Nigeria's population is young and fast-growing. Today, 70% percent of Nigeria's population is under the age of 30. The country's median age is 18 years old, and according to the national electoral commission, 51 percent of Nigeria's voters are between 18 and 35. If civil society is a social contract between the Government and its people, then it is safe to say that the Nigerian youth are grossly short-changed.
It is time to revisit the terms and conditions of this arrangement. Hence my new film: Millennial Propaganda (MP).
It is also important to clarify, though, that MP is not anti-old people. It is anti-anti-change.
Just like the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, we all hope to grow old one day with a full head of grey and a reservoir of successes and challenges to look back on. However, my 25 years of life tells me that the likelihood of this happening as a young person in Nigeria is slim. Nigeria's life expectancy age is just 60 years. If you ask my Father, Mr. Donatus Wogu, he will tell you that 60 is when real life begins. He recently turned 60.
During my first year studying at AUN, I took a course in Intercultural Communications taught by Dean Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob. In this course, we learned about Hofstede's Cultural Dimension Theory CDT. (A cross-cultural comparison between countries around the world and the corresponding effect on the various populations.) The first thing that caught my attention was the power distance in Nigeria—how unequal we are.
According to Hofstede's CDT, Nigeria scores a whopping 80/100. To learn more, click here
Fortunately, all hope is not lost yet. This casalla is a man-made something. What is the solution? I do not have a clue. However, that is the essence of my new channel.
The idea is for us to begin to have conversations about the values truly important to us as a society. Thus, every month, through high-quality documentaries on YouTube, we will delve into the archives of Nigeria, exploring policies, institutions, or ideas that need refreshing. You will also be right to consider this as an attempt to address the dearth of knowledge in Nigeria. Accompanying every series is one policy recommendation worth all our time. As a Creative Director, I contribute to the National conversation while exploiting the digital age with what I do best: storytelling.
Our first topic is the current intergenerational war between young people and older people in Nigeria. Click to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjULC5AbO2I
Shout out to all the people championing these important conversations. Change is gradual, but it has to start from somewhere. If you are a young Nigerian wondering where to start, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeuUDdV6MMc
Then ask yourself, 20-30 years from now, what kind of country do you want to live in?
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