A BLEEDING NATION - CHAPTER 6: YOUTHS WITHOUT HOPE

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Chapter 6: Youths Without Hope

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The future was supposed to be brighter than the past.

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At least that was what Daniel had always been told.

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His teachers had said it.

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His parents had believed it.

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Even the politicians repeated it during every election season.

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"Education is the key."

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"The youth are the leaders of tomorrow."

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"The future belongs to you."

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Daniel remembered hearing those words throughout his childhood.

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He had believed them.

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Millions of young Nigerians had believed them too.

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They studied hard.

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They passed examinations.

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They sacrificed comfort.

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They endured sleepless nights.

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They dreamed of success.

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But dreams alone could not create opportunities.

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Reality was different.

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Very different.

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Three years after graduation, Daniel was still unemployed.

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Three years of applications.

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Three years of interviews.

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Three years of disappointment.

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Every morning he left home carrying hope.

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Every evening he returned carrying rejection.

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His certificates had become papers without value.

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His dreams had become burdens.

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And he was not alone.

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Across the nation, millions of young people faced the same struggle.

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One afternoon, Daniel met his university friends at a small roadside restaurant.

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It had been months since they had gathered together.

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The reunion should have been joyful.

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Instead, it felt like a meeting of survivors.

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Each person carried invisible wounds.

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Michael studied Engineering.

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He now sold phone accessories on the street.

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Aisha graduated with First Class honors in Accounting.

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She worked part-time at a supermarket for barely enough money to survive.

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Tunde studied Political Science.

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After years of searching for employment, he had become a motorcycle rider.

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None of them had imagined this future.

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They had entered university full of hope.

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Now they sat together discussing survival.

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"What happened to all those promises?" Michael asked bitterly.

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Nobody answered.

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Because everyone knew the answer.

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The promises had vanished long ago.

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Like many things in the country.

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As they talked, a luxury convoy sped past the restaurant.

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Expensive vehicles.

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Armed escorts.

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Tinted windows.

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Power.

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Wealth.

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Privilege.

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The contrast was painful.

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On one side of the road sat young graduates struggling to afford lunch.

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On the other side passed leaders who spent more money in a day than many citizens earned in a year.

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Daniel watched the convoy disappear into the distance.

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Something felt wrong.

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Terribly wrong.

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How could a nation produce so much wealth yet leave so many of its young people behind?

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How could leaders celebrate progress while millions remained trapped in poverty?

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How could opportunities be reserved for the connected while talent was ignored?

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The questions filled his mind.

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But answers remained difficult to find.

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Weeks later, tragedy struck again.

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A young graduate named Emeka took his own life after years of unemployment and financial hardship.

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The news spread rapidly.

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Social media exploded with grief and anger.

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Thousands of young people shared similar stories.

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Stories of hopelessness.

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Stories of rejection.

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Stories of dreams slowly dying.

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Daniel read them all.

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The pain was overwhelming.

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An entire generation was losing faith.

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Not because they lacked ability.

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Not because they lacked ambition.

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But because the system seemed determined to crush them.

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The nation was not only losing jobs.

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It was losing hope.

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One evening, Daniel visited a public school where he had once volunteered.

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The classrooms were overcrowded.

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The desks were broken.

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The teachers were underpaid.

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Yet the students remained hopeful.

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They raised their hands eagerly.

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They spoke about becoming doctors.

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Lawyers.

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Engineers.

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Scientists.

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Pilots.

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Daniel listened quietly.

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He admired their optimism.

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But deep inside, he felt fear.

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Would these children face the same disappointments?

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Would they spend years chasing opportunities that never came?

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Would they also become victims of broken promises?

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The thought haunted him.

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That night, as rain fell across the city, Daniel sat by his window.

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The streets below were nearly empty.

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Only a few vehicles moved through the darkness.

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He thought about his generation.

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A generation full of talent.

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A generation full of energy.

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A generation capable of transforming the nation.

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Yet many were unemployed.

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Many were struggling.

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Many were leaving the country in search of better opportunities.

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The nation was losing some of its brightest minds.

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Not because they wanted to leave.

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But because they felt they had no choice.

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It was a silent tragedy.

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One that rarely made headlines.

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One that destroyed dreams without spilling blood.

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Yet the damage was enormous.

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A nation cannot thrive when its youth lose faith in the future.

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A nation cannot grow when opportunity becomes a privilege instead of a right.

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A nation cannot prosper when talent is ignored and corruption is rewarded.

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Daniel stared into the darkness.

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The future of the nation depended on its young people.

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But who was protecting their future?

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Who was fighting for their dreams?

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Who was listening to their cries?

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The answers were unclear.

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Yet one thing was certain.

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The bleeding of the nation was not only measured by violence and insecurity.

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It was also measured by wasted potential.

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By broken dreams.

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By unemployed graduates.

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By talented young people forced to abandon their ambitions.

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By a generation slowly losing hope.

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And as long as that continued, the wounds of the nation would never truly heal.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAXw8MRgMR

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