WHY THE DSS, NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT ARE TAKING NIGERIAN YOUTHS FOR GRANTED – By Onwuasoanya F C C Jones.

For seven days now, Nigeria’s number one youth leader has been in detention with no reasons adduced for his detention. Youths from across Nigeria have been protesting here and on the ground, seeking that the young legal practitioner and political activist, who was at a time the Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, be either charged to court or released unconditionally by the DSS who are said to have kept him in the most dehumanizing condition for one week now, without access to his food, drinks, lawyers or family members.

This is a democracy, and in every democracy anywhere in the world, people are deemed innocent of any crime they are accused of till a competent court of law convicts such individual. In the case of Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere Micheal, he has been accused, convicted and imprisoned by the DSS and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for no reason known to us, except that he insists that Mr. Solomon Dalung should allow him and other eminent youths run the affairs of Nigerian youths without undue interference. The other crime we know he has committed is staying loyal to the Senate President and insisting that whatever trials he is made to pass through must be carried out in transparent manner and not be victimized for legitimately seeking to hold an office.

The Nigerian government and the DSS have ignored all entreaties and threats made to them by Nigerian youths and their supporters to free Ikenga Imo, because they believe that we are not united enough. No government or institution toys with the youths, but we are being toyed with, because they know that we cannot unite to fight them. They can always divide us. And they may be correct. A lot of Nigerian youths are even happy that Ikenga is in detention, because in the course of his struggles, he might have hurt some of them. Personal grievances should not come in the way of legitimate struggles. Today, it is Ikenga, tomorrow, it might be you or even myself, and if we continue to keep quiet because of some personal issues we have with our fellow youths, then, one day, we might all be in detention, and some idiots whose stock in trade is to lick the shoes of the powers that be, will be made leaders over us. 

If you are a youth and you believe in freedom and democracy, stand up and be counted. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere is one of us, and we cannot allow him to die in detention for committing no crime. 

Truth is that these leaders believe that we cannot do anything, that we can be bought with pittance, let us stand up and prove them wrong, let us make a statement with Ikenga’s detention. Do not wait to be mobilized, mobilize yourselves, stand up for freedom, for equity and justice. This is not about Ikenga, this is about all of us, this is about our tomorrow, this is about the fate of this country. If Ikenga is allowed to languish in detention without repercussions, tomorrow any of us can be taken in and nothing will happen.