Are Youths Still Leaders Of Tomorrow?

Are Youths Still The Future Leader Of Tomorrow?

By: Balogun Muhammed Jamiu

Many years ago, I remembered that a lot of youths chorused and danced to one of the popular matching song every beautiful morning while matching from assembly ground of our schools to our respective classes. “parent listen to your children, we are the leader of tomorrow, try to pay our school fees, and give us sound education.” We were full of life and were hoping to become the future leader of tomorrow.

The assertion that youths are the future leader of tomorrow was ascertained and backed by the leader of yesterday and was made their popular catch-phrase. Unfortunately, many of them are still romancing and clinging to the ladder of power. Twenty five (25) years later, our parent had listened to us, paid our school fees and gave us sound education but we are not close to been the leader when the future is dawn on us already.

The education that ought to be an illuminating light has been bastardize, and it is not enough to equip us with the super human trait needed to be a responsible followers and responsible leaders respectively. The leaders of yesterday who promised to handover the baton of power to us are still dictating and navigating our lives even though many of them are elbow to palm distance to their graves. Their children attended the best schools outside the shores of Nigeria and recycle their parents who are either willingly seeking active retirement or those that are retired by their health status.

Even on wheel chair, they still determine the life of us hale and hearty. With the large number of unemployed Nigeria youths, and multi-dimensional poverty that plagued the nation, youths who are supposed future leaders are now instrumental to vices that range from; Arm robbery, Ritual killing, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Election violence and ballot box snatching amidst others. Corruptions abound in our land and the government is far from making any turning point in transforming the life of the teeming populace. The government expects change to be effected from bottom-up; unfortunately, water can only flow from head-down and not vice versa.

Government business is booming in Nigeria and Africa entirely. All hell can be let loose in order to attain the juicy position. Youths are been employed for such act with a token in their hands. They are been used to perpetrate the act by those that take away their life and destiny from them. Education goes beyond the ability to read and write and it also amount to nothing when it is void of wisdom. Our leaders intentionally breed youths who are versed in reading and spoken English but are vain and void of any iota of wisdom.

Education is meant to broaden our horizon, expose our eyes to myriads opportunities, and nurture the greatest gift we are responsible for birthing to the world. It is the water that is supposed to water our flower to blossom, awakens the baby giant in us and equipped us with the necessary DNA of a responsible leaders and citizen. Our school failed to do any of this for us and that explained why none of their children attend our local schools. We are programmed that schooling is a means of livelihood, we are told to go to school, get a good grade and subsequently get a good job.

Education failed to concentrate on what we can do and how best we can do it. With a total of 170 universities in Nigeria, (43 federal universities, 48 states universities and 79 private universities). According to a survey taken by almost 90,000 people, 47% of the country’s university graduates are unemployed in Africa’s largest economy. By some estimates, Nigeria tertiary education institutions produce up to 500,000 graduates every year and there are also Nigeria graduates who study abroad who come home to compete for jobs.

Jobberman, a leading recruitment agency who carried out the above survey reiterate on the new data as a sign of the “need for urgent actions on both public and private sector operators”. Employer has however tagged Nigeria university graduates as unemployable owing to the fact that they are not equipped with require requisite experience needed. They could not meet up with most job specifications, even though some jobs specifications are absurd and totally outrageous.

This is however caused by the quality of education dished by our universities and over population of admitted students. Some parents strive so hard to send their children to study abroad believing that it will provide them with sound education needed to be a better individual, independent, creative, value creator, and also provides