Dear City Boy Movement

Dear City Boy Movement,

I want us to have an honest conversation. And I’m not here to question your choices, but rather ask you, what impact are you willing to make in the lives of your people with the choice that you have made?

Why should people trust your words when the very people that you are trying to sell to them have sold the hopes and ambitions of the people? When they have overlooked their pain and exchanged their peace for insecurity? How do you intend to support good governance and strengthen democracy when your own structures look away from the blood, the tears, and the daily sufferings of the very people whose votes keep those in power?

You see, you can argue that you are just a political point canvassing movement, but I dare to tell you that you are wrong. Because Nigeria has never had a structured youth-led organization that operates under the ruling administration, with a network reaching from the tables of the president to the homes of the masses. When you see the people’s pain and daily struggles for survival, you have no right to pitch to them the achievements of your principal, because if the achievements were worthy, they would have felt it before they even see you.

When you are structured to speak in the ears of our people, it becomes our collective responsibility to demand from you that you do not forget their pain. You have built a structure that is made to mobilize votes for your principal. You might as well use that same structure to heal the sufferings of the people.

If the City Boy Movement is truly committed to good governance, then it must evolve beyond campaign mobilization. It must stand for impact with the people at the center of it. What if every state coordinator carried out an assessment and mapped out their community’s deepest needs, like the broken primary healthcare centers? And instead of spending millions on temporary campaign gifts, they channel those resources to fix those primary healthcare centers. It takes about 15 million naira to fit a local primary healthcare center with solar power, running water, and basic medical supplies.

Imagine a nationwide youth structure that takes one or two primary healthcare centers per state and fixes them. You wouldn’t need to go around convincing people to vote for your principal. That is how you prove your achievement. That is how you counter misinformation.

We must remember the power that we hold as youths. Let us stop settling for the role of foot soldiers who only knock on doors to demand votes. It is time to become the bridge that brings tangible relief, accountability, and development to those doors. You must remember to make an impact in the lives of your people. You cannot deliver your principle without the people, and you must deliver the people first to deliver your principle. In case you missed it, this is a challenge.

By Dr. Muhammad Al-amin Usman- A Medical Doctor, Youth advocate and Advocate of Good Governance