Fellow country men and women, aged and young. Fellow Nigerian youths; victims of a disorganised and manipulative society, I greet you spectacularly. I hope my salutation meets you all as well as this dire times permit.

As the day breaks, so do a thousand cares press in on all sides, even as you all brace up to take the day head on, pursuing by means uncertain ends not assured. I know there are serious concerns which dominate your thoughts, weighing in from all ends as you worry over the trifle and the severe, about the bills piling up, the demands of the festive season and the uncertain fate of our floundering country.

Can we have a society of equal measures and opportunities? An egalitarian society where everybody can get his or her dues? A society at peace with itself, devoid of the evils of bigotry, nepotism and ethnicism? These and so much more are our worries as a people, and to hope seems futile against the tenacious forces that subjugates us.

But here in my heart I have found liberation. I am filled with a rekindled hope in our nation. Today, there is a great motivation in my spirit. I can see so much possibilities in us, in the Nigerian youth, all barriers are broken already by the strength of my faith and conviction. I have come to the realisation this morning that we must mentally break loose from the fetters of disbelief and resignation, that all our challenges will not be uprooted unless we take concrete steps to uproot them. Watch out, from now going forward, I shall be taking steps that tell you nothing is holding us down, not any longer.

A country that has you and I cannot be said to be bereaved of patriotic people, of visionaries. A country that has people like you and I should not be said to be hopeless and unfortunate. The vision of this country is YOU and I, and the hope of this country is squarely on us to fulfill. So break the barriers and let your self go forth.

In my three decades on earth, I have met and interacted with countless great Nigerian youths – men and women of substance, whose courage know no boundaries. Some today are in the Nigerian Army, Navy and Airforce, the Nigerian Police, Customs and Immigration service. Some are lawyers, medical doctors, teachers or lecturers. They dominate the manufacturing industries and the civil service while some are astute entrepreneurs. Some are okada riders, farmers, roadside mechanics and vulcanizer making as much input into the life of the country as the next white-collared man.

But some are jobless, skilled, trained, educated but in penury yet with an abundance of faith in God and the future. Some have left these shores, some are back in the country but share that same spark of hope tucked in the recesses of their hearts.

I have great confidence in you all. In your individual lives you have made great moves and achievements. You have braved difficult odds, jumped impossible hurdles and made do by all means. You have fed your families, immediate and extended- I salute your strive! You are respected, you are honoured wherever you go. If you can and have done these much, then together as a movement we can solve the perennial problems afflicting us a people.

We have all complained so much of social and political exclusion. We have blamed our leaders for our woes. We have consistently agitated for a new social order. NOW I say we have to work it out, we must leave our comfort zone for duty to the nation calls.

This is akin to the struggles you have got through, remember, like when seeking for admission against the worst bets, like when we were looking for jobs in an unhealthy, exploitative job-market. Also, remember, when we started our businesses-the little beginnings; competiting against seeded elements committed to our failure. We must take steps to direct that fighting spirit, that resilience in the movement to liberate our people. We go down to the grassroots, we must take leadership and claim our land from the devourers because WE CAN . YES WE CAN!

Today I have come to inform you that I am ready and determined to say enough is enough. I am ready to be the difference I have talked about, with a renewed spirit, fired with an unquenchable faith in God that our liberation has come. Join me, Please, I appeal. Let’s back to our locality and start the gospel of this new era. Be the candidate yourself, this is a new Nigerian Army from within.

Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq. is a civil rights activists and legal practitioner with Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law, Nigeria.