-By Austen Akhagbeme:

Let’s give it to them, the youths who saw tomorrow. In a country where the outcome of an election is determined by those who count and collate results and not the voters themselves, nobody gave them the chance.

Everyone who voted for Peter Obi and his Labour Party is a winner and should henceforth chin up, chest out and step out with a gait reminiscent of a victor because nobody gave you the chance.

From being dismissed as just four helpless youths tweeting from a room, you have demonstrated capacity, resilience and determination to turn the tide against retrogressive forces of oppression even in places angels dread to trend.

The struggle has just begun. From your much-publicised “structurelessness”, you have built a structure in the mind of Nigerians, especially the youths that the old cyclical elites are not invincible after all. This is a solid foundation to build upon in years to come beginning from now.

The battle for the soul of Nigeria lies in your hands. Those energetic hands they couldn’t subdue but suffocated in Lagos, Plateau, Nassarrawa, Edo, Delta and the South East. So many jinxes and mental strongholds were broken and overthrown by your relentless effort to prove that a new Nigeria is possible.

The truth and the whole truth will soon be unfolded about the real fight with the beasts in the jungle: the voting, the unvoting, the overvoting, the ballot box destruction and snatching, the manipulation of results, the tribal and religious tantrum, the intimidation and threats. And above all, the BIVAS debacle.

All of these were not unexpected, except that the magnitude was overwhelming. The compromises were from strange quarters and the Octopus saddled with the responsibility of a smoother sail couldn’t be trusted to deliver after gulping a financial budget that equals one-quarter of the entire budget of Ghana.

Back to the youths and patriotic Nigerians who took our legendary pain upon themselves to demand a change, I say kudos once again. The struggle has just begun. They will never forget Papa, Mama and Pickin!

• Austen Akhagbeme is a Columnist with Blank NEWS Online