Those who think the recent Gen Z–led protests in town were solely about the infamous Finance Bill 2024 need a serious reality check.

Their heads are still in the sand and will only be jolted to their senses when it is too late for them to wake up from their slumber, change and adapt.

Parents worth their salt cannot condemn their children for doing what they did not have the balls to do when they still had the time and energy.

These parents, who are in denial, have watched as their children waste in the house with degrees but have had no guts to face off with their leaders for the real deal. Their cowardice has been exposed.

The older generation should not hide behind the popular view that this is an unruly generation.

Quite the opposite in this context. Our children have seen us being deceived by wool being thrown over our eyes, and cowed through covert intimidation tactics.

Gen Zs have watched our great potential go to waste because of a system built on mediocrity, impunity, corruption, ethnicity, cartelism, nepotism and favouritism.

The youth have clearly shown their parents that they – latter  – have failed them. They have broken the bounds of our usually unqualified parental authority to reassure them that there is no future for the youth to protect right now.

They are demanding accountability for public expenditure from our collective taxes, and not the charades of prosecution of the corrupt that decay and fizzle out in the corridors of justice.

The younger generation can see through the lies and are not ready to be taken down the same garden path. They are demanding justice and equality from their motherland.

Indeed, it is not a favour anyone can dole out as a carrot for loyalty. It is a right enshrined in the Constitution and covers all citizens regardless of their status or position, from the President to the law-abiding homeless urchin.

The government should stop groping in the dark in search of scapegoats. Unlike the earlier generations who built their identities on social class, educational background and ethnicity, Gen Zs are a homogenous and united demographic.

They see through the perennial lies and are courageous enough to tackle the status quo by confronting the person who moved their cheese.

As for the Church, the writing is on the wall. This generation will not turn the other cheek or forgive endlessly without seeking retributive justice. If you hit them hard, it is a matter of when, not if, they will fight for their rights.

Furthermore, they believe the State and the Church are in cahoots and help each other to oppress and exploit humanity. While the State takes taxes, the Church fleeces its followers through tithes and offerings.

Some opportunists have already started disassociating themselves from the sinking ship. But the internet, and Gen Z for that matter, do not forget.

They will hold every leader to account for their words and actions on the day of reckoning. They will ask some of the loudmouths why they did not reject, or even voice their opposition, against a clear injustice.

But in their struggle, the youth ought to remain eternally vigilant and guard against deception. They must avoid the traps of political con artists and associated oil merchants.

They are the chosen ones by destiny to move this country from the wilderness of corruption and misgovernment to the Canaan of equality through social and economic justice.

For Gen Zs, I sign off with the following quote from Matthew 11:12: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” It means that entering God’s Kingdom takes courage, unwavering faith, determination and endurance.

— The writer is a PhD student in International Relations