International « The Restless Chronicles

What Kind of World Do You Want?

This past year, 2011, our world became a little fuller. According to the official estimate released by the United Nations Population Fund, 7 billion people now compete for air, water, and land – an unprecedented number since the dawn of our kind.

And with such increase come new challenges, as well as new opportunities. This increased competition has meant depletion of natural resources and aggravation of certain societal ills, amongst which are phenomena such as global warming and millions more stomachs going to bed without being fed.

But what is also evident is the opportunity this watershed moment provides; which is, the critical role young people must play in defining this new world. 2011 was a year that shattered stereotypes, brokered new ideas, and ushered in rays of hope for millions of lives in the Arab world. The Arab Spring, as it has come to be known, was only possible through determined, enterprising young adults making hitherto “sacriligious” demands on their governments. Thusly, it was reaffirmed – the biggest resource for social change resides already amongst us.

And in this resource, our world is rich. Overly-rich as a matter of fact. Across the continents, countries are bursting at the seam with the untapped potentials of young adults. In Nigeria, for example, Africa’s most populous nation, 70% of the population is age 35 and under; in Kenya, it’s 85 percent. China, which has the world’s largest population, 750 million of its citizens are age 35 and under – accounting for two-thirds of its population. In India, the world’s second largest population, the pattern holds true– with 74% of all Indians being age 35 and under.

From technological innovations to co-creating new sociopolitical paradigms to combating maternal mortality rates, there are diverse outlets into which brave and willing young adults can plug themselves. While we may not have had a say in what world we were given, now, more than ever, we have an immutable voice in dictating the kind of world we want and the world we wish to bequeath future generations. Civic engagement may have at some point been a luxury, it is now a necessity.

March 7, 2012 Posted by 'Pelumi Olatinpo | Domestic/U.S., International | activism, change, civic enagagement, grassroots movement, young adult, youth | 1 Comment

Nigeria’s Rubicon

There used to be a time when the thought of a Nigerian dying for anything outside of self-interest would assure the offending mind a bed in the local psychiatric unit. And, even then, on the premise of self-interest, it was still a reckless position for any human being to take: Which was why news of the Underwear Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, being Nigerian immediately sent Nigerians everywhere sounding the alarm and assuming defensive positions. It wasn’t a matter of trying to evade a national disgrace; for me and fellow Nigerians, the matter was much more complex – It contradicted everything we knew thus far of our “national genetics.”

That time now seem eons ago. Our genetics has undergone some obvious metamorphosis. The bold suicidal attacks by the home-grown terrorist sect, Boko Haram, have dispelled once sacrilegious ideas that a Nigerian would think twice before summarily giving his life for a cause, no matter how abstract it might be. But, in as much as this change in genetics has taken a diabolical turn, events since the beginning of the year yet give hope that this new disposition may well be what catapults Nigeria into its salvation.

The Occupy Nigeria movement that saw Africa’s most populous nation shut down for a week this past January introduced this hope. Nigerians, angered by the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy at the beginning of the year, took to the streets in large numbers, determined to force the government to backtrack its steps. It soon became less about fuel subsidy and more about everything that has been wrong with Nigeria since independence from Britain.

If you do not know, Nigeria is that nation where all 109 members of the Senate are each, by law, entitled to $1.7 million yearly and the 360 members of the House of Representatives a modest $1.4 million each for their labors of love. This is a fact of life that contrasts sharply with the $120 monthly minimum wage foisted upon the average Nigerian lucky to have a job. With well over 124 million Nigerians living on $2 or less a day, hopelessness and obscene poverty litters the landscape like cankerous bushes on a forlorn countryside.

It therefore becomes of great note that Nigerians, who are apt to suffer in peace while awaiting the coming justice of the Messiah, did arise in unprecedented unison – in a land fractured by over 250 ethnic groups, more than 500 languages, and an unending cascade of inter-religious sensibilities. This unforeseen mobilization showed a ready acceptance of what has to be done if change must come – a consciousness exhibited not too long ago by their brothers and sisters to the north, in places like Tunisia and Libya. And those kindred, in so doing, proved the wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but through continuous struggle.

There’s no delusion that this consciousness also comes with the realization that self would have to be put in harm’s way in any meaningful struggle. In rallies across the country, scene after scene, peaceful citizens could be seen braving the bullets and assault of an indiscriminate police force. Many did die and others wounded due to the brute force meted upon them. In one popular clip available on YouTube, a visibly frustrated and defiant young lady tells of how she damned her parents’ wish and showed up at a protest site, concluding thus: If I die, I die…but Nigeria has to move on.

It is this latest twist to Boko Harem’s treat on self-sacrifice that has me confident that Sub-Saharan Africa is in the throes of experiencing its first major movement for change. Although the peaceful rallies and protests were hijacked by labor leaders who injected themselves into the middle of the upheaval and surgically terminated the hopes and wishes of millions of Nigerians by succumbing to personal aspirations and glory, Nigerians have lived firsthand what hitherto was thought superstition. From the meager concession extracted from the government, it is no longer a question of “if” it can be done, rather, “when” shall it be done. And, for that, young Nigerians like me are hard at work in providing a speedy response.

February 13, 2012 Posted by 'Pelumi Olatinpo | Africa, International, Politico-Economics, Socio-Politics | Arab Spring, Fuel Subsidy, Occupy Nigeria, Protests | Leave a Comment