Olodo uprising: Are we rewarding Ignorance or Authenticity

Growing up in primary school, “Olodo” was a common phrase. Olodo was the one always getting ‘odo’, zero,in class. The one who couldn’t catch up. Today, that word means more. The Olodo Uprising is an illustration of how most young people are living: chasing trends that spike dopamine now, but will have zero value in the long run. We’re feasting on things that give us no advantage. No benefit. Instead, they make us less of who we’re supposed to become. It’s sad seeing the quality of individuals we have as young people drop this low. These days, young people don’t invest in books. We’re all about money and clout. Even what we call “content creation” is mostly crap. Look at Gehgeh and peller,for example, showing us that crude entertainment can buy fame and people are cool with it. We’re raising a generation where things that should never be normalized are now normal. Intellectual conversations? Personal growth? Mental emancipation? Productive effort? Nobody’s doing that. We’re more concerned with present pleasure and fun. One major foundation of this uprising is AI. Like a celebrity, Ai is everywhere - hardly anyone doesn’t know about it. And yes, AI has done as much harm as it has done good. Well,we’ve misused AI in the academic world. Plenty of students - be it in primary, secondary, and higher institutions can’t compose a correct, structured essay anymore. We’ve seen exercising our brains as “stressing” ourselves. Ai kills "struggle", but struggle builds brains. That struggle is what builds memory ,logic and original thinking "Why can't you just use Ai to do it?"Ask Ai. Ask Google; and Your answer will be right there, staring at your face, but this is creating a lot of brain-redundant people. A lot of brains are unhealthy because they’re not being trained or put under pressure. They’re literally sleeping. Now, most people cannot create something reasonable without the help of AI. In this way,we’re increasing the rate of dullards in society. Social media is the another foundation. Gehgeh and Peller are two content creators who grew to fame with whooping followings. And they’ve become mentors to some people — especially Gehgeh. And because of this, you now see content online that doesn’t make sense, videos without substance. Because the majority now think: “If you want to blow online, you have to create something dumb. Something rash. Something unreasonable.” In order to be popular. In order to make money. In order to be famous. It’s affecting the mindset of our youths. And the victims are mostly young people. Yes, there are adult fools. But the majority of olodos out there currently are youth. This is the reason dumb content gets thousands of likes and followers, while someone making meaningful content gets low engagement. If Peller was using his platform to create something reasonable, to steer youths to greater things despite his educational background, it wouldn’t be a worry. I mean, there are many illiterate people breaking boundaries and becoming better version of themselves.Social platforms rewards speed and sensation. Algorithms push content that hooks in seconds,so shallow or outrageous posts reach more people than thoughtful ones. When popularity is clicks and followers,the incentive is to perform, not to thinkWe all know the slang, “School Na Scam.” Well, it is to an extent. But Peller’s rise to fame singlehandedly strengthened that notion; despite his unpolished, uncultured manners. We could have given him benefit of doubt that it was due to illiteracy. But the problem is: kids watching him think that’s the blueprint. Moreover, people prefer applause to truth. Instead of giving a realistic opinion, people say what others want to hear just to be liked. A person would rather be loved by all for saying what society wants, than be ostracized for standing alone and saying the truth, like in GehGeh’s case. When people lie or brainwash the youth because “that’s what they want to hear,” it creates decadence in their intellectual mindset. It affects how they talk. How they act. And then you see foolish acts from certain individuals. Because of what they listen to. Because that’s what they want to hear. It’s even sad to see university students not maximizing their days. A lot of undergraduates are in school just to bag a degree. No vision for what happens after school. No skill to fall back on if the degree doesn’t work out. One of the biggest mistakes young people will make is leaving school with only a certificate. Don’t get me wrong — it’s good to be academically sound. But a first class graduate doesn’t guarantee a first class lifestyle. A lot of first class graduates can’t even defend their degrees. You need more: public speaking, writing, technical skills, communication, vocational skills. It’s the combination of all these that makes a person stand fit. Excellence should be in every area of life, not only academics. But right now, everybody is just living anyhow. Nobody is being intentional about growth. And people aren’t talking about it. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. You give out what you have. You don’t expect someone who hasn’t invested in their mind intellectually to share reasonable thoughts. One's quality of mind will show in the way we do our things. Peller’s act is a function of ignorance. And that’s part of what’s misleading people. Have what you stand for. Have your own values. One mistake young people make is pushing themselves out there too early. I’m not saying don’t contribute. But there’s a level you can contribute to because you haven’t gotten enough experience or exposure to build barriers against certain things. Even an adult fool began his foolishness in his youthful days. And so what you build on while young is what will grow and manifest. We all know the saying, "A fool at forty is a fool forever." But today, the bar has been brought lower. Why? Because there are so many opportunities and so much awareness. Hence there’s no room for excuses anymore. Most people don’t know the value of what they have until they lose it. Learn from people’s mistakes. Learn to be a better version. If you neglect the mistakes of others, in a short time you might end up making the same , or worse. The online space is oversaturated. And if you look at the quality of minds there, most are frolicking on the surface. No depth. No substance. The internet rewards speed. Life rewards depth. Time will tell. And our decisions now will determine our future. But most people have decided to overlook this fact. Regardless, as long as you know the truth, keep standing for it.It doesn’t mean you stop saying it. It becomes the choice of the listeners to either hearken or discard it. Sigh.... I understand the country's disheveled state: Insurgency, insecurity, unemployment, corruption, inflation....the list is endless,it's exhausting. A lot of youths checked out, developing various defense mechanisms,but we deserve better than self sabotage.We should reward curiosity, depth and integrity - not spectacle

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