The Power of a Narrative.

On the recently concluded Nigeria presidential election- I watched and read quietly online and offline diverse school-of-thoughts during the election campaign all through until the voting and announcement of the winner.

It is fascinating to see supposedly educated and Intelligent future leaders gnawing at each other's necks just because of a difference in opinion. I see adults insulting each other, justifying and defending "fake news posts", unbelievable stories and unrealistic points, all in the name of politics.??

Disturbed in my thoughts as I may, the only thing that keeps coming to my mind is that last line in George Orwell's acclaimed book titled?Animal Farm-

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” -George Orwell

I ask myself, - Shortly are these Nigerian youth genuinely going to be different from our present leaders??

As of now, a resounding "NO" keeps coming through my head. We seriously need a paradigm shift- a mindset reorientation.

Objective discussions and even subjective opinions discussed in civility can yield fascinating mind changes, no doubt, but Ignorance and illiteracy do cause some to follow the masses' choice without query or questioning mindlessly – it is called "the sheep mentality" for an apparent reason (when a sheep jumps off a cliff, other sheep follow suit without knowing why.)

Most youth cannot even discuss why they prefer the candidate they voted for.

A phone call got me out of my thoughts, and while I stared at the mobile for a minute longer before picking up, I could only conclude that the influence of the "godfathers" could not be ruled out. We call them different names; "the media", "Influencers", "public figures", "mentors", and many more.

These few clusters of people decide for the masses. They create a powerful narrative and find subtle ways to seed their opinions and beliefs in others (the sheep)- some for personal gain, causing a solid effect that ripples through families, friends and friends of friends.?

You see them daily on your television, hear them on the radio, and read about them on print media, every corner of social media and online. The actual verdict is that, behind every influencer, there is a personal opinion voiced to drown your inner thoughts.

Our responsibility therefore, is that we should strive to be better future leaders, more cultured and civil. Engaging in productive arguments and truly mirror characters we wish to see in our children.

BE THE CHANGE!

Thoughts of an Ideal Man -Olushola Lawal Slaw?