‘A faulty foundation cannot produce a vibrant nation’

Mr Chairman, principal officers, esteemed delegate ladies and gentlemen of the press.

My name is Mosunmola umoru one of the six outstanding Nigerian youth role model nominated to join the conference.

When the invitation to participate in this conference was offered it came as a shock because the adult Nigerian community like most African societies has built a global reputation for itself as an abuser and exploiter of the youth population.

 To give honor to whom it is due we will thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for this rare opportunity for our voices to be heard and pray that it has not come too late.

Starting with the delegate composition of this national conference the Nigerian youth would be justified in thinking that this meeting is more about the past than the future because we have been given only a four percent representation in this conference.

Nigeria needs to accommodate the fact that there have been changes across the globe in the past few decades and there is a need for a drastic shift in our nation’s life. Apart from the traditional and historical institutions, the Nigerian youths are separated from the old brigade by the digital divide. This is why we think and would approach things differently.

The composition, theme and conduct of this national conference is a case in point. All delegates were supplied with bulky volumes of materials that youths would consider irrelevant to the paradigm shift that’s needed to address the extreme challenges that are confronting the nation.

To the majority of youths in the nation that are represented here by a minority, it would seem that the aged minority represented here as a majority are out of touch with reality.

The present truth we must face is that most Nigerians alive today were not born into abundance but lack, confusion and poverty. Our problems are myriad and cannot be listed here but the major lesson from the nightmare our youthful lives represent is that a faulty foundation cannot produce a vibrant nation.

So long as the present architecture of governance remains intact with the prevailing political culture the meltdown of Nigeria in the days ahead is inevitable. If the voice of youths is indeed the voice of the future we would desire a paradigm shift in this conference to focus on bridging the gaps in our foundation. Permit me to say, that our side of the digital divide will better provide the thoroughness and courage needful to address the foundational challenges of this nation.

What we really need here are consensus builders that are armed with relevant and detailed research papers to remold Nigeria. The older generations should be content to dream and guide the visions of the youth to bring Nigeria into the day of peace and prosperity.

Perhaps the bones of thousands of Nigerian youths that died and were buried in the deserts of North Africa while attempting to escape the African nightmare will speak for us. It could also be the plight of millions of Almajiri’s who live on scraps from day to day because of a feudal inheritance that never gives them a chance to make a choice.

We wonder whether this august assembly would bear to hear the voices of young females driven into the hands of global prostitution rings by force or poverty, or the younger girls forced into marriages and sexual assaults in the name of tradition because nobody recognizes their rights.

 If the youth and young adult is the demographic majority who would otherwise have their way but for constitutional and institutional barriers, this conference must address the biggest problem affecting them, one I tag ‘social mobility through jobs’.

 The Nigerian Content Act came into force on April 22, 2010 to include Nigerians in certain jobs.

Today Mr Chairman, I submit that this assembly recommend that there  should be an equivalent mandatory  “Youth Job content” to address social mobility and guarantee jobs across all sectors, giving priority to our low hanging fruits. Such as Agriculture and agribusiness related ventures.

As a farmer with ten years cognate agribusiness experience, from Edo state operating farms in Ogun and Osun state, I submit to this house that with  a deliberate plan to adequately fund and subsidize agriculture in our nation, that sector has the potential to create across the 36 states at least half a  million new jobs  within 18 months.

If all Nigerian youths, will gain from this conference is the recognition of our needs for better opportunities which allows us, the nation’s future, to flourish, then we would know indeed that a generation of Nigerian patriots came together to put their personal differences aside and made sacrifices just to give us a hope for tomorrow.

We must conclude here and now that the forces that shaped the older generations injected divisions and limitations that made peaceful progress and unity without mutual suspicion impossible. Tough decisions have to be made here and executed without fear or favor to promote excellence and jettison the indefensible compromises that define present day Nigeria. The divisive institutions that prop up the Northern and Southern Nigerian enmity must be engineered out of our systems.

The fire brigade approach that characterizes the older generation must also give way to our digital approach and commitment to excellence. Finally it must be said that this conference cannot afford to ignore the corruption issue so that it does not negate all the gains won here.

Thank you for your audience!!!

Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru