Don’t Wish Me Dead You Still Need Me, Obasanjo Tells Nigerian Youths

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the Nigerian youths not to habour animosity towards the older generation of leaders, saying that elders are still needed for mentorship.

Obasanjo was speaking at the Youth Governance Dialogue organized by the Youth Development Centre arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta

He said:

Don’t wish us dead, don’t wish us to disappear because you will need us. You need us mentors and advisers to mentor and prepare you for the future. You need our experience and assistance of some of us to guide you through life.

You should not lose hope, you should not feel frustrated. Whenever I go, they always ask me what is my fear about Nigeria and Africa. And I said my greatest fear is youth anger, frustrations and youth explosion which have no bound.

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 Southwest. All of these are expression of anger and frustrations.

We have what it takes to be great as a nation and we can’t transform this country without the youths. My greatest hope in this country is also the youth. You the youth should work to help yourselves. You must be ready to pay the price for what you stand for

He appealed to young people to be ready to pay the price for the right cause they believe, saying in spite of all odds, the youth still remained his greatest hope for Nigeria.

The Former President reminisced, recalling that when he left secondary school, he received letters of appointments from five establishments and wondered whether any Nigerian university graduate could have such opportunities today.

Lead speaker at the occasion and former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka who incidentally is one of the few success stories of Youths in Public governance spoke on the theme “Towards a Guiding Political Philosophy for a Democratic Nigeria,”

Former Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka

He advised that the nation’s leaders should build a society that harness human and material resources effectively. Chidoka was the youngest Head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) at the age of 36