Oluwashinayomi: Nigeria youth and crisis of self discovery.

Who is a youth?  Youth is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to adulthood's independence and awareness of our interdependence as a member of a community.

The role of youths in the development of nations cannot be romanticized from the facts that youths are often

regarded as leaders of tomorrow. So, with these historