The spirit of Igalaland is caught in an uncanny silence, a land where the youth—once the pride of ancestral songs—now walk as shadows of their own possibilities. Dreams dry like dew under the heat of cynicism. Degrees are folded into wrappers. Talents are zipped inside prayer requests. What a people choose to forget, time will bury. Today, the Igala youth are not just unemployed; they are unseen, unheard, and spiritually unanchored. As Dr. Attah Agaba once warned, “A people who do not engineer their future will inherit the ruins of borrowed blueprints.”
This crisis is not theoretical—it is generational. A vacuum of visionary leadership has given room to political theatre. We have substituted governance for grandstanding, sacrifice for selfishness. We have handed microphones to merchants and left the mantle of purpose to gather dust. Internet scams, once painted as survival mechanisms by some misguided minds, must now be eclipsed by innovation hubs, tech incubators, and digital solutions rooted in native intelligence. Prof. Olugbemi Ojojo once said, “The Igala mind, when ignited, is not inferior to any genius the world has known.” It is time to reclaim that truth.
The ashes of history can fertilize a new harvest, but only if we stop dancing around decay. We need a generational exodus from apathy to action. Education must no longer be a ritual of memorization but a rite of transformation. The church must mentor not just choristers but coders. The mosque must stir not just recitations but revolutions in thought. As Evangelist Yinka Yusuf posits, “Youths are not empty—they are simply unwatered.” Let us water them with opportunities, not just oil of anointing. Let our traditional institutions become fountains of innovation, not graveyards of forgotten customs.
The average Igala youth does not desire pity; he craves purpose. He does not beg for a chair; he seeks a challenge. Give him tools, not tricks. Tech skills, not tokens. Show him his value before the vultures of vices show him his vulnerability. The Igala proverb teaches, “The child not initiated into truth will dance to the rhythm of deceit.” Let us initiate them into the future with skills in software, renewable energy, agro-tech, and creative industries. The question is not Can they rise? It is Will we let them?
The time has come for a covenant of collaboration—elders, leaders, and dreamers. Let the sons and daughters of Igalaland in diaspora plant back into their roots—not just with remittances, but with resources and roadmaps. Let student unions evolve from protest chants to policy influence. Let kings counsel with conviction and not convenience. Apostle Ayo Babalola once declared, “A sleeping generation will always serve a stranger.” If Igalaland keeps snoring, our future will wear another man’s name.
History is pregnant, and the labor pains are loud. Will Igalaland birth a renaissance or abort its destiny? The youth wait at the gate—not as beggars, but as builders. The soil is fertile, the minds are eager, but the winds must change. Shall we keep lamenting over lost glory, or shall we become the architects of new beginnings? The torch is ours. Let us light it before the darkness becomes permanent.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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