I don’t expect this piece of article to go down well with the majority of the audience reading this, but it doesn’t devalue the article.
The youths are the future of the country, no doubt about that. But can we really say our youths are ready?
I don’t think so.
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Our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, once labelled the youths; ”lazy”. Many crucified him, even me. After carefully witnessing several scenarios after then, I could not help but agree with the president. I will share two scenarios to back up my reason for agreeing with Buhari.
The just-concluded election was a good scenario to measure the effectiveness of our youths. They are known to be used as political thugs by the politicians. They go about fighting and destroying the whole town, forcing the masses to vote for their own candidates at different political levels.
In a modern world, who does that?
Only a lazy person does that. It’s no longer news to anyone that politicians use the youths for their political ambitions because they can easily be bought with food or 1000 naira. It is disheartening to see the future of tomorrow being sold cheaply.
One question I always ask myself whenever I see the youths parading all these politicians is, ”where are these politicians’ children?”
You would never see them in the crowd with these our youths-turned-hoodlums.
It justified the adage that says, ”if you feed an empty stomach, it stops the brain from thinking.”
The second scenario is the Naira Marley saga. On May 10, 2019, at 9 am, Lagos; Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for advance-fee scam and related cyber crimes. The soapy crooner came under fire by a legendary rap artist, Ruggedman, for promoting internet fraud in his music.
The two had a heated conversation on Instagram as Ruggedman branded him a disgrace and bad influence on the youths. The youths, as usual, came for Ruggedman’s head for speaking ill about their messiah, Naira Marley.
Thousands of youths flooded the Federal High Court in Ikoyi for the continuation of Naira Marley trial, shouting ”free Marley”.
This is someone who always promotes internet fraud, scams and marijuana in his music and on his Instagram page. Many of the youths even likened Marley to the late legendary Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It makes me wonder if Fela has ever promoted fraudulent acts. Fela used his music and influence to fight for the people. The injustice and looting in Nigeria by the leaders.
If the youths, who are labelled ”the leaders of tomorrow”, are so myopic in thinking to the point of comparing someone who has done nothing but promoting crimes and scams to a legendary musician like Fela, then there’s no point blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for branding our youths, ”Lazy Nigerian Youths”.
This article has not been written to insult our youths or support any political party. Likewise, it has not been written to tear down Naira Marley, I have written this to change the mindset of our youths which I am also part of. We need to change our mindset and channel our youthful energy to the right places. The country is tough, things are hard for an average Nigerian, but that shouldn’t make us lose our sense of reasoning.
Opportunities are everywhere. But are we investing our skills and knowledge on the right thing?
Nigeria will definitely be great again.
My issue with Nigerian youths is that we haven’t built capacity to cope with the future. Without building up yourself, life’s challenges will likely run you down. It seems a lot of youths are waiting for the future to be handed to them on a platter. Capacity, resilience, critical thinking, and problem solving are some of the areas our youths need to build themselves up. @Chinedu Junior Iheokwaba, this is a good one
I totally agree, they can’t see beyond today. These youth have misplaced goals and priorities and this has to change
Dear Mr. Chinedu, I would not dispute your comment on this topic that Nigerian youths are lazy without a doubt many are however do we really think they are to be blamed for this. My answer: NO. And why? Well for one, our upbringing is bad. Let me explain; the average Nigerian youth has been raised in a hostile environment whereby your capabilities cannot be explored. Any little thing you do that is not the norm of the society, you get a good beaten that alone will knock the confidence out of any child.
2. Do we have good libraries? I’m not saying those libraries that they will build on a budget, I mean libraries that are well structured, eco friendly that will make you want to read books with quality books and materials in them. Wish I could show you images of what I mean.
3. How do we promote creativity? If I tell you been creative is a skill that can be learnt what would you say. Let me guess ‘NO’. But then you will be wrong. I studied in UK for over 6 years and I saw first hand approach to their education system. The kids are allowed to experiment, try, test do all sorts with good tutors around to guide them.
Chinedu,
I must say your article wrung my heart but it is simply telling the truth
In the last four weeks I have been trying to recruit good hands for a client
I have interviewed nothing less than 40 people in the last four weeks.
The candidates had the required degrees but could not articulate their expectations and what benefits they would bring to the organization when they get the job.
All this amidst the out cry unavailability of jobs.
We have a serious human capital problem.and the age catchment with the greatest problem is the youths.
I agree with you, what next?
We need to address this issue,it’s a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
My brother, some of you recruiters want God. Why not pick a candidate and invest in that candidate and watch him work for you. I think some of us HR people are quite perfect and are we?