BEVERLY HILLS, May 28, (THEWILL) – Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday raised concern over a possible youth explosion in the country, warning that the country might be consumed by anger of the youth as a result of their neglect
Asserting that the country will not be transformed if it continued to neglect its youths in the scheme of things, he said: “my greatest worry for Africa and Nigeria is the anger and frustration of the youths that will lead to explosion”.
Obasanjo, who stated this in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during a Youth Governance Dialogue programme, said during his time, there were opportunities but limited facilities unlike the present situation where there are facilities but limited opportunities.
“We have the Boko Haram in the North, the MASSOB and IPOB in the South-East, the militants in the Niger Delta and the Oodua Peoples Congress in the South-West. All of these are the expression of anger and frustrations,” he said.
The ex-president also advised the youths not to wish him and other elder statesmen dead as the country still needs their service, and tasked them to believe in themselves and be consistent, even as he pledged continuous support for the youths and the nation at large.
His words: “We will not transform if we ignore the youths. If we have youths explosion or anger because of lack of opportunity, it will consume all of us. We are all witnesses to the activities of Boko Haram, MASSOB and IPOB.
“If we can give children a minimum of nine years basic education, we will improve. There is no reason any child born within this country cannot have free and compulsory nine years basic education.
“The youths need to believe in themselves. Part of our problem is that we fail to believe in ourselves. Don’t lose hope, don’t be frustrated. We have a wonderful country and resources.
“There is something good in you; try and discover what it is. Don’t listen to anyone telling you that you are good for nothing. No one is good for nothing.
“During my own days, there was one university to attend when I finished from secondary school and I got five appointment letters when I finished. Now you have about 152 universities to attend but do you get any letter of appointment when you are done?
“Japan does not have any resources yet it is one of the largest economies in the world. Nigeria is blessed with resources but we are still where we are.
“We need to identify where we got it wrong. We need to identify where we are doing it right and continue to do it right. There are a number of things we have done right but do we continue to do it right?
“I will continue to do this and even more. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria and I believe we have a lot of problems that we can deal with. I believe in you and I believe you will do it better than my generation.”
Obasanjo, who described the current agitations across the country as an expression of frustration, advised the youth not to lose hope or get frustrated.
“Don’t wish us dead; don’t wish us to disappear because you will need us. You need us to mentor and prepare you for the future. You need our experience and the assistance of some of us to guide you through life,” he said.
Also speaking, the Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, while presenting his opening speech with the topic, ‘Preparing Successor Generation for Effective Participation in Governance’, said anyone who does not see the intrinsic value of the youth has simply never enjoyed the opportunity of working with the youth.
He said: “We cannot keep calling them the leaders of tomorrow without ensuring that we put in place deliberate measures that will aid their quest for public service.”
He therefore, said one cannot under-estimate the place of experience in the leadership of a country, adding that “sometimes candour and youthful excitement can cause as much harm as the most venal form of corruption.”
Meanwhile, the lead speaker, former Minister of Aviation and FRSC Corps Marshall, Mr. Osita Chidoka, while speaking on the theme ‘Towards a Guiding Political Philosophy for a Democratic Nigeria’ said many argued that the trouble with Nigeria was leadership.
He said for the country to grow, Nigerians must build a society that harnesses human resources, provides equal opportunities and develops capacity for innovation.
According to Chidoka: “Our national aspirations should inspire the next generation and provide them with the existential meaning of nigeria. A meaning that transcends geography, natural resources and ethnicity.”
He proposed a new charter for the country, saying the charter should contain reasons for the country’s union, the purpose of union and the guarantee of the basic rights, privileges and obligations of citizens.
“Our political parties can then build their ideologies around the strategies for the achieving our national goals,” the former FRSC boss added.
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