Nigerian youths and the challenges of nationhood
There is a direct relationship between youths and morals. Sound morals help youths create and facilitate transformation in their society. Moral uprightness, in any society, is sacrosanct to the development of the next leaders that will be saddled with leadership responsibilities of their country come tomorrow. The youths represent the most active and venerable groups […]
There is a direct relationship between youths and morals. Sound morals help youths create and facilitate transformation in their society. Moral uprightness, in any society, is sacrosanct to the development of the next leaders that will be saddled with leadership responsibilities of their country come tomorrow. The youths represent the most active and venerable groups that are often prompted for social mischief once adequate guidelines are not set up and enforced by the society.
Over the years, these vulnerable groups (youths), have often been found to constitute themselves into social nuisance; thus contributing to the general hopelessness the Nigerian nation has found itself. Instead of youths to be the watchdog of social ills, the youths have joined their elders in furthering the destruction of their society. Today, the Nigeria youths are armed with characters that are antithesis to its progress. Such antitheses includes false dreams of getting money quick without any difficulties, ostentatious and flamboyant life style, disco dancing, drunkenness, armed robbery, thuggery, cultism, prostitution, and exam malpractice.
Today, our tertiary institutions are populated by young men and women who are students by accident, without the mindsets to pursui intellectualism and academic excellence; but, with the mindset of pursuing frivolities that have no direct bearing on the development of their nation. Nothing seems to be happening except half naked and half crazy disco dancing and European football rebranded youngsters as students. These youngsters are not even moved by the general crises of nation building that have befallen their country. They remain unmoved by what is happening around them; because they have developed the mindset of waiting patiently for their turn to revisit the nation with their own methods of ostentations and exploitation.
The role of youths in championing societal re-generation is legendary over the years. Most nations that have achieved development were purely, the by-product of sound and active youths who serve as the engine that propelled such societies into development. Revolutions and counter revolutions have occurred, leading to change in the status quo of corruption, oppression, exploitation and underdevelopment.
However, most revolutionary leaders that led most of those revolutions can be regarded within the age limit of youthfulness; Fidel Castro, Amilca Cabral, Thomas Sankara, Chairman Mao Zedong, Lee Kuan Yew, etc achieved their fame of transformational leadership in their prime. One thing unique about them, is their sincerity of purpose and the passion to change their societal ills; which they courageously pursue by relying on their environments and social values to achieve development.
Why is it that Nigeria with all her vast potentials has failed to achieve development? The failure of Nigeria is partly predicated on the failure of sound and conscious youths, who should have been alive to their responsibility of being the watchdog of their society against the ill-informed leaders and elders who are daily destroying the fabrics of the Nigerian society.
Buhari is of the Progressive Movement for a Better Society, Area III Garki, Abuja