BROOOM FOR THE YOUTH OF NIGERIA.

BROOOM FOR THE YOUTH OF NIGERIA.

The killing of Samuel Okonta, a corps member during the Rivers state rerun election was a tragic incident but not as tragic as its aftermath when other corps members were seen jubilating four days after.

The omen was clear before the election in Rivers that it was going to be bloody. The killing of a major and some other security operatives made the possibility of deaths inevitable. Sadly, an innocent corps member who was serving his country in the promotion of democracy was caught in the senseless political face-off. The poor orphan who had spent years in the university lost his life due to harsh political terrain fueled by Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party and others. It was tragic.

But the real tragedy happened four days after when Governor Wike paid a condolence visit to the headquarters of the National Youth Service Corps in Port Harcourt. He vowed that the perpetrators of the slaying of Okonta will be brought to book. As an act of magnanimity, he announced a mouth-watering increment in the monthly allowance of corps members serving outside Port Harcourt from N10, 000 to N15000. He also increased the state monthly allowance of corps members serving in Port Harcourt from N5000 to N10000. The corps members went wild in jubilation. It was the best news they had heard in months. They had forgotten why the governor visited in the first place. It was heart-wrenching.

The youths they say are the leaders of tomorrow. The corps members are potentially on the verge of taking the reins of the country but unfortunately, a mere N5,000 increment decided their fate. That they were lined up like sardines with some flaunting their painted lip stick showed little solidarity for their dead comrade. A number of them who were seeing the governor for the first time were eager to bring out their phones and take historic pictures of the governor. They were motivated by the promise of money and lost their head in the process. Four days after the death of their dead comrade and they could not show in character their displeasure at the inability of the state to protect them. Anyone of the excited corps members could have been the unfortunate one.

One might wonder why Governor Wike did not deem it necessary to increase the allowance of the corps members before the tragic incident. His magnanimity was apparently a political move to score a point and sadly, it worked. The corps members in Rivers state showed that they could be bought easily with money. This is a bad omen for a country hoping to turn a new chapter in its history and create a society where people will be able to hold their head high and not swayed by money.

My take: Unfortunately, the celebration shows the Utopian future we look forward to now looks bleak. This would have been a perfect ground for the youth to radically look at the governor in the face with a unified peaceful warning to all political parties to desist from killing youth Corp members serving their motherland lest they provoke the Nigerian youth uprising which they can never stand. Sadly, that was not to be, as #5,000 was enough to make them rejoice upon the grave of Samuel Okonta. It is indeed a sad day. Sweeeeeeeeep

BEH is Brooooooom!!!

~ Prince Kolawale B.