Arewa’s youth: A lost generation or architects of rebirth?
The past few years have seen a worrying trend amongst Arewa youth: increasing numbers of youths engaging in public relations for political leaders without regard for truth, morality, or the future of the region. No one is saying that the youth cannot be champions for the leaders they believe in. Advocacy and political participation are […]
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The past few years have seen a worrying trend amongst Arewa youth: increasing numbers of youths engaging in public relations for political leaders without regard for truth, morality, or the future of the region. No one is saying that the youth cannot be champions for the leaders they believe in. Advocacy and political participation are the cornerstone rights of any democracy, and it is uplifting where youth exhibit political interest and curiosity. Advocacy, though, has to be grounded on responsibility, honesty, and a conscience. Public relations must never equate to propaganda, loyalty to lying, and must not demand turning a blind eye to incompetence and injustice.
Some Arewa youth have unfortunately chosen to abandon such values. Rather than being a generation that calls its leaders to account and demands improved governance, some have become complicit tools willing to be used, twisting facts, selling half-truths, and rationalising sheer failures. Policies that injure the majority are sold as success, glaring errors are sugar-coated, and people’s suffering is downplayed — all in a pitiful attempt to be in politicians’ good books. This dangerous trend is not only unfortunate but also jeopardises the future that these young people claim to represent.
Most of such young people do not realise that when the storm finally departs, it is not the children of the political elite who will suffer the consequences of bad governance of today. The privileged few have already guaranteed the futures of their children through riches, foreign scholarships, and other privileges. It is the children of the common man — the Talakawa — that will be left to inherit a crippled and broken system.
Irresponsible advocacy for leadership failure today will not protect the common youth of tomorrow from the certainty of unemployment, insecurity, poor education, and limited opportunities. Thus, the youth should understand that mortgaging their conscience for temporal gains does an injustice to themselves and their children’s future.
On this premise, Governor Uba Sani’s recent utterances are not only apt but historic. In an interview last week, Governor Sani openly called on all leaders in Arewa who have held office over the past two decades to look into the mirror and apologise to the people for letting them down. This is not a statement to be dismissed lightly. It is rare for a sitting political leader to publicly acknowledge that the political class has, by and large, let the people down.
Governor Sani’s boldness reflects a growing self-awareness among some of the political elite that the path we have been on is destructive and we are headed toward disaster if sincere corrective measures are not taken. It is a call for reflection, for repentance, and for genuine commitment to doing better.
While not all leaders have been failures, the majority have prioritised personal wealth and power over human development, economic growth, and societal progress. Our critique is not intended to demonise all leaders, as certainly there are a few who have tried earnestly to lead honourably in difficult times. We are not here to list out names because our loyalty is to Truth, the Region and the Country, not personalities.
However, the unavoidable reality is that decades of leadership motivated by self-interest have compromised the North. Money which might have gone into education, healthcare, roads and the empowerment of young people has instead been spent on private agendas at the expense of the region, which now grapples under the burden of lost opportunities.
It is in this dark reality that Arewa youth must carve out their niche. Rather than being cheap operatives at the disposal of failed politicians, the youth must work towards becoming a force for truth, accountability and transformation. Their loyalty must be first and foremost to the truth, the people, and the future of the region. They ought to demand better policies, protest against poor governance, expose failures without fear, and celebrate good works without sycophancy. Civic duty demands no less from a generation that must reclaim the future of Arewa.
But in their enthusiasm to dismantle the status quo, youths should also remember the spirit of respect, values, and cultural pride. Increasingly, it has become acceptable to see young commentators and activists insult and profanely defile leaders old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. Some even go so far as addressing such elders by their first names with disdain, while others resort to profane and coarse language that water down the seriousness of their cause. Such an approach, while perhaps intended as boldness, only succeeds in weakening the strength of the message they are attempting to make.
It needs to be made amply clear: criticising leaders is possible, and indeed necessary, without disrespect. Our culture and religion teach us that respect for elders is not only desirable but mandatory, come what may, on the political plane. Criticism must be principled, mature and issue-based. The moment insults and abuses are introduced into the discussion, the quality and value of the argument are lost.
Insults dilute the message, strip it of dignity, and make valid complaints mere emotional tantrums that accomplish nothing. A respectful, cogent criticism is far stronger and more effective than a thousand insulting rages.
Arewa’s youth must now make a pivotal choice. They can continue to be pawns for failed politicians to manipulate, defending the same system that stole their futures, or they can be the generation that reclaims the North’s destiny. They can take the route of propaganda, superficial popularity, and temporary rewards, or they can choose the harder but better road of ethical action, respectful activism, and truth-telling.
The future shall judge us all — not the volume at which we screamed, but what we believed, for the truth we spoke, and for what we gave up for a better Arewa. The future shall ask: Did we challenge our leaders with wisdom and dignity, or did we trade our conscience for breadcrumbs? The future will ask if we assisted in rebuilding Arewa or if we contributed further to its downfall. May Allah give us the wisdom to choose the right path.