By Francis Ewherido
My interest in this year’s elections goes beyond casting my vote. I have been attending campaign rallies and town hall meetings. During this time, I take time to observe people, especially youngsters in the villages, as they mill around. I have noticed some very disturbing trends among youths in the villages.

Youngsters in the villages seem to suffer from identity crisis. I do not know how it came about, but it looks like over time many virtues and attributes associated with villagers were labeled as inferior and these youngsters now struggle to ape city life in the villages and this brings about a great disconnect. The first thing I noticed is that the young men and women are poor and desperate for cash. There are no white-collar jobs in the villages and that leaves them with limited choices. Many were not trained to use their initiative either, so much of their enormous talents stay dormant. Many of them have haphazard or limited formal education, so even if jobs were available, they could not take advantage of the opportunities.

Farming is the predominant occupation in the villages, but few youngsters are willing to take to farming. Farming is seen as old fashioned and not for youngsters. The gospel of mechanized large-scale farming has either not been preached or not yet imbibed or the opportunity is not yet there. Not surprising, villages are filled with idle and unemployed youths.

Local representatives of the Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) collate figures from the general election in Port Harcourt, capital of Nigeria’s southern oil-rich Rivers State, on March 29, 2015. Nigeria’s closely fought general election went into a second day after failures in controversial new technology snarled the polling, including for President Goodluck Jonathan. AFP PHOTO

The resultant frustration of such a situation is taking its toll. Many of these unemployed youths are short-fused. Seeking alternative outlets, many and possess intoxicating physical and “spiritual” powers which they are eager to unleash. Therefore, scuffles, arising sometimes from non issues, often end up in sizing up one another. Such scuffles easily turn violent and deadly when money and women are involved. It is not uncommon to see strange incisions on parts of their bodies; some perform certain rituals before they eat or drink. Others abstain from okra soup or ogbono soup or even local exotic delicacies like snails in order to “retain their powers” to “head bullets”, “hold bullets” and “make knives to break” if stabbed, or machetes to “bounce off” if dealt machete blows. Please do not ask me if it works or how it works. I am totally ignorant on these issues.

I also found their fashion a poor imitation of punk culture. Sagging trousers are rampart. Boy, I saw boxers: Some of these youngsters ought to be charged to court for making their boxers public nuisance. I jokingly asked one what the belt was doing around his waist if it could not hold the trousers. The girls are not left out, although not as daring; their tops are tucked into their trousers and they stay in place until they hop on motor bikes.

In those days, city bachelors used to go the villages to hunt for well-behaved (sometimes virgins) girls to marry. But with what I saw over the last few weeks, I just wonder. Teenage mothers abound and when it gets dark, the villages, especially those with electricity, come alive. Boys and girls, some of them under-aged, party, drink and get busy. Just as in the cities “good girls” now seem to be a family affair, rather than a village matter.

Very heart-wrenching is the erosion of the local language. Among the youths in the villages, badly-spoken Pidgin English has replaced vernacular as the medium of communication. I guess it flows from the erroneous belief that only ogb’Urhobo (bush people) speak Urhobo. So they abandon their illustrious and much-cherished heritage for Pidgin English. Those in the cities are swimming against the tide to teach their children how to speak local languages; those in the villages for whom it comes naturally are running away from it. Only the old people converse entirely in vernacular; this is very painful and depressing.

One thing is clear; Delta State is sitting on a keg of gun powder over this vibrant, restive and unemployed army of youths. Something urgent must be done to engage these young minds. They need direction and guidance. The lull in kidnapping and militancy can only be temporary. That is why the elections are very important, especially those of officials closest to the grassroots, apart from local governments. (The running of local governments and even how the officials get elected are stories for another day and probably outside the scope of this column). The electorate needs to revisit the manifestoes of the governorship candidates and the house of assembly candidates. Any candidate, who does not have clear-cut programmes for the youths, obviously does not know what he is going to do in government and does not deserve to be voted for. This is very important for my state, Delta, in particular, and Nigeria, in general. Our future is at stake.

But if my experience over the last few days is anything to go by, then many of these youths are not helping matters. Some will not vote unless induced. It is very painful to hear statements like: “you don’t vote with an empty stomach.”Some youths are the thugs that are being used to subvert the will of the people. They are by extension truncating their own future. That is partly why we continue to dance in circles. Who will help to educate the youths to jettison temporary pecuniary gains for more enduring gains that will secure their future? There is plenty of work to be done. In the meantime Saturday April 11, is another day. Get ready to use your voting power to vote for a better Delta State and Nigeria. May the all-seeing and all-knowing God guide us to make the right choices.