PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s recent declaration that his generation has failed Nigerians would ordinarily have been dismissed as an election campaign punch line against his political opponent. But when interpreted within the context of an earlier event, where he accused elderly Nigerians of being the cause of Nigeria’s troubles owing to their misguided utterances and indecorous comportment, the president’s remark is indeed very weighty. Therefore, it calls for careful evaluation because of its timely relevance and its import for the future leadership of this country. The remark, which was made in Lagos at the flagging off of his re-election campaign, stated inter alia: “I believe that the young Nigerians are the future. We (referring to his generation of leaders) are finished. We believe that the youths will be the ones that will take us to the moon. My generation has failed because we could not take Nigeria to the moon… I don’t want to address old people like me because we are spent already.” Harbouring the same sentiment, the president had stated on an earlier occasion that, “Anything that old people like us are involved in, it is always problems”. Whether he was speaking in metaphor when he made reference to Nigeria of being taken to the moon, or he was building a new political bloc with the youth, the substance in the president’s speech is that he has cast aspersions on his and older generations of Nigerians for their cluelessness about the way to lead Nigeria aright. It is gratifying that the president is the one passing such judgment on his generation, and that he is the one placating young people to put on the mantle of leadership. There may be some elements of truth in the president’s remarks, after all his generation might have been the last beneficiary of quality education. Perhaps, too, that generation and older ones might have witnessed an appreciable culture of civility and political consciousness before the military wreaked havoc on the polity. From a sober outlook, this gesture seems a meek and sincere expression of incapacitation. But a mea culpa posture is not enough if Nigeria is to evolve from this culture of yawning inanities and take its pride of place in Africa and in world affairs. Besides, this is a very grave self-indictment that calls to question the capacity of even the president or older generation of politicians to mend the mess the country has been put through, let alone any transformation.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 05:52:46 +0000