THE AVENGERS

Oh yes, you must have heard the name.It’s the movie everyone is raving about, and why shouldn’t they? It’s the highest grossing film of 2012, raking in $1 billion in no time.If you haven’t watched it, let me give you a quick low-down.

Nick Fury, director of an espionage agenc,y reactivated the Avengers Initiative, a group of remarkable people ,to avenge the earth and retrieve the Tesseract from Loki.The Tesseract had enormous power and radiative capacity and Loki used it to perpetrate evil and enslave some of the agents from Nick’s espionage agency.The Tesseract could also be used to develop weapons and it seemed it’s power was limitless.Whoever had it had all the power.Loki knew this and planned to used the Tesseract to subdue the earth.

In response to these events, Fury reactivated the avengers’ Initiative which comprised ;

Iron Man/Tony Stark- A self-described genius,billionaire,playboy,philanthropist, who had the best punchlines and humour.Beneath this facade, was a man who was competent and believed in his own abilities.

Captain America/ Steve Rogers- This is was the serious dude who had no time for frivolities,the polar opposite of Iron Man.

Hulk/ Dr Bruce Banner- A genius scientist , who transforms to a monster when enraged or excited.He’s a guy struggling with two sides of himself—the dark and the light.

Thor-The god of thunder and adoptive brother of Loki.

Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff- A woman who is not a superhero but a highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D.She has crazy stunts in her arsenal.

Hawkeye/Clint Barton-An agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and a master archer.He is not a superhero, just a guy who is highly skilled in using his arrows.

So Fury brought these remarkable men and women together to retrieve the Tesseract,defeat Loki and avenge the earth.Note that all the Avengers are as different as night and day, but they all had one thing in common, ability.In the end, when they all decided to overlook their differences and work together, they fought the war, defeated Loki and got the Tesseract.They later returned the Tesseract to Asgard.

Where am I going? The Avengers’ movie is similar to Nigeria’s situation.Our forebears had the Nigerian dream.After 1960, we received freedom from colonial enslavement.This was supposed to be the dawn of a new era for us, a new beginning, right? Wrong.After 1960,the Nigerian dream came shattering down at our feet, bit by bit, in a messy puddle.Gone were the dreams of a great Nigeria, the paradise our forbears dreamed of.

The grandparents ran the race,. firmly holding the baton (Tesseract) in their hands and have since refused to release it.That is why a 60 year old is our national youth leader.That is why our grandparents are still the ones ruling this country.

Now ,the baton like the Tesseract has tremendous power,money and influence.It creates in it’s bearer an insatiable need for power and eventually makes him power drunk.So it is that the power drunk grandparents have refused to hand over the baton.

What happened to our parents,you ask.Our parents lost their way in search of the Nigerian dream, as a result, they aren’t even on the race track.They got educated, worked hard and told themselves something along the lines of;”Politics is a dirty game, mind your business and cater for your family”Therefore, the power-drunken grandfathers are still caressing the baton unchallenged.

In comes our generation.Young, self-assured and confident.We have dreams of changing the world.We are brimming with energy, youth and boundless enthusiasm.Unfortunately, we are divide into 3 groups.

The first are those, who like our parents refuse to be bothered.”Politics is a dirty game, it’s not my business” To those I say,  Nigeria determines how fast you’ll achieve your dreams, Nigeria determines the quality of healthcare you and your family get.Nigeria determines the quality of the job you’ll get or if at all you’ll get one.So how is it not your business? Indifference is not a virtue.”…Every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor”-Frantz Fannon

The second group through their actions deceive people into thinking they want to run with the baton and deliver a new Nigeria.Their true motive? To fatten themselves from the coffers of the grandfathers’ loot.They want their share of the excessively rich and creamy national cake.

The third group? They are the true guards who want to deliver the future of this country.Our knights, our Avengers.They charge forward without fear or favour to snatch the baton from the grandfathers.They are they ones who will grab Nigeria from the menacles of corruption and the chains of clueless governance.A group of remarkable young men and women who are highly skilled in their fields.They may be different as night and day, just like the Avengers, but their strength is in their diversity.They can and they will deliver a New Nigeria through their sacrifice,work and vision.

I can hear you ask, “Who are the Avengers?” I don’t know them yet, but you can’t blame a girl for dreaming.

By Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

 

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