YOUR GENERATION DESTROYED THE COUNTRY- YOU GAVE US 40% UNEMPLOYMENTI want to discuss this rhetoric peddled by some “youth” against the generation of their parents. Not that I expect them to reason with me or open their minds to logic, but to set the records straight.Why will they reason logically about it? After all, some of their parents too are hailing them on this, but well raised ones among them know better than share their entitlement mentality.Let me first acknowledge my personal disappointment with successive administrations in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, that have grossly failed to provide visionary leadership in most parts. However, their failures can not be a reasonable basis to criminalize an entire generation.First, only about 1% of each generation is involved in public service.Secondly, less than 50% of that 1% (that is 0.5% of the entire population) are bad and responsible for the failure.The remaining 99.5% of that generation is victim as well.This 99.5% only fared relatively better because the vast majority lived basic rural live!They were mostly farmers, traders, artisans, clerical public servants and teachers. They lived in bungalows and rode bicycles to reach their farms, markets, shops and offices.They did not have air conditioning or washing machines. They cooked with coals or kerosene stoves. Their food staples were from the farms and not factories. Bread was special treat and rice was for Sunday lunch. Electricity was supplied mainly for lighting and not for heavy consumption. So, it went round. Ironing of clothing was done with coal irons.The major professions were artisan-ships like tailoring, barbing, iron and gold smithing, road repair (PWD), waste carrying, printing (typesetting), bicycle repair (mechanics came much later), painting, carpentry, masonry, locksmith etc. They had associations and clubs. They held modest annual parties where famous musicians played live and waxed LP audio records to immortalize their clubs.They were dignified, though they were not wealthy. Poverty was low because there was no rat race for accumulation of wealth. The weak was cared for by the communities and the artisan clubs. Whenever any of their children gained admission to schools (grammar school or teacher training college or any such), they rally support to fund the children’s resumption to the schools in the cities.Those who gained University admission were very few; like one per village. The entire village rallied support for them because the Unis were usually abroad and not all had scholarships. Many of them worked while they schooled to pay their ways through. These were people who farmed with their parents during their elementary school days, trekked to school throughout their schooling days and still did part time work to pay tuition in tertiary schools.They learned to be industrious by their upbringing.Unfortunately, many of them deprived their own kids of this rare skill all for “love”! They spoon fed them and did not allow them to do anything for themselves. They rewarded them for attending school which is fully paid for and made them feel entitled to be presented jobs after graduation.They told stories of how brand news cars were parked waiting for them to sign employment contracts and pick the keys, right at the schools’ convocation grounds!Haba!! How many of the very few graduates of those years were so fortunate?!Unfortunately, a much larger percentage of our young people are now products of tertiary education and will no longer fit into the farming, trading and artisan-ship that used to employ the vast majority of their parents’ generation.The industrial sector that should have been developed to absorb them have been distressed under successive regimes of military adventurists who now want us to blame the politicians they never allowed to consolidate democracy.From 1960 to 1966, then 1979 to 1983, the politicians had 2 republics lasting only 10 years while the military interrupted for 13 years!Then in IBB era, he started a transition that should have ended with full civilian President in 1993 but he annulled the election!So, the military put in an interim government that Abacha pushed aside after a few months! Thus, effectively, the military ruled from 1983 to 1999!!! A good 16 years! And then, Abdulsalaam birthed the 4th republic, handing over to OBJ, his former boss in the military and former military head of state.From OBJ to late Yaradua and then GEJ to Buhari; another OBJ’s former military subordinate and head of state. In total, 24 years of this 4th republic had been under former military heads of states for 16 years! Only 8 years under civilians with no military background.So, out of 63 years of independence, the military (serving or retired) had held power for 45 years and politicians with no military career for only 18 years!!!So, our generation spent our adult lives fighting to dislodge the military from power and entrench real civilian rule.Many of us started the struggle right from secondary schools. We lost many compatriots. It is easy to give the monkey a cup of palm wine, taking it back is the real wahala. Please don’t join the foolish call to truncate democracy.Only the ignorant will do that. Our generation paid a huge price to dislodge them from governance.They wrecked a lot of havoc on our administrative and economic structures. They forced an unworkable 1999 constitution on us 🥲We are still struggling to deal with those structural and economic issues that led us to this unfortunate state, where we now have an army of young people that are painfully unemployed.The blame goes to the political military administrators of the yesteryears and recent civilian occupiers of the political offices.Stop rubbing salt on the injuries that my generation had suffered and endured by blaming us for it.END.