John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the archbishop emeritus of the Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, expressed his optimism for the country’s advancement from its current condition to where it should be.
“Since I’m 80, I won’t be moving anyplace. I still want to see a better Nigeria before I enter paradise, and I think it’s feasible,” Onaiyekan stated on Thursday’s Sunrise Daily episode of Channels Television.
The priest criticizing the nation’s political process stated, “Our entire election system needs to be properly reviewed so that winners would be determined in accordance with the will of the people.”
He bemoaned the fact that Nigeria’s development has stalled despite the country’s achievement of independence and promises of democracy.
“In university, I believed what we were told, that with independence, Nigeria would become like all the great nations. I have been waiting for almost 70 years now and we are still where we are. In fact, we seem not to have made much progress.
“Maybe I am expecting too much from my country but that is because I have a high opinion of my nation and I love my nation and I would expect that those who are ruling us should share the same emotions so that we can go all over the world proud,” he said.
According to him, we should have rulers who do not labour under questions of legitimacy but well-proven democracy.
“It is no longer business as usual, we must go back to ourselves as a nation. If we decide we would rule ourselves democratically, we must all accept the rules of democracy. And those who want to be in power should allow that rule to run its course. This anomalous situation should end,” he said.
Sets Agenda For Tinubu
The Cardinal is hoping that the next government of the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu strives to bring change that will stop young people from leaving the country. He also said he is looking forward to what the agenda of the next government will be.
“Only those Nigeria who doesn’t want to be sincere would be looking for agenda. We are still in the same situation, any government must face those issues otherwise we can’t survive in the country. Many young boys who have energy and Nigerians are checking out of the country.
“As far as the agenda for the new government is concerned, all of us now would be watching. Is there going to be a change? Is there going to be an improvement? Will insecurity be reduced? Will schools run? Will electricity run? Will our economy improve?” he asked.
Youth driving force for change ― Buhari
According to President Muhammadu Buhari, young people all around the world have demonstrated their potential to create change while positively influencing the socioeconomic growth of their communities.
On Tuesday in Abuja, he made the claim when formally opening the Commonwealth Youth and Students Summit.
The President said that his government had made significant investments in youth development, building strong platforms for young people to develop their leadership abilities.
President Buhari promised that Nigeria, as a Commonwealth member, will continue to foster an atmosphere that allows young people to thrive and realize their potential. He was represented by his chief of staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.
‘‘I am very optimistic that with the breed of young people gathered here, actionable policy decisions that will further enhance development and productivity of the youth will be reached for the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth to implement to further better the lots of young people of the Commonwealth,’’ he said.
On initiatives to support the empowerment of young people, as the theme of the Summit is ‘Co-creating our common future leadership in the digital age in Africa,’ the President said:
‘‘The digital Revolution is clearly upon us with the young ones leading the way in ICT, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, E-Commerce and the like. Investments in building a digital economy must proceed along with investment in the ideas, skills and enterprise of our youth.
‘‘In line with the key values of the Commonwealth, Nigeria over the years has invested heavily in youth development, created formidable and reliable platforms such as the Youth Parliament, National Youth Council of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Students, Nigeria Youth Congress, amongst others, through which our young people and students can hone their leadership skills and make relevant contribution to the decision-making process, especially on issues that border on their development and welfare.
‘‘Nigeria is committed to the actualization of the core values of the Commonwealth and firmly believes in the power of the youth as the driving force, in making a difference in the socio-economic development of their societies.
‘‘It is, therefore, a welcome development that this summit has brought together young people from various socio-cultural and political backgrounds to further strengthen youth engagement and their full involvement in decision-making on issues that concern them, particularly in the areas of education, job creation, entrepreneurship, and digital economy.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, urged African governments to increase the budget for youth development to about 30 per cent, while sustaining funding of youth-centric policies and programmes.
Affirming that African Youth have come of age and can no longer be ignored, the Minister recalled that this year has been designated the Commonwealth Year of Youth by leaders at the last CHOGM in Kigali, Rwanda.
He highlighted the exploits of the African youth in various spheres of endeavour – from technology, science, AI, robotics, E-commerce, digital marketing, and creative arts to entertainment, saying:
“From country to country, from continent to continent, the youth of Africa, wherever they find themselves, are making great impacts and standing up to be counted.”
Dare told participants at the summit that the future belongs to those that decide to have a positive attitude to life, understand that rigour must precede pleasure and embrace facts in a world of information.
“To those who turn their skills into entrepreneurship, these are the youth that will navigate opportunities better and with an ocean, rather than drops, Africa will be truly unbeatable. The time for African criticality in our approach to youth development has come.
“We must be Africancentric in the programmes and initiatives we design and implement,” he said.
Nigeria is currently the headquarters of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) and 21 countries of the Commonwealth in the African Region are attending the four-day summit in Abuja.
