By Pius Adesanmi
1.
A great deal of what is on display in Nigeria is the tragic failure of my generation. We are the parents of these millennials openly defending political thieves and crooks. We were the last generation who had to account for every penny we brought home.
2.
Where did you get your new shoes? Where did you get this? Where did you get that? Your accounting and accountability skills had to be impeccable. Failure to properly explain things could result in backhand slaps from your mom or koboko or pankere from your Dad.
3.
To be accused of theft or cheating of any kind was very grave indeed. Even if you were innocent, your red-eyed parents would ask you: what were you even doing in a situation or in circumstances which made such allegations possible in the first place?
4.
Somehow, somewhere, we have failed to pass this along to these kids we are raising. We are not successful transmitters of these values from our parents to our own kids. We are the ones likely to be caught buying WAEC or NECO expo for them. Or we pay people to impersonate and write exams for them.
5.
This failure in transmission of values, ethos, moral mettle explains why you have social media almajiris asking me stupid questions about who asked who to spend what for their election, hair-splitting between the guilt of the giver and receiver of jibiti.
6.
I just hope that my generation will think and apply itself to the emergency national task of rebirth and regeneration of ethos and morals.