Having looked at ‘The Non-Negotiables’; areas where activism and advocacy by the youth is needed to address fundamental problems, I now highlight a few cultural issues which I think have a serious impact on the outcomes of any concrete actions we take independently or in collaboration with government agencies.

I discuss them as follows:

Confronting Barriers
Patriotism by Dubious Means
Depoliticizing Active Citizenship
Tackling Violence Against Women
Minding the Gap Between the Rich and Poor
Doing our Best for the Cause

CONFRONTING BARRIERS

We need to have better, more meaningful conversations with each other. And better education and exposure are only part of the solution. We need to address some of the other things that muddle the quality of our dialogue. For instance, blind deference to authority is all too often what passes for respect. This clearly inhibits the quality and openness of our dialogue, and it should change.

There’s also the sub-culture of blackmail that pits many young people against each other, destroying reputations even when neither party understands how much is at stake. And what about the co-opting of many young people into organizations / practices whose raison d’etre they’re in no position to know let alone investigate?

These and other factors make it difficult for us to understand each other in formal and informal contexts. Without understanding & cooperation, it’s easier for vested interests to take hold. We can and should do something about this.

PATRIOTISM BY DUBIOUS MEANS

In the last few years, the issue of who is and what makes a patriot have come to the fore albeit indirectly. Related or not, I also observe that the use of hyper-patriotic language is not uncommon these days. This ‘hyper-patriot speak’ is used to venerate some and condemn others often solely on the basis of an expressed opinion.

To be sure, there are a lot of young Nigerians whose success and popularity online (and off) show our growing desire to engage issues honestly and unreservedly. Far less obvious and perhaps not uncommon, is the tilt towards hyper-patriotism and the use of ‘hyper-patriot speak’.

This is dangerous. It can worsen our situation by depriving us of good ideas and antagonizing people against each other. We’ve all had our experiences with this problem online and off. It should not be ignored.

DEPOLITICIZING ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

The fact is that in our current political climate, to have an opinion on any matter of importance is to declare a political affiliation. It is a problem that threatens to rubbish independent (& legitimate) effort to influence public opinion or youth opinion (as in my case with this CSR Initiative on Youth Stewardship).

This not only makes Independent people / organizations less effective, it also creates a situation where people assume or presume that only a select few are allowed to get involved.

This has to change. We need more independent people involved in shaping public opinion. The politically partisan twist on active citizenship has not only diminished the quality of our ideas. It continues to make it impossible for us to ‘hear’ each other.

TACKLING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

VAW is a very serious problem among the youth and it is disheartening. It speaks to a less than harmonious relationship between the sexes, and much deeper cultural issues.

It is necessary that we have more meaningful conversations about culture in order to establish clear boundaries. Anecdotes and context cannot be allowed to change the fact that physical and psychological violence are never acceptable.

It’s impossible to bring up this issue without also considering the nature of our relationships. In this regard, we’re making progress. It’s good to see our monthly and weekly glossy mags feature informative commentary on this matter. It is welcome and while I hope we see more, it may be too much to expect such features to suffice for an issue of this magnitude. We all need to do more about VAW, and this includes the youth.

MINDING THE GAPS BETWEEN THE RICH & THE POOR

Every society has its class structure, often strongly determined by wealth. In our society, wealth and tribalism contribute to a structure which does more than confer priviledge on a few.

There are simply too many among us whose legal and moral rights will exist only in principle. The solution to this problem has to go beyond creating jobs. A solution has to include changing attitudes towards the poor and the weak.

This is a problem that does much of its damage behind the scenes. And if recent news is anything to go by, hidden problems often do the most damage. It is necessary that the Youth do something to challenge social attitudes which make some of us second-class citizens.

DOING OUR BEST FOR THE CAUSE

The nature of our situation requires that many more of us take initiative and start something. It takes courage and initiative to start a business, to initiate a difficult conversation, to engage honestly in a debate, to support a cause or an activist.

The bottom line is that we will need to invest more than money and words in order to change things and make progress. We will need to take considerable risks to do the right thing and we will need to trust that in our time of need, there will be others willing to stand-up and be counted for our sake.

It takes resolve to stay the course. I wish I could say that people find resolve when they need it. The truth is that resolve, perseverance, and dedication are learned. It’s up to us to do more beyond superficial expressions of national pride and patriotism.

POSTSCRIPT

Not all things can or should be controlled by policy. Some things are cultural and of no less significance as a result. It is important to do something on both fronts; policy-related and culture-related. They depend so much on each other that most times the two are simply indistinguishable. In fact, one could argue that the reality of culture means there are no policy vacuums, only explicit and implicit policies.

Some of the challenges we face as young Nigerians are cultural  i.e related to how things are done. We should work & talk about resolving them as such.