Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has warned that organized youths such as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) are angry and, therefore, at war with Nigeria whose anger and frustration are capable of consuming the present crop of Nigerian leaders.
The former President warned Nigeria the youths have been neglected and Nigeria can not witness progress if their neglect continues.
“We have the Boko Haram in the North, the MASSOB and IPOB in the South-East, the militants in the Niger Delta and the Oodua Peoples Congress in the South-West. All of these are the expression of anger and frustrations,” he said.
Obasanjo dropped the hint at the Youth Governance Dialogue at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library while speaking on the theme ‘’Towards a Guiding Political Philosophy for a Democratic Nigeria.”
He remarked that it would be improper for the youths to wish him and other statesmen dead seeing that Nigeria still needs their invaluable services while urging them to believe in themselves and be consistent, even as he pledged continuous support for the youths and the nation at large.
Also speaking at the event was the former Minister of Aviation and FRSC Corp Marshall, Mr Osita Chidoka.
Obasanjo said: “We will not transform if we ignore the youths. If we have youths explosion or anger because of lack of opportunity, it will consume all of us. We are all witnesses to the activities of Boko Haram, MASSOB and IPOB.
“If we can give children a minimum of nine years basic education, we will improve. There is no reason any child born within this country cannot have free and compulsory nine years basic education.
“The youths need to believe in themselves. Part of our problem is that we fail to believe in ourselves. Don’t lose hope, don’t be frustrated. We have a wonderful country and resources.
“There is something good in you; try and discover what it is. Don’t listen to anyone telling you that you are good for nothing. No one is good for nothing.
“During my own days, there was one university to attend when I finished from secondary school and I got five appointment letters when I finished. Now you have about 152 universities to attend but do you get any letter of appointment when you are done?
“Japan does not have any resources yet it is one of the largest economies in the world. Nigeria is blessed with resources but we are still where we are.
“We need to identify where we got it wrong. We need to identify where we are doing it right and continue to do it right. There are a number of things we have done right but do we continue to do it right?
“I will continue to do this and even more. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria and I believe we have a lot of problems that we can deal with. I believe in you and I believe you will do it better than my generation.”
Without mincing words, Obasanjo, described the current agitations by the Boko Haram insurgents, the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) as an of frustration.
“Don’t wish us dead; don’t wish us to disappear because you will need us. You need us to mentor and prepare you for the future. You need our experience and the assistance of some of us to guide you through life.
“You should not lose hope, you should not feel frustrated. Whenever I go abroad, they always ask me what my fear about Nigeria and Africa is, and I tell them my greatest fear is youth anger, frustrations and youth explosion which have no bound.
“You should not lose hope, you should not feel frustrated. Whenever I go abroad, they always ask me what my fear about Nigeria and Africa is, and I tell them my greatest fear is youth anger, frustrations and youth explosion which have no bound.
Chidoka on his part contented that the real trouble with Nigeria is nothing short of leadership which he described as poor submitting that for the country to grow.
He said the desire to build a better Nigeria has become absolutely necessary under the existing circumstances that would provide equal opportunities.
He said: “Our national aspirations should inspire the next generation and provide them with the existential meaning of Nigeria. A meaning that transcends geography, natural resources and ethnicity.”
“Our political parties can then build their ideologies around the strategies for achieving our national goals.
“To grow Nigeria, we must build a society that harnesses human resources, provides equal opportunities and develops capacity for innovation.
“It is on this foundation that I want to interrogate the presence or absence of a guiding philosophy for Nigeria and the consequential impact on our political culture.
‘’Many have argued that the trouble with Nigeria is leadership. Some insist that the absence of ideology is at the root of our political crisis.
‘’In all the views, the constant is the agreement that there is trouble with Nigeria. The leadership question is key.
“The defining quality of our country in the past 45 years has been the distribution politics fueled by oil revenue. This revenue stream that may be impaired by developments in alternative energy should be the seed capital to develop the manpower and infrastructure for a post oil economy,” Chidoka said.
Also speaking at the event was the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal. In his opening speech with the topic, ‘’Preparing Successor Generation for Effective Participation in Governance’, warned against the increasing neglect of the youth whose intrinsic value could not be wished away seeing that the present crop of leaders were once youths.
He said: “We cannot keep calling them the leaders of tomorrow without ensuring that we put in place deliberate measures that will aid their quest for public service. “
“Sometimes, candour and youthful excitement can cause as much harm as the most venal form of corruption.
“We have to find the means to reduce unemployment. There is no doubt that the current diversification policy of President Buhari’s government will eventually provide broader opportunities for self employment.”
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