ARE THE YOUTHS REALLY THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW!

The youths are the leaders of tomorrow, they say. This saying I have known since infancy and I have been wondering if that's really true in its real sense. It might be true of course but I found my mind to be more comfortable with the saying in the other way round. NO! THE YOUTHS ARE THE LEADERS OF TODAY. However it may be, whether the leaders of today or tomorrow, all that matters is the desire for difference from yesterday.

The time has come for us to mark the eve of the long awaited tomorrow for the youths to realize their position of leadership in the society. Different generations have come and passed but upon the present lies a greater expectation.

Having been born and raised in the giant of Africa, I have indeed witnessed a series of leaderships my country experienced. It has the highest population in Africa with a high wealth of natural resources, yet! Swallowed by the forces of anarchy. The prevalence of poor leadership not just in Nigeria but the whole of Africa makes the continent the most backward in terms of development. Poverty has spread its branches even to the remote corners of our society, corruption is deeply rooted, the notion of peace is becoming a tale, violation of rights have become nothing, freedoms are being threatened, lives are wasted, families destroyed and people dancing to the tune of illiteracy e.t.c and much more others too numerous to mention. All as a result of bad leadership.

The nagging question however remains, how far do we hope to go with these? Although it's been said that "even the devil does not know the mind of a man". Well! I am not a devil but I can say with bold assurance that deep within people's mind, there exist desire for change and are willing to press for it. That desire for change motivated me and guided my conscience as to the justiceability and appropriateness of my hand reducing such into this write-up.

Ever since mother Nigeria got it independence from the British colonialist in 1960, there has been a kind of table tennis passage of power within the same circle of individuals with the same system of administration on repetition over and over and over again. We have witnessed a series of military administration for quite long out of our years of independence. This has left the spirit of the military to still exist within our present democracy with the same authoritarian practices of disregard to law and procedure in operation. I wonder how possibly a change could come with the same people since independence playing soccer of power with Nigerians while there are potential youths with creative mind out there. Even the good few leaders are so pessimistic in carrying the youths along.

Perhaps I should quote the wordings of A.P Giannini (1870 - 1949), as saying: "I leave everything to the young men. You've got to give youthful men authority and responsibility if you're going to build up an organization. Otherwise you'll always be the boss yourself and you won't leave anything behind you."
I believe the call is now! Let the youths be allowed to participate at all level of policy and decision making for a greater and healthy democracy and to equally save the future of our establishments.

 As Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626) put it right that; "Young men are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and fitter for new projects than for settled business."

Perhaps, a good example to indicate how more passionate and sympathetic the youths are than the older generation is that of Yadoma Bukar Mandara, a young lady of 24

from Borno State and the youngest delegate at the ongoing National Conference in Nigeria. Yadoma Bukar pledged her confab allowances, a huge amount of money to the widows and childrenwho are victims of the present insurgence in the North - Eastern part of the Country.

Yadoma Bukar Mandara