Empowering the Nigerian Youths
One of the greatest challenges I see facing us is empowering of our Youths.
I recognize our diversity as a nation and the need to ensure we have an even playing field. That is why I recommend that wherever we have influence, we should endeavor to replicate ourselves.
The saying “Give a man fish and you’d continue to feed him all his life but teach him to fish and he will feed himself, feed you and the community” readily comes to mind.
The most influential leaders today are the political class, and a number of our youths flock around them. They are used as errand boys/girls for some token but when employment opportunities come, they don’t remember these youths!
The other day I asked one of our retiring Chief Executive of a National parastatal who she has groomed as a likely successor. The guy just stammered shamefully, but it was already too late! We have instances where opportunities for employment exist, but we refuse to pass them on to the young ones around us. Where there are contracts, we get our protégées to front for us! We do these because we don’t want them to be independent. That is unfair.
We complain that our people are not given strategic appointments, but where are they? Look closely and you would notice that we are like dust…no clout, no strong presence.
Our youths are intelligent and need opportunities to find expression for their God given talents. We should not encourage our future leaders to be touts, beggars and boothlickers. There is no space at the top for such. Let’s be deliberate in replicating ourselves by grooming and empowering the young ones around us.
