An engineer constructed a ‘danfo’ bus for a group of 29 people who did not understand the process of car-building. The bus air-conditioner only blew on the three front seats, while the remaining people behind received hot-air from the exhaust and engine. Since the driver and the two people in front do not properly understand the internal mechanism of the bus, they guarded the bus jealously for many years. Even when a new set of people seek to take over the bus in order to repair it, the advantaged old brigade always hesitate. They are afraid of leaving the bus for worse drivers, who could crash the bus, send them out or behind the bus.
Young Nigerians have agitated for the need to replace the ‘old brigade’ of ‘greedy and corrupt’ politicians with younger politicians. They lament that old politicians blocked the younger generation from ruling and reforming the country. Hence, they insist that the younger generation must flush out the old brigade of ‘wicked and greedy politicians’.
Like a leaking and rickety ‘danfo’ bus, Nigeria was created by colonialist Britain, and handed over to the ruling-class. The ruling class was overexcited after the handover of a beautiful, but complex, country from the colonial masters. Though they may not fully understand the principles for organizing progressive countries, they highly treasured the country they received. They even fought a civil war that costed million-lives, and they continue to defend the country with all their might. This is the country where their efforts and names will be remembered, so they resist a generation that wishes to flush away their ‘legacy’.
The new generation of politicians who seek to shamefully discard the ‘old brigade’ may not have demonstrated true leadership quality. They focus on the faults of the old brigade, instead of the unfulfilled intentions of a good people, overwhelmed by the complexity of the country they received. The old brigade politicians internally acknowledge their own faults, but they will not give in to a bitter generation. Instead, the old generation get afraid of the rebellious generation, and seek to secure themselves with more power and money. With the capitalist/individualistic-mentality of the new generation, the old brigade politicians fear the new generation’s disposition to greed, corruption and wickedness.
The old generation are getting weak, and are desperate to hand over the country to a better people. They are desperate to entrust the country to a sincere, intelligent, courageous, peaceful and productive people before they die. They want to entrust the country to a people who will honour their memories, and not label them as greedy. Thus, they will continue to test the ability, integrity and character of the new generation with bribes, blackmail or threats. When you pass the test of integrity and competence to build a better society, they are forced to collaborate with you.
In summary, the old brigade who are described by the younger generation as greedy and corrupt are not really demons. They are afraid of the younger generations’ rage, and seek to secure themselves with money and power. Like every other human being, they are also afraid of handing over their supposed legacies to an embittered generation. However, they will be forced to collaborate with younger generation who demonstrate better leadership qualities than they had. A people who have demonstrated their ability to collaborate and reconstruct the bus for the air-conditioner to spread better.
