In what appears to be Nigeria’s most dramatic “return on investment” complaint yet, a man on Thursday stormed the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat in Abuja with a message as blunt as it was unsettling: reward me or kill me. The protest, captured in a now-viral video, shows the visibly distressed man holding a placard and demanding recognition for what he described as his personal sacrifices during the party’s 2023 campaign. According to him, loyalty was not just emotional, it was financial, physical, and, ultimately, total. In a country where political support often comes with expectations, some spoken, many implied the man’s outcry reads like a tragic audit of misplaced trust. His claim that he sold his house to fund campaign efforts has not been independently verified, but the symbolism is hard to ignore: a citizen liquidating stability in exchange for promised political dividends. Observers at the scene watched as the protester oscillated between anger and ...
At 65, Nigeria stands at a generational crossroads. The pre-millennials, those born before the dawn of the 21st century, carry the memory of a nation forged through sacrifice, coups, civil strife, and rebuilding. They lived through the struggles of independence, the battles for democracy, the harsh realities of military rule, and the gradual march toward modern governance.
Gen Z, on the other hand, has inherited a Nigeria they mostly know through headlines, hashtags, and the frustrations of everyday life. Their view of the country is filtered through social media lenses, corruption scandals, unemployment crises, and the unending Japa wave. They did not witness the foundations laid, only the cracks in today’s structures.
This divide is more than age, it is ideological. Pre-millennials value survival, resilience, and the painful gains of progress; Gen Z emphasizes accountability, transparency, and innovation. History and time have drawn a line between these groups, creating different expectations of Nigeria and its leaders.
But one truth remains: no nation can thrive when one generation dismisses the struggles of another. Many young Nigerians underestimate the infrastructure and institutions already built, roads, airports, railways, irrigation systems -- that, while imperfect, still surpass what some West African neighbors can boast of. Too often, this foundation is disregarded, while calls for radical change rise without recognition of past sacrifices.
If younger Nigerians are truly ready to build their country, they cannot simply demand that the “old guard” step aside. They must present themselves as credible, prepared, and visionary builders, capable of taking the mantle, not just critics waiting for handovers. As seen in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party did not wait for the permission of the ruling Conservatives; it organized, presented clear alternatives, and won the mandate of the people.
The lesson for Nigeria’s Gen Z is clear: power is never donated, it is demanded, and earned. To bridge the generational gap, they must honor the struggles of yesterday while actively shaping the possibilities of tomorrow.
Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the Publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper and author of the forthcoming memoir, Voices from the Fire: My Journey Through a Hollow Empire.
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