28 Years After, Yar’adua’s Dream Was ‘Mishandled’ – Showunmi

The chief promoter of the Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has submitted that the vision of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua was “mishandled” by those who inherited it.

This is just as he insisted that Nigeria must now embrace a generational shift in leadership.

Showunmi stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday on Yar’adua’s legacy 28 years after his passing.

While saying the moment demands “an honest reckoning, not ritual praise,” the chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) argued that while Yar’adua stood firmly for justice, unity, and responsible succession, those who came after him did not uphold these ideals.

“A Dream Mishandled. Yes, General Yar’adua believed in justice, unity, and generational responsibility.

“But reverence for his ideals must not blind us to the truth: the baton meant to be passed forward was held too long clutched, guarded, politicized and in that hesitation, our nation’s fractures deepened,” he said.

According to him, the Nigeria that today’s youth inherited is “more fractured, more uncertain, and more burdened than the Nigeria you promised to build.”

He said “We face unemployment that crushes potential; insecurity that stifles hope; and a political culture that confuses longevity with wisdom, and seniority with service.”

He applauded Yar’adua’s belief that leadership is a relay requiring generational renewal.

“The race cannot move forward if the runners ahead refuse to release the baton.

“The pendulum has swung. The time for renewal has come,” he said.

While declaring that young Nigerians are ready to take responsibility, Showunmi said, “We are not the future—we are the present. We are here. We are many. And we are ready.”

He described the youth as possessing “the creativity, the resilience, the anger, the hope, and the discipline demanded by the next chapter of Nigeria’s journey.”

He maintained that progress does not require perfection but courage.

“What defines a new era is not perfection, but the courage to do differently, to do better, to refuse the cycles that held us hostage,” he said.

Showunmi urged that Yar’adua’s memory should be honoured through decisive action, not ceremonial remembrance.

“Let it be in the courage to complete the relay he envisioned. Because to love Shehu is to embrace the principle he lived by: that leadership is temporary, service is generational, and every dream must one day change hands,” he said.

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