Opinion

The Generational Debt: Why Your Silence is Trading Away Your Child’s Future

By Olatunbosun S. Olanrewaju

As an advocate for peace, I am deeply pained by the current state of our nation. When we look at the corridors of power today, it often feels like Nigeria is being ruled as a private enterprise; a “friends and family” network where merit is ignored and loyalty to a few is rewarded above service to the many. We see it, we feel it, and we complain about it in our rooms. But as a peace advocate, I must tell you the truth: our collective silence has become the fuel for this system.

What breaks my heart the most is that many parents have unintentionally infected their own children with the “disease of political silence.” Out of fear or frustration, we have passed a baton of apathy to our sons and daughters. We have raised them to believe that their franchise: their sacred right to vote and be heard is a waste of time. By doing this, we are effectively telling our children to settle for the crumbs while the “friends and family” feast at the table.

Parents, we must realize that the children we are keeping away from politics are the same ones who were born to transform their local governments. They are the ones destined to change our states, to watch over our constituencies with integrity, and to preside where justice should reign. Within our homes today are the future Presidents who should govern this nation to glory, but what do you think will happen if we keep teaching them to be silent.

Today, I am calling on every eligible Nigerian voters to Wake up from your slumber. Do not let your heart be hardened by the failures of the past. When you refuse to participate in the political process, you aren’t just losing an election; you are abandoning your right to demand a better life.

I urge you to choose your interest without looking for “considerations” or immediate favors. Follow your heart. Vote for the Nigeria you want your children to lead.

Our “Minds Beyond Limits” philosophy proves that we are capable of greatness, but that greatness requires us to stand up and be counted.

Let us stop this “hereditary apathy” today. Your PVC is the tool you need to break the “friends and family” cycle and open the doors of leadership to every qualified Nigerian. If we want a nation where justice and glory reign, we must show our children that we believe in the power of our own voices.

Wake up, Nigeria. The future is waiting for us to claim it.

NB:This write-up is personal and not sponsored by any political party or form by any means. It is simply a call to what is important for our collective future.