June 12: Young Leaders Must Organize or Be Forgotten - Abioye Tosin Lawrence

....democracy does not remember the noisemakers

Every June 12 reminds us that democracy is not inherited, it is built, brick by brick, with sweat, strategy, and sacrifice. Yet in today’s Nigeria, many young leaders have chosen to flirt with activism rather than marry the mission. They romance hashtags, repost resistance, and occasionally protest, but refuse to build or sustain meaningful structures that can outlive them.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, young people are not just tweeting change, they're engineering it.

Take, for instance, the new generation of young conservatives and progressives in the United Kingdom. Kemi Badenoch, elected to Parliament at 36, didn’t emerge from a hashtag. She came through ideological training, grassroots mobilization, and a clear sense of political mission. Tom Tugendhat, who served in the House of Commons and ran for Conservative leadership in his 40s, had a structured vision and path. In France, Jordan Bardella became president of the National Rally at 27. These are not perfect people, but they reflect one truth: organizing, not just outrage is what births power.

In Nigeria, however, many of our so-called young elites are still trapped in the illusion of urban power, a mix of “cash-and-carry” politics, PR stunts, and performative activism. They deploy their generation for optics, not for outcomes.

Some of these leaders were on the frontlines of protests against Goodluck Jonathan. Then they turned on Buhari. Now they protest Tinubu. Same scripts, recycled rage. The question is: what has been built? What ideology do they serve? What structure have they designed that can challenge the system sustainably?

They complain about corrupt elders but replicate the same rot, flaunting stolen wealth, mocking their peers with champagne-soaked “mentorship,” and hosting empowerment programs that are more about self-promotion than people development.

Worse, some descend into seductive apathy, choosing to entice fellow youths into soft alliances of consumption and compliance. Instead of awakening a generation, they distract it.

This is not to say resistance doesn’t matter. It does. But without organization, resistance becomes a performance. Without structure, even the most genuine protests die in the wind.

It’s time young Nigerians stopped outsourcing power and started preparing for it. Build parties. Establish missions. Design think-tanks. Engage institutions. Teach. Train. Stand.

If not, they’ll soon discover that democracy does not remember the noisemakers. It remembers the builders.

Abioye Tosin Lawrence is a writer, Campaigner Hate-Against-Nigeria.