The Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Kassim Shetimma, has said that the people who led and participated in the just concluded nationwide hunger protest do not respect the country’s constituted authorities.
He made this remark yesterday, speaking at the graduation ceremony of 20 indigent pupils of Hau’wa Memorial School (HMS), Kaduna, owned by the AMA Foundation.
The VP was represented by his special adviser on political matters, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmad.
He stated, “In the past two weeks, the country has faced challenging times primarily due to the youth, who are angry due to hunger, dissatisfied with their lack of prospects for improvement, and convinced that the government doesn’t care about them. The youth also lack respect for any authority in this country, believing that they have been let down by all.”
“Young Nigerians, who believe that this country belongs to those who can drag and run, are not afraid of hunger, their parents, the police, the army, or anyone else.”
“We created this situation for generations like ours, but we did not inherit it.
“The people who built Nigeria before us worked very hard, made sacrifices, and tried to build a country with honesty and hard work.”
He promised that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Federal Government would make Nigeria work so that future generations would profit, just as previous generations had from the legacies of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and other country founders.
He urged the youth to channel their anger against the system, which does not give them a chance to participate in positive activities.
He agreed, “The political system we are operating is defective because it is producing people who have no business being in government.”
He, however, challenged parents to be more involved in the lives and upbringing of their children, saying, “No matter what, there is no justification for stealing or looting someone’s else’s property.”
Shettima hinted that Nigeria needs a complete overhaul in the wake of the end-hunger protests organized by the youth across the country.
He, however, said that Nigerians have allowed too many problems to accumulate, resulting in the destruction of lives and property.
He said, “For too long we have tolerated poverty, corruption, and poor leadership, and we can see the result—a generation that has come up that has no respect for God, for the law of the land, for the leadership, and for our values.”
