By Amb. Olusegun Lawal
President Heritage Ambassadors Network.
History confirms that successful nations were built by charismatic, honest, visionary, selfless and patriotic leaders. This is why I have had course to observe that nations are not the products of accidents. Unfortunately, in contemporary Nigeria, there is a dearth of credible, honest, patriotic and selfless leaders. The absence of credible and patriotic leaders that can inspire the citizenry, particularly the young people across the landscape is felt in almost every area of our national life.
Failure of leadership is manifested in so many ways in Nigeria. Today, Nigeria is still in the woods economically, politically and even socially. Sundry social vices have eaten deep into the very fabric of our country. There is widespread discontent in the land. The economy is in shambles, to put it mildly. Our youth are disillusioned and frustrated because of the harsh realities of the times. To be sure, the political elite are the most complicit of all. Political leaders in Nigeria have foisted on us bad governance. Exemplary leaders in the mould of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Sarduna of Sokoto, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe who exhibited high standards of discipline, integrity, patriotism, industry and passion for this country are lacking. There is a dearth of role models in Nigeria today because the love for money and materialism is the major reason why people strive to attain leadership positions.
Recent revelations of how public funds were stolen from public coffers paint a grim image of how not to govern a country. Information about the extent of looting is simply mind blowing but it would appear that many of those who betrayed our collective faith invested in them are unrepentant. On a daily basis, we read reports of how elected and appointed leaders to serve in public offices abuse their positions and betrayed public trust.
Resources that could have been used to build roads, hospitals, schools, create wealth and jobs and expand infrastructural base of the country were carted away by political bandits that have successively held sway in this country. Today, the chasm between the haves and the haves not is unimaginably wide. We are daily oppressed by those we call our leaders.
Unfortunately, religious and business leaders were not left out. They remain willing accomplices to the political leadership, it is shocking to discover that some religious leaders partake in the sharing of slush funds. Opportunistic religious leaders use their privileged positions to exploit the people. A lot of religious practices are geared towards self-enrichment and personal aggrandizement than spiritual enrichment of the followership. We have even read reports of how some “men of God” serve as conduit pipes through which public funds were siphoned.
The business sector is not speared; the business environment is populated by suit case billionaires who add little or no value to the economy in real terms. In fact, these businessmen or contractors are the real agents relied upon by the political elite to undermine the wellbeing of Nigerians. Hardly can you obtain a loan from any financial institution without offering a bribe. The root cause of the much talked about bad loans plaguing the banking sector is corruption. Business leaders like their political counterpart are averse to playing by the rules. The trend is for these officials to cut corners and thereby compromise personal and institutional integrity. As it is today, personalities are stronger than institutions in Nigeria.
Corruption now permeates every aspect of our national life the extent that national development has been fatally compromised. Our economy is in bad shape and unemployment has spiraled. Many of our youths have graduated from schools but are unemployed. The prevailing rate of youth unemployment is a clear indication that young men and women have been excluded from nation building. This is sad bearing in mind that any nation that does not mobilize its young person’s to effectively participate in its agenda cannot make progress. I say this considering that young persons are more vibrant, creative and innovative. The global business mogul, Bill Gates, articulates this succinctly when he declared as follows:
Economists talk about demographic dividends and the potential for Africa’s burgeoning youth population to accelerate economic growth. But for me, the most important thing about young people is the way their minds work. Young people are better than old people at driving innovations, because they are locked in by the limits of the past. I was 19 when I founded Microsoft. Steve Jobs was 21 when he started Apple. Mark Zuckerberg was 19 when he created Facebook.
If the truth must be told, our failure to integrate the young people in Nigeria into developmental initiatives is a disservice to our great nation. Many of the much touted youths programmes rolled out by successive governments are not more than empty slogans intended to hoodwink the gullible public. Nigeria must accord its young people their pride of place in the pursuit of national greatness by empowering them in diverse ways to take up the challenge of leadership. Not only are youths the leaders of tomorrow but they are indeed partners and agent that should drive national development.
Apparently, we are praying dearly for our omission to effectively mobilize our teeming young people to participate in the process of nation-building. Excluded from the nation-building process, young people in Nigeria have indulged in criminality of unimaginable proportions. Many of our young people today indulged in substance abuse and peddling. More than ever before, young people in Nigeria have bought into the ‘get rich quick’ syndrome..
Contemporary Nigerian youths can do virtually anything in order to become rich and powerful. It is little surprising that young people now adopt and idolize characters with shady or cloudy backgrounds as role models.
It is disturbing to see the way and manner young people in this country patronize people who suddenly become billionaires even when they have no verified track record or pedigree. Awards and honours are shunned out to undeserving personalities in return for financial favours. Values and virtues of honesty, integrity, diligence and hardwork that moulded our societies no longer appeal to young people. What is in vogue now is that young people deride people who have served this country faithfully and honestly simply because they have resisted the temptation to pillage and embezzle public funds. On the other hand, those who have abused their privileged leadership position by way of corrupt enrichment are the very ones young men and women look up to. The impression out there is that it pays to steal.
