Thread by @GbengaWemimo

It started like a genuine agitation for change
The right words were said
The imagery was perfect
We were at the National Youth Development Centre, Owode Egba, Ogun State
The year was 2007
The Federal Government had invited several Universities to a Leadership and National Youth

Development workshop
I led the team from Bowen University, Iwo
The Lecturer that traveled with us was Professor Ayansina, (He was a Dr. at the time)
The meeting was originally billed to hold at the University of Ibadan but the venue was changed on the day the meeting was billed

to start due to some issues and we were advised to proceed to the National Youth Development Centre in Ogun State
By the time we got to Owode Egba, it was 6:30pm, since the centre was not the original venue slated for the event, the place was not "ready"
Rooms were unmade,

caterers were still setting up (They had to get new ones living around the area), some state-owned Universities were already at the venue
We were shown our quarters as a school
Male and female hostels
We got our own mattresses from the store and prepared our rooms
By the time we

got to the main hall, we met the students singing ALUTA songs and overturning everything on the caterer's table meant to be our dinner
The agitation was about the quality of the rooms, quality of food and the general state of the centre
The coordinators begged the students and

explained that up till 2pm that day, they didn't know they would be hosting the event
The students went violent, insisting they would burn the centre down unless they were paid cash for their dinner for that night
Three schools stood out that year, Bowen University, Crescent

University and Ogun State University
Every other school represented there were a disgrace
The organizers approached us, I was the leader of the Bowen University team and asked us to please reason with our colleagues from other schools
We tried but they shouted us down violently

That night they were all settled
When the coordinators got to our rooms they saw clean rooms and well laid beds
We didn't protest
We made the best of a bad situation and we were supposed to be the privileged ones
Covenant University came for the event but didn't bother to stay

their coordinator came down from the bus, checked the rooms and told the driver to turn around and leave
That was to make us see how ill-prepared the place was
Somehow the students of Bowen University (Christian Missionary owned) and Crescent University (Islamic Religion owned)

became fast friends
After the welcome meeting, we hung around the hall and tried to get to know one another
it was during the Ramadan Fast, the crescent university students were fasting and needed to break
We gave them some of our supplies because they were not prepared for the

reality they met on the ground and there was no eatery around the location where they could get food.
The next day, another set of drama started immediately we were invited to the dining room for breakfast
The students started murmuring, they said they wanted to know how much the

government coordinators were prepared to pay them per day for the programme
They said they have seen the federal budget for the year and how much the federal government disbursed for the workshops taking place in the six geopolitical regions of the country
They said they wanted

25,000 naira per day as allowance and 50,000 for inconveniences each
Unknown to those of us from Bowen, Crescent and OSU, the others have met and drawn a plan of how to hold the organizers' hostage until their demands were met
The most senior organizer was a very smart man, he

got on the podium to address us all and said "I will like to hear from the students from Bowen university, they were also invited here and I will like to hear their opinion about what is going on"
I got up, took the microphone, and said "I am disappointed in the students! They

came to participate in a nation-building workshop and all they were agitating for was a piece of the cake of corruption. "You claim the organizers were using the workshop to steal money and they must pay you your share of the loot or you will kill and maim them
And you claim you

are the hope of Nigeria? I am highly disappointed and the Students from Bowen University will never be a party to such devilry!"
The students didn't believe it
It was as if I stabbed them at the back with gusto
I was not scared of their bulging muscles and pyro-eyes!
They didn't

a student to be on the side of the government
It was as if I was talking like someone who was unaware of the reality of the corruption on ground
If looks could kill, I assure you i would be dead
The organizer invited the leader of the crescent Univeristy team
He distanced their

school from the agitations too
OSU students also did the same
The agitation stopped there
the students decided to let the workshop proceed
We had breakfast & the talks commenced
During the afternoon break, some of the leaders of the students from the other schools approached me

They tried to explain to me how things work
The organizers were trying to take advantage of us
They had budgeted a certain amount for each of us and had been paid the money
They were sure the amount quoted for our daily welfare and upkeep will be about 500,000 Naira each but the

organizers were feeding us cheap foods and not paying us any allowance
We must collect it by force or we will be fools
One of them a lady said "I was paid 25,000 per day for the last one I attended minus hotel bills and even at that I knew they made a killing! We must not give in

we must unite and fight for our rights
I smiled
They didn't know me
I gave up on such idealistic nonsense years before
Nobody can talk me into doing anything the Holy Spirit is restraining me from
I do not want anything to do with their cause and I told them so boldly. We didn't

come to the event together
They are free to do as they desire
I have a right to do as I also desire
They left me after that
They were terribly disappointed
That afternoon, as myself and the other students were walking into the hall, they started booing us.
Calling us names
They

said "Your fathers are the senators and House of representative members, your friends are children of governors and vice presidents, you are as guilty as the corrupt politicians and this is why you have refused to join forces with us
How else can you afford the school fees? Your

parents are thieves and robbers
We didn't respond
We had the evening talk
The students wanted to start singing Aluta songs again
The organizers said they will have no option but to cancel the event and invite the police if students resort to violence
I walked out with my team...

The driver came to inform us the students were planning to set our school bus on fire
One of their drivers told the driver to move the bus out of the compound
The Minister arrived and invited me to his office
He asked me if i think my generation has any hope
I said "I am full of

the Holy Spirit sir, that is all the Hope mankind needs"
He was not a believer but he nodded and hugged me
He made a public presentation of certificates and I was called out for being an exemplary leader
We were paid 10,000 each for participating in the conference
The students

were still agitating and conniving when we left the venue of the workshop
It was a workshop I can never forget...
There are a lot of people with ulterior motives
They are foxes pouncing on the sheep to their own advantage
Dont be fooled by the noise
A lot of negotiation and plans

are going on clandestinely
A lot of organizers and "weaponizers" of protests are on the street
A lot of touts and criminals too
Many have been robbed and raped but the noise drowned their voices
Do not be led AROUND BY THE NOSE
Once your spirit says stop, PLEASE STOP!

-GSW-