Skip to main content

The Cost of Silence: When Youth Don’t Speak, Others Decide for Them By Eze Anthony, T-Fresh Civic Voice





Silence is not always golden. Especially not when it comes from the youth in a country crying for transformation. In Nigeria, where each day delivers new headlines of broken promises, rising costs, and fading hopes, the silence of young people — the largest demographic — has become more dangerous than noise.

Too often, we scroll, sigh, complain in private chats, or drop a comment on a trending post — then go silent again. But silence, in civic life, is not neutral. It’s a space quickly filled by others: those with louder voices, deeper pockets, and often, narrower interests.

I’ve come to see how this silence shows up. It’s in the low voter turnout among youth. It’s in the absence of young voices in town hall meetings or student union decisions. It’s in the way many shy away from writing, speaking, or even tweeting boldly about social injustice, corruption, and governance. And yes, sometimes it’s even in my own hesitation — to publish, to speak, to question.

But here’s the truth I’m learning: when youth don’t speak, others decide for them — and often, not in their favour.

As the late Chinua Achebe once said:

> “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”
Yet, leadership is not only for those in office. It begins when we take initiative — when we use our voices with purpose.



Nigeria needs the voices of young people more than ever. Not just in protests or viral hashtags, but in schools, streets, radio waves, student councils, blogs, ballots, and boardrooms. Every platform is a civic space waiting to be occupied by courage and truth.

Silence will not build the Nigeria we dream of. Action will. And it starts with speaking. With writing. With standing. With being present.

So this is more than a blog post. It’s a reminder to myself and a call to everyone reading:
Use your voice. Shape your future.
Because when you don’t, others will — and they may not speak for you.

T-Fresh Civic Voice is back. This is not just a post — it’s the first beat of a louder voice. One post at a time, I’ll speak. And I hope you will too.
 Follow more reflections at: tfreshcivicvoice.blogspot.com


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

ezeanthony690@gmail.com

Popular posts from this blog

Preparing Future Educators: FCT COE Zuba Holds Teaching Practice Orientation.

The College of Education, FCT Zuba, has organized a Teaching Practice Orientation aimed at equipping student teachers with the skills, knowledge, and experience required for effective classroom engagement. Speaking during the programme, the Director of Continuing Education, Mr. Laah Emmanuel, described the orientation as a critical step in preparing students for the transition from theoretical learning to practical teaching. “It is for equipping students with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience,” he said. He noted that this year’s exercise has been strengthened with the involvement of the Quality Assurance Unit to guide students and ensure proper standards are maintained. According to him, the college prepares student teachers through continuous training from admission up to the point of teaching practice. “The school trains students from admission to the time they are sent out. That is the primary role of teaching practice,” he added. Mr. Laah also highlighted some of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Left to the Streets: Inside the Struggles of Almajiri Children in Runji, Zuba. By Anthony Eze

Between Faith and Survival: Community Voices Raise Concern Over Almajiri Children in Runji, Zuba RUNJI, ZUBA, ABUJA — Along the dusty streets of Runji community in Zuba, Abuja, young boys carrying plastic bowls move from house to house asking for food or money. For many residents, the sight of these children wandering the streets has become a common but troubling reality. The children are part of the traditional Almajiri system, where young boys are sent away from home to study the Qur’an under Islamic teachers, popularly known as Mallams. However, interviews conducted with residents in the community reveal mixed reactions about the system and its impact on the children and the society around them. “Many Parents Have Abandoned the Children," Mallam An Islamic teacher in the community, Salisu Isah, explained that the Almajiri system was originally intended to help children gain Islamic knowledge, especially those who lack access to formal education. According to him, ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria's N988bn Education Budget Fails to Stem Out-of-School Crisis By Anthony Eze

Nigeria's education budget has increased significantly in recent years, rising from ₦602 billion in 2020 to ₦988 billion in 2024. Yet, despite this sustained public investment, the country continues to have the world's largest population of out-of-school children—estimated at 18.3 million, according to UNESCO and UNICEF's 2024 reports. Put differently, one in every five out-of-school children globally is Nigerian. The contradiction is striking. While federal allocations have grown, more than ₦250 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants reportedly remained unassessed or unutilized by state governments as of mid-2025, according to UBEC officials. This is no longer simply a question of inadequate funding. The evidence increasingly points to systemic governance challenges, weak accountability, poor implementation, insecurity, and misplaced priorities that continue to deny millions of Nigerian children—particularly those in conflict-affected northe...
Post a Comment
Read more