A global Affairs Analyst, Ayoola Lawal in a chat with our journalist has said that the statement credited to Mr President Buhari about the Nigerian youths at the just concluded Commonwealth meeting in the UK might be a hurdle for APC in the next coming presidential election if not properly managed.
Read on…
APC as a party might be a collateral damage victim of the statement from the father of the nation about the Nigerian youths.
Personally, I tend to believe that President Buhari’s use of “most of the Nigerian youths” with his statistic that over 60% of the Nigeria population is made of youths that are uneducated and not ready work but expecting social welfare was unwarranted especially when no question was directed or asked about such.
His statement might be argued to be a matter of individual perspective, however, generalizing might be disrespectful to the integrity and morals of individuals within such age bracket, especially when its from a leader they tend to believe has faith in them and will provide them with opportunities to excel and make meaning out of being a citizen of Nigeria in his own time as their leader.
This statement could be likened to saying that most of the Nigerian senior citizens are not worthy of respect, which is out-rightly far from the truth.
I´m yet to see a leader in a political international engagement bluntly expressing such perspective about the youths of his/her nation in such a politically incorrect nature and environment.
The statement was hard to swallow for us struggling across the globe trying to sell Nigeria’s potentials and possibilities to foreign investors.
How would a genuine foreign investor or international entrepreneur consider Nigeria as an investment destination if they view the vast majority of the potential labour force as not willing to work but pride themselves in sense of entitlement as claimed by their leader?
The very question, the world could be asking is, if truly most were lazy, how have the leaders genuinely inspired, created enabling environment and incentives in making them productive with a paradigm shift?
It is evident in many productive sectors in the Nigeria economy, such as the ICT, entertainment, Agriculture, media, manufacturing, marketing, consulting, realty services, trade etc that without the Nigerian youths, the Nigerian economy will be grounded.
Truth be told, most of the Nigerian youths deserve accolades and not otherwise.
Lawal R. Ayoola (LRA)
