Looking Back, Envisioning the Future
By Nafisa Atiku-Adejuwon
Since Nigeria transitioned to democratic rule in 1999, we have slowly progressed through democracy. Those of us born in the ’90s grew up either under General Abacha’s regime or just as democracy was taking hold in the late ’90s. Many of us have only known democracy, raised on ideals of liberty, freedom, the sanctity of the vote, equality, and the sacrosanct respect for fundamental human rights. If I could coin a nickname for us, I would label us the ‘Democratic Generation’. We were taught to aspire to these ideals—after all, isn’t that what democracy is all about?
Young people today are questioning whether democracy is truly worth it and whether it can deliver the dividends it was meant to provide. Our democracy has been tainted and manipulated, allowing the worst among us to lead the best. My generation is asking how much longer we can continue like this. We have spent our formative years in agitations and protests, demanding a better Nigeria. The truth is – we need a Nigeria that works not just for us but for the generations to come.
How do we start creating an inclusive future? How do we answer a complex question like Nigeria if we do not understand its history and past? Its rationale for existing and the foundations of its development? How do we act as responsible citizens in this moment if we do not understand our place in history? How do we run with the baton, if we do not join hands with the previous relay runners?
I recently returned from the Mandela Washington Fellowship where I had the opportunity to visit Virginia and Washington, D.C. While I was there, I visited several historical monuments and the homes of the founding fathers of democracy in the US. There was a vibrant atmosphere with both the young and the old coming together to view, read, understand, honor, and commemorate their collective history. People do not just preserve historical artifacts and books to be intellectual. There is power in storytelling and the understanding of commemoration that aligns progress with the present and the future.
Most of the foundational challenges our country faces are not just contextually situated in the present. From the harmful rhetoric of tribalism to criticisms of the constitution as a military-formulated foundational document, and even issues of corruption; these problems have underlying patterns rooted in the past civil wars and leadership failures. There is a huge need for us, as a people, to address these complex problems not only in the context of the present but also through an understanding of their historical origins.
In Nigeria, we have a habit of using band-aid solutions to solve problems and it does not promote sustainable growth. Instead, it continually pushes us to the brink, where indeed the center no longer holds. As active citizens, we are not just called to agitate or engage without a strategy. We need to understand how we got here before we can fix it. That is one part of the solution – designing a citizen-led government and creating a prosperous future for all.
Content provided by EiE Nigeria
Nafisa Atiku-Adejuwon is a Mandela Washington Fellow and Founder of the NAF Foundation, a social enterprise where she works to empower young women across Africa by enhancing their capacities in leadership, politics, education, business, technology, and climate change.