Let me now turn to the general state of insecurity across Nigeria and the role of youths. The bitter truth is that young men and women are the very ones that threaten the security of lives and property through various acts of criminality. The youth indulge in all manner of criminality such as terrorism, militancy, armed robbery, internet fraud and cybercrime, kidnapping, human trafficking, cultism, exam malpractices and such other societal vices that undermine national security. The reason for this trend is simple- because we have failed to effectively mobilized them for leadership roles in nation-building, they have become nightmares to all of us. It is astonishing to see the rate at which young girls easily get lured into prostitution.
Young people have been relied upon and used as tools to foment series of political and religious violence in different parts of Nigeria. The story of the Nigerian youth is a story of decades of neglect, despair and frustration. Left in the lurch by the leadership young men and women now find solace in engaging from the foregoing discussion, it is clear day light that Nigeria is troubled on many fronts. The political, economic and social environment is highly polluted and convoluted. Things are not just working, and this is attributed to the absence of credible, capable, honest and patriotic leadership that can inspire and motivate the youth to focus on nation-buikding.
We are in a critical stage in the history of this country, the challenge before Nigeria’s young people is how to work to build our country. It is a clarion call that we are cannot ignore. The call can never be more urgent than now. Admitted that we are going through tough times, but we must look beyond the pains of the times to harness the opportunities therein. The point I am making is that the present hardship presents our young people opportunities to put to test their God given potentials. It is time for the Nigerian youth to demonstrate individually and collectively that they possess the talent, knowledge, skills and potentials to turn things around for the greater good of the country, young people, whether in Ikaram Akoko, Nnewi, Kafanchan, Zungeru, Agbor, Illisa, Mbaise, Biu must rise up and take up the challenge of leadership. You have got the power, energy, vision , knowledge and creativity to make positive impact.
The future belongs to the youth, and you cannot afford to let it slip by. The refreshing proposition of the global business giant, Bill Gates, who remarked thus:
If we invest in the right things – if we make sure the basic needs of Africa’s young people are taken care of then they can change the future and life on this continent will improve faster than it ever has.
As earlier observed, the failure of nation-building in Nigeria is tied to leadership failures. The late literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe in his book, The Trouble With Nigeria, put it beyond peradventure when he stated that: “Nigerian problem is the willingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal examples which are the hallmarks of true leadership”.
THE WAY FORWARD
The pertinent question is why have we retrogressed so much? Why does it appear that things cannot work? Is the fault in the system or in us? Like I have said earlier, we are all faced we the urgency of rebuilding our great country. The era we are to my mind is one of historical change. I make bold to say that after the civil war years, this appears another challenging phase in the history of this great country. It is apt to observe that the syndrome of weak, incompetent or even non-existent government is by far the greatest obstacle to nation building in Nigeria. If nogeria must attain nationhood, we must endeavour to put in place viable military security, economic development and political democracy. After all, nation building is successful when the government provides peace, security, minimal levels of material and psychic satisfaction, and that make concrete efforts to resolve existing and emergent problems.
It is not by happenchance that we all decided to key into the change agenda of President Muhammed Buhari, and thereby put out collective destiny in his hands. Happily, the government of President Muhammed Buhari is striving hard to address the many challenges clogging nation building in Nigeria, it us commendable that the monstrous challenge of terrorism has been tackled with uncommon vigour and focus. Our military has achieved milestones in its fight against the terrorists that have held us hostage for years. By far the greatest condition necessary for nation building is national security. Without national security no social, political or economic progress can be achieved. It is only when national security is guaranteed that the government can focus on the economy with a view to catering for the basic need of the people.
Furthermore, it would appear that sanity is returning to the political space, even as the government has declared that the era of easy and unfettered access to public funds by corrupt officials is gone forever. The war against corruption is being waged with uncommon vigour and determination. From all indications, it appears that we are making progress in this respect. At least in the last one year, we have not heard or read of how billions of naira suddenly disappeared from public coffers. This is a welcome development considering the enormity of the damage that corruption has inflicted on us. Corruption is a monster – it undermines national security, comprises the wellbeing of citizenry, stifles national development and inhibits our march to greatness as a people. From this standpoint, we must all support the President efforts at stamping out corruption. For once, it would appear that we have a leader that we can trust based on the well acknowledged fact that he is a discipline, honest, transparent, focused, determined and patriotic.
Despite the above accolades, I must admit that it is not yet uhuru. The journey going forward is arduous, daunting and challenging. The government must do more. Let me be very clear, I am not in any way saying that creating a new order of things, reigniting social values is an easy task. Make no mistake about it, committing to nation building is a very difficult and tedious task, it comes with a lot of costs. In spite of this salient observation, the leadership of this country must do the needful.
The government must therefore provide the right leadership that can galvanize all Nigerians, particularly the young people to contribute meaningfully to nation-building. We have faltered for so long basically because visionary and dedicated leaders have been missing. Thankfully, the current leadership has demonstrated a capacity to provide the sort of leadership that we craved for. In this respest, the onus is on the government to provide the enabling environment under which our young people can rediscover themselves and thrive.
