Read Come On.
We must now commit to leading honourable lives. We must now keep our hands clean and our heads, high. So when we need to speak truth or fight oppression, we may do so freely. So our mouths remain unclogged and our hands, untied. So we may find confidence in the upright and meet the crooked with disgust. So we do not bend sideways, backwards to defend monstrosities.
We must now enlighten ourselves. So that we rise above mediocrity, so we become the solution our world desperately seeks. We must now fortify our consciousness, conscience. So our eyes remain open, so we spot injustice in its many forms. So we do not become tools in the hands of lesser men. So we are not fooled by those so unfavored by their own incompetence, they resort to deceit and disunity.
We must now apply ourselves. We must forge our paths with industry, diligence and skill. But also with ethics. So that our means are easily explainable, transferable. So that we may credit the dignity of labour. So we may rely on ourselves, so that we are never at the mercies of the unscrupulous. So we are assured that in a society without favoritism or corruption; in one built on meritocracy, we will succeed.
We must now do away with the failures of our parents — so much God, little good; so much confidence, little dignity; so much morality, little values. We must ask “why”, we must question tradition. We must now support ideas, not people. We must place strong institutions over strong men. We must prioritize the rule of law.
We must now expand the limits of our empathy — beyond our family, friends, community or tribe. We must now commit to a Nigeria that works for the majority of people — regardless of their age, status, tribe, zone, religion, sex or sexuality.
With all that we know, with all we have witnessed, the future demands this of us. Anything less is a shame.
