Generational rivalry: Competition or contempt?

Gerascophobia is the fear of old age. Many people live with Gerascophobia, wishing that they will never grow old. Some people undergo surgery, and take different medications to keep feeling and looking young. Many wish and dream that the end will never come. ATANG IZANG writes

OVER the years, there has been increase in cases of between age falsification and the quality of performance of officers in the Nigerian civil service. A study showed that that age falsification in a certain state civil service (which is a reflection of a general malaise in the country) is caused by numerous factors that include: fear of uncertainties surrounding retirement; consideration for family pressure and needs; apprehension over lack of alternative means of livelihood; absence of effective social policy and the failure to effectively keep employees records by the directorate in charge. Age falsification negatively gave rise to redundancy, ethical problem, and lack of initiative due to ageing workforce. Age falsification also undermines recruitment process in the civil service, by limiting opportunities for young graduates and job seekers.

Therefore, the above paragraphs perfectly capture, the clash between Nigeria’s leaders and its booming young population that occurred nearly one year ago.

Recalled, amid the global protests of 2020, a generation of young Nigerians took to the streets out of frustration with the country’s leadership. In August, tens of thousands of protesters called for #RevolutionNow and in October to #EndSARS, referring to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit notorious for extrajudicial killings. President MuhammaduBuhari responded with a crackdown, deploying the military against the #EndSARS movement. According to sources at least 56 people were killed, and the authorities jailed protesters and froze activist leaders’ bank accounts.The mass protests pitted Nigeria’s Generation Z against its aging political elite. In August, a presidential aide dismissed the activists for their supposed youthful inexperience. “A revolution is always a mass thing, not a sprinkle of young boys and girls,” he said. The comments led some people to label the aide an agbaya, a Yoruba word that means “bad elder” – or an older person who acts like a child – and has come to describe an educated but selfish adult wielding power.

In the response to the #EndSARS protests, demonstrators saw a glaring example of elite indifference to ordinary suffering. “The Nigerian government has turned its back against real issues of human security and become a full blown agbaya – running after citizens standing up for civic issues,” a writer, tweeted in the aftermath.

Around 70 percent of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million populationsare under the age of 35, but this isn’t reflected in government. Buhari, who entered office in 2015 after serving as a military head of state in the 1980s, is 78 – meaning he has lived more than 20 years longer than the average Nigerian. Legislators are also disproportionately older. Few young people have the financial capital to run for office, and big donors prefer to back older candidates. Although the age disparity between elected officials and their constituents isn’t particular to Nigeria, putting older people in power is in line with local custom: Nigerian elders are highly regarded for their wisdom.

Until the end of military rule in the 1990s, the Southwest writers and analysts argued that the word agbaya was mostly used among family members. Its derogatory use against political figures reflects the despair of Nigeria’s young generationwho has grown up amid a decade of violence and economic uncertainty.In Nigeria as it is elsewhere in Africa, it is frowned upon to address someone older by their first name, much less insult them. Lacking representation in government, they are now standing up to seek accountability from their leaders.

According to survey by the Pew Research Centre, Nigeria’s population is on track to surpass the United States’ by 2050, and there aren’t enough jobs to support this surge. The coronavirus pandemic compounded successive governments’ failures to invest in job creation. Rising poverty and food inflation have exacerbated long-running security problems: Boko Haram in the northeast, kidnapping for ransom in the northwest, and separatists in the south. In 2018 the same survey found that 45 percent of Nigerians planned to move abroad in the next five years.

Fed up with this poor outlook, the young generation sees older political elites as failing to live up to the sage ideal. “Nigeria is on its knees because some elders took public decisions … not in the national or public interest,” argued the executive director of the Abuja-based Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth, and Advancement Africa, which promotes youth participation in politics. Democratization and social media have enabled citizens to call out officials more brazenly. Many young people are disregarding tradition and instead demanding that Nigerian politicians must earn their respect.

The #EndSARS demonstrations, which erupted after a video showed police allegedly shooting and killing a man, were the most sustained in Nigeria since 1945. But the large crowds also illustrated sheer desperation. Looters found pandemic food aid stockpiled in government warehouses and in some instances in politicians’ homes, eroding trust in the government. For the protesters, the misappropriated aid and the crackdown only reinforced the image of Nigeria’s political leadership as agbayas: bullying older elite unwilling to protect its citizens.

The protests forced the government to disband SARS, but that didn’t address the root causes of youth discontent. Oil revenue makes Nigeria Africa’s wealthiest economy, but tax compliance is low, and the national income has stagnated since its peak in 2001. Young Nigerians find themselves paying out of pocket for public services, while the ‘bad’ elites misuse public revenue. As the coronavirus crisis worsened last June, the government cut its education budget by 54 percent and health care spending by 42 percent.

Lawmakers’ attempts to address the economic crisis have only drawn criticism. In January, the government launched a job creation program for 774,000 young people – the biggest in Nigeria’s history. But the job placements will only pay $49 a month, less than minimum wage. Critics say the program is a short-term fix, and recipients have complained of delayed payment. “These kinds of issues, they breed resentment and anger on the part of young people. There is so much inequality, and there is no deliberate attempt on the part of the state to bridge the gap”.

Meanwhile, Buhari’s administration has mounted other legislation to tamp down on youth dissent. A draft law would give authorities arbitrary power to limit access to social media, calling for prison time for sharing so-called fake news. Youth advocates fear the government could use it as another arbitrary legal tool against activists. A second bill aims to combat hate speech, but rights organizations suspect it is directed at dissidents. Buhari reinforced this image in June, when he banned Twitter without legal backing. The move came after the company deleted a tweet by the president that threatened secessionists in the southeast for violating its abusive behavior policy. “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” he wrote. “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.” The threat of prosecution didn’t keep young Nigerians from accessing Twitter via virtual private networks to call out the “agbaya administration” for moving toward dictatorship.

As young people’s anger against older leaders grows, Nigeria’s political landscape is slowly shifting. A 2018 law reduced the age limit for presidential candidates from 40 to 35 and for representatives from 30 to 25; youth candidacy increased by 63 percent between the 2015 and 2019 elections.

Conditions for young people are only likely to get worse. The slump in oil prices caused by the pandemic triggered Nigeria’s second recession since 2016, and government revenue has dwindled. Buhari continues to blame the youth for the economic troubles. “If they want jobs, they will behave themselves,” he told a local news channel in June. The next elections, in 2023, are still far away. But calls are growing for the president to resign. It was young Nigerians who led the country to independence in 1960. The new generation’s discontent with older leaders could usher in another era of reform.

Nevertheless, a new Stanford research shows that aging adults play critical roles in the lives of young people, especially the most vulnerable in society. Volunteering is one way to bring older adults and young people together. The key is to change social norms to encourage relationship building between generations.

When Nigeria older adults contribute to the well-being of youth, it cultivates a sense of purpose and extends benefits both ways.Such relationships are important for society. They can help ensure that children and teens receive the kind of attention and mentoring they often lack, especially among the most vulnerable populations. These relationships also offer older adults opportunities to learn about new technology and trends, and experience the excitement of seeing the world through a younger perspective.

Atang Izang a former Diplomatic, Defence& Parliamentary reporter, wrote from Jos, can be reached at: atangizang4@gmail.com