back then, but now things have changed. Most especially in Lagos where I grew up, I didn't know the difference between a Yoruba boy and an ibo boy. As a matter of fact, everyone is my brother and sister, and I don’t generalize the fault of one person towards his/her tribe. It is totally wrong because the truth is that nobody is perfect. But we should know that moral values can change all of that. Let us all learn to treat one another with respect, and the basis for judging ones character should be on how his behavior has affected the society as a whole…not just a tribe.

I dream of a future Nigeria that other nations would regret not being a part of. I hope it happens in our generation.

Ololade Dairo.

forgive d past n av a blessed future is our desire.....with d bad leaders, yet we still grow strong...... With d fast changing world,yet our culture still stand.... I always believe dat u n i will make history one dai. Let nt d mistake of d pass hold us back....much love ONE NIGERIA.... GOD bless u all...

brownlolly: I’d rather die than exist in the present day Nigeria without trying to make a change. It was the same thing the older generations did, and look at where that got us today.

Our society teaches us to show respect to our elders. As a matter of fact, the holy books preach the same values as regards our relationships with older people. But I have lived long enough to know that respect is earned. Respect is a condition of being honored (esteemed, respected or well regarded) and in most cases, people prove themselves in order to earn it.

Our parents and the older generations keep complaining about our generation, about how our moral values have been so corrupted and how we have successfully achieved a big feat; creating a living hell on earth. But who is to blame?

When our past leaders fought hard and worked for our independence, they had a vision to make this beloved country a glory in the African continent. I was watching a morning TV show on AIT sometime ago and I heard a man say that Awolowo was the reason why he could speak good English because (Awolowo) provided free education for every child in the western region at that time. Decades after, many children still can’t afford to go to school. The whole system has failed. Infrastructure is dead. Public schools are bedrocks of criminality. Nothing works perfectly in this nation. How can we explain that the 7th largest oil producer in the world cannot refine its own fuel within its own borders?

These news and stories of suicidal corruption keep coming up every day on Nairaland and I see posts and comments. What I see shows that we are probably even worse than our irresponsible older generations. Yes, that is how I see them. They are cowards. They are selfish and useless to themselves. During the Arab Spring, lives were lost. As I type this, people are dying in Syria, fighting for their freedom. What are we doing here in Nigeria? Posting news on the internet and expecting God to come down and fight for us? No. That will never happen.

We have been blinded by our elders in this nation. We are the change we seek. Our irresponsible elders have made us this way, and we have conformed to their cowardly attitude. All they know how to do is bully us to show respect to them, when they cannot respect themselves and come out to fight for our sake and the future generation of this country. Providing clothes and shelter isn’t enough for us. We need to know that we have the potential to be better than any country in this world. I am not exaggerating.

I am not a coward and I don’t believe that any child raised in this blessed country is pusillanimous. We need to understand that these irresponsible generations will keep cheating us until we rise up against them and do what is right. Enough of the big comments and grammar we post on the internet. We need to rise up and fight these devilish people before we don’t have any country to call our own.
Finally, I want us to see one another as one, irrespective of our tribe and ethnicity. The reason why America is so great today, (regardless of their multi-racial community) is because they all had a common goal; the future success of their country, and provision of a better world for the coming generations. Our elders have pitched us against other tribes. This was part of their political campaigns back then, but now things have changed. Most especially in Lagos where I grew up, I didn't know the difference between a Yoruba boy and an ibo boy. As a matter of fact, everyone is my brother and sister, and I don’t generalize the fault of one person towards his/her tribe. It is totally wrong because the truth is that nobody is perfect. But we should know that moral values can change all of that. Let us all learn to treat one another with respect, and the basis for judging ones character should be on how his behavior has affected the society as a whole…not just a tribe.

I dream of a future Nigeria that other nations would regret not being a part of. I hope it happens in our generation.

Ololade Dairo.

forgive d past n av a blessed future is our desire.....with d bad leaders, yet we still grow strong...... With d fast changing world,yet our culture still stand.... I always believe dat u n i will make history one dai. Let nt d mistake of d pass hold us back....much love ONE NIGERIA.... GOD bless u all...

Part of forgiving the past is tolerance, and that is why we are facing these challenges today.

Mr poster i want to be part of the change and dream that you desire....how can i assist you in making the great achievement as the founders of modern Nigeria....

i believe that Nigeria is better off united than divided.....and i believe that there are many criteria that makes us not to progress and some of them are 1.Religion 2.Tribalism 3. Corruption. The youths have been complaining of how the elders have left them out and how the elders are not giving them a chance in politics.But i beg to disagree. We don't have to go cap in hand to this present generation and expect that they would give us the chance on a platter of gold...the youths are not ready to take this challenge.i shudder when i read most comments on this forum and i think that we have lost it as a nation with the kind of youths we are producing.i grew up in southwest,schooled all my life in the southwest....i find it hard to differentiate a Nigerian based on tribe but when i got to this forum i was shocked to see the level at which we have degenerated into...basically...its that bad.....what we fail to understand is that we cannot achieve anything as a nation if we continue to suspect one another.....the Arabs where able to achieve the Arab spring only as a result of their uniformity in tribe and religion and and they cooperated well......if we as youths want to win the war against the oppressors in the position of leadership,we have to accommodative our differences and decide to fight with oneness and unity..failure to do that would only amount to us being stagnant. we have to drop the cloak of tribalism,religion and corruption and see our selfs as Nigerians,then we can tackle the issue of those in power and we would give them the signal that w are ready to take the mantle of leadership.........peace

meccuno: i believe that Nigeria is better off united than divided.....and i believe that there are many criteria that makes us not to progress and some of them are 1.Religion 2.Tribalism 3. Corruption. The youths have been complaining of how the elders have left them out and how the elders are not giving them a chance in politics.But i beg to disagree. We don't have to go cap in hand to this present generation and expect that they would give us the chance on a platter of gold...the youths are not ready to take this challenge.i shudder when i read most comments on this forum and i think that we have lost it as a nation with the kind of youths we are producing.i grew up in southwest,schooled all my life in the southwest....i find it hard to differentiate a Nigerian based on tribe but when i got to this forum i was shocked to see the level at which we have degenerated into...basically...its that bad.....what we fail to understand is that we cannot achieve anything as a nation if we continue to suspect one another.....the Arabs where able to achieve the Arab spring only as a result of their uniformity in tribe and religion and and they cooperated well......if we as youths want to win the war against the oppressors in the position of leadership,we have to accommodative our differences and decide to fight with oneness and unity..failure to do that would only amount to us being stagnant. we have to drop the cloak of tribalism,religion and corruption and see our selfs as Nigerians,then we can tackle the issue of those in power and we would give them the signal that w are ready to take the mantle of leadership.........peace

You are on point!

these factors are the most important parts of our lives, and this is what we need to change.

We need to consider the development and progress of our nation as most important before we consider these other factors. Only idiots will disagree with me on this and selfishness would be their driving force.

It is really hard, I know, but the rest of us who see value in what is left of our beloved country can come together and join forces till we have a strong voice and take over.

We can do this by portraying positive values in our immediate communities. We can influence people with our choices and rules of living...hopefully, people will see what is going on and change their orientation.

Emzybrown: Mr poster i want to be part of the change and dream that you desire....how can i assist you in making the great achievement as the founders of modern Nigeria....

For people like you, i have hope..

"Those who disagree fail to see the bigger picture. Your sense of right and wrong cloud your better judgment to notice that the ideas of a more united Nigeria, a more united world for that matter, are what we need now and forever more. I long to see the day where we as a people forget the word tribe/religion, forget party loyalties and remember that everyone next to us is just as bit of human as we ourselves are.

But tribe/religion is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that our leaders make - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality and many then tend to believe it, and it is pass from one regeneration to the next.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few months reflect the complexities of tribe/religion in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, security, corruption or the need to find good jobs for every Nigerian.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of tribal/religious injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the Nigerian community today can be squarely directed to SENTIMENT to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of the SENTIMENT.

The lack of economic opportunity among young men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of our family value - a problem that many government have ignored and have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many society - power, security, healthcare and education - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality of many Nigerian leader of this generation grew up a time when the system works, they were cared for by the govt, and encouraged to aspire to the highest level, while some were denied opportunity and were systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the Nigerian Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along tribal/religious lines, or to make cheap political gain"

You can read the whole article the SENTIMENT https://www.nairaland.com/1447046/sentiment-hasyak