A former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke and a member of House of Representatives, Rt Hon Eta Mbora, have called on youths to sheathe their sword as their anguish has been heard loud and clear.
In separate interview, the duo admitted that the youths have been wronged and their scars must be healed before the nation can move forward.
Speaking with journalists in Calabar yesterday, Donald Duke, the former SPD Presidential candidate during the last election, said  the old generation leaders need the forgiveness of the youths and that the trust deficit must be bridged  in a bid to regain their confidence once again so as to forge ahead as a nation.
He said: “The youths have been badly bruised and there scars must be well taken care of. The youths are telling us something not in words but in actions; they are speaking in their own manner because people speak differently and some speak in parables too.
“The youths have to forgive us first because we are the ones who are managing their resources and they are telling us that our management is poor; they cannot be silenced, they must be heard. If there is right to life, then there is right to livelihood by giving them a job or engaging them is not a privilege but a right.
“There is a trust deficit between the people especially the youths and the government. Our democracy is 21 years already and we can’t wait to be fools at 40. So, Nigeria is now in a situation where the rich cannot sleep because the poor cannot eat.”
Insisting that some of them have always warned that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gun powder, he said it has become expedient to be very sincere with the people as the youths feel cheated because the old generation had better opportunities at their age.
“The youths need to know that we are listening to them. The youths should be able to hold us accountable. The engagement of the youth is pivotal as huge percentage of them is idle as seen in their carting away of used toilet seats.
“Their minds have been bruised and are very dangerous to handle. So, the government on its part must also be ingenious in finding solutions to these problems by assuring the teeming youths that they are not alone. if China can create jobs for billions, then Nigeria can also do it, he maintained.
Describing the ugly incidents that happened in Calabar in the last 48 hours as a harrowing one, Rt. Hon Eta Mbora, said the carnage, the looting and wanton dehumanisation of human life graphically expresses the state of mind of our citizens, particularly our young folks.
Mbora, who represents Municipality/Odukpani federal constituency, said these events are symbolic larger problems of inadequacy and the pain of citizen disillusionment as well as the despair of a proud people with an uncertain future.
He admitted that these problems are not limited to our state, but a national problem that has been with us for a very long time, adding that now the cries of the oppressed are being heard not by tears, but their targeted action against their perceived oppressors and institutions of oppression.
He further said: “Recently, the government made a statement acknowledging the hardship the citizens are going through. This acknowledgement, though a healthy start, will require more. Indeed, far more from the government and perhaps more than the government on its own can afford.
“But we must not relent as government will have to seek ingenious ways of meeting the aspirations of her people. This is a tall order, but the sooner we tackle this, the more assured we have that we will have an environment and a polity that accommodates our wishes and aspirations.
“Our young people, your anguish have been heard loud and clear. Sheath your sword while we await government swing into action to address the needs of her people. We are not a failed people. No, we are a people with failed aspirations. But there is hope,” he assured.