In light of the ongoing, there is the need for a well-articulated, well-focused, purposeful and pragmatic national youth policy. This is a very important step that must be supported by relevant legal and institutional framework. In addition, I propose the followings:
First, the government must invest heavily in educating young people. This is very important because it enables the youth to acquire knowledge. In this regards, there is the need to ensure functional relationship between the kind of education provided in schools and the needs of the society. In other words, there is the need to align educational curriculum with the vocational skills and expertise we need to trigger and sustain developmental initiatives. Speaking on the role of education, Dr. Aniefiok Ukommi had this to say:
The role of education in positioning and provide youth with access to effective engagement in national development which is a way of incorporating them in the decision making process of the nation’s governance, nation building activities where they are welcomed, with accurate and comprehensive information which will empower them to make healthy decisions.
Second, governments at different levels must ensure that young people are effectively engaged to play leadership role in critical thematic areas of development. These development issues are agriculture, entrepreneurship and the creative industry. I have no doubt in mind that young people well placed to make impact in the area of agriculture. Attainment of food security as we have seen is major concern of this government. Flowing from that, any initiative or programme geared towards developing and expanding agriculture should necessary be youth-focused. I have no doubt in my mind that the youth are poised to make meaningful impact if the government creates an enabling environment for them to thrive.
By the same token, I advocate that government should put in place programmes for the empowerment of young people. I can see in this gathering future Bill Gates, Steve job and other global giants. What is required is for the government to provide necessary tools for them to develop themselves. I must admit that the Bank of Industry has been doing beautifully well in terms of providing funds for young men and women who possess entrepreneurs skills to start up their business. The BOI deserves a lot of commendation in this respect. I am of the candid view that the government needs to do more. It is a truism that the prosperity of a country like the United States of America depends largely on thriving small businesses. On the other hand, we have witnessed a situation where businesses are packing up in Nigeria. The leadership of this country must therefore encourage young people to set up their businesses rather than searching for non-existing white collar jobs.
Another area where the youth can make tremendous impact by playing leadership role is in the creative industry. There is no gainsaying that Nigerian young men and women can match their counterpart anywhere in the world skills for skills, creativity for creativity. A typical Nigerian young man or woman is well endowed, ingenious, creative and pro-active. For instance, many Nigerian young men and women are celebrated globally for their achievements in this critical industry. All that is left for the government is to motivate them to consolidate of this foundation. The government must trust our young people with leadership role in trying to develop our country. This is achievable if the government provides incentives that can enhance the well acknowledged resourcefulness of Nigerian young men and women. In this way, Nigerian youths would have been empowered not just to make impact but to play leadership roles in the critical sector of the economy.
ATTRIBUTES OF A LEADER
On their part, the youth must brace up for the challenges of leadership. Leadership is not attained on a platter of gold; hence, it is incumbent on young men and women to strive hard to show themselves worthy. I have no doubt that we have future Steve Job, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Archimedes the great philosopher and scientist echo is credited with the invention of the principle of floatation, and once declared that “give me a place to stand and I shall move the world”. Have we forgotten that it was Albert Einstein who propounded the Law of Relativity? I confident that the young people of Nigeria possess the vibrancy, power of intellect, drive and creative power to change our country, and the global world for the better. In order to fulfill your vision, it is my considered opinion that you must deliberately imbibe the attributes and values exhibited by leaders who have greatly impacted their generations. Hence, you must be:
Disciplined
Educated
Industrious
Honest
Focused
Loyal and patriotic to the country
Be law abiding
Selfless
Creative with a view to generating innovative ideas
Once more, I am persuading the youths across Nigeria to turn things around in this country. You have got the numerical strength to impact positively and make a difference as leaders. The country is depending on youth and I hereby express unreserved confidence in collective capacity and ability to build a nation out of Nigeria. We must commit to pursue those things that unite us as Nigerians. Resource to ethnic cleavages is unhelpful to the cause of nation building. Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo we are all one. We must see and regard ourselves as one if we must succeed in the task of nation-building.
CONCLUSION
It is impossible to conclude without commenting on the on-oing agitation of the country. Many commentators have argued that the bane of nation-building in Nigeria is the present structure of our federation. As a way out, many have called for true federalism. In fact, many commentators have argued that the way out is to return to regionalism.
Interestingly, many have canvassed extreme positions. On my own part, I make bold to say that our greatest problem is that of leadership. Since independence, we have not been blessed with nation builders like Otto von Bismarck (popularly referred to as the iron chancellor), who united Germany, Kemal Attatuck of Turkey, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Mahatama Ghandi of India, Alexander the Great of Greece. What we need is a leader that can honestly, selflessly and patriotically drive the process of nation-building. a leader that is neither corrupt nor tribalistic. If we have a leader that is committed to promoting merit as against mediocrity, a leader that see the entire country as his constituency, then, all the talks and cry of marginalization would become a thing of the past. Leadership matters when it comes to nation building.
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