As we move closer to the election campaign season, I find it necessary to speak directly to our youths, especially the youths of the Ogu Clan, whom I am privileged to serve as President.
What has happened in our political past should be more than enough for any reasonable youth who wants to be remembered for good to understand the right path to follow in politics.
Among past and present political leaders, how many can openly say, “I have thugs”? None. Everyone denies it, because being associated with thuggery is never something to be proud of. That alone should tell you something.
How many youths have lost their lives while supporting politicians? And how many of those youths had their parents rewarded or supported to take care of the children they left behind? The painful truth is this: your value is recognized during election rigging, but you are forgotten during governance.
However, real rewards come during governance, not elections. Unfortunately, nobody wants to govern with a thug. Even the same politician who used you during elections will tell you, “I already paid you for the job,” when you demand your reward. They may even write a petition against you before the DSS if you’re consistent in demanding for your reward. Meanwhile, appointments are given to friends who never knew how the election was won. You will only be remembered again when the next election comes, often with peanuts.
Some of you may be arrested during these illegal activities. If that happens, you risk being abandoned in prison after elections are won, because you become a burden if you regain your freedom. If you die in the process, the loss is not to the politician, it is to your parents and your family. The politician will simply hire someone else. But where will your parents get your replacement from?
Politics is a game of numbers, and the youth population holds the real power. That power can be negotiated without crime, without violence, and without bloodshed, if we truly understand what we are doing.
We have lost countless youths to political thuggery. Yet, how many of them were rewarded with meaningful or sensitive political positions? Compare that number to those we have buried.
Therefore, I strongly advise the Otaiki youths:
Never allow yourself to be used against anyone, regardless of political affiliation or clan.
Your parents did not give birth to you to become a thug for any man. Do not allow anyone to reduce your worth by hiring you as one.
Do not allow any old folk, within or outside our clan, to use personal interests to turn you into an assassin. Tell them clearly:
“I can campaign for you. I can canvass for votes. I am not a thug, I am a politician.”
Every politician pursues personal interest. So ask questions. Ask what you stand to gain legitimately for your support.
Do not follow anyone who uses clannish or sentimental politics to seek power. Do not offer support to anyone who hate your clan. Such people will not only abandon you after achieving their aim, they may even turn against your clan. This does not mean you cannot support candidates outside Ogu Clan, but never let personal ambition erase your origin or destroy your people.
Anyone old enough to be used as a thug is old enough to be a leader. Do not waste your leadership age on thuggery.
Finally, understand this truth: those at the top today do not want you to replace them. They will not position you on a path that leads to the top, because they want their own children to succeed them.
Choose wisdom. Choose dignity. Choose life.
Be a political force, not a political tool.
– Hon Abdulhameed Ataba Oporo
Ozi Ogu Youth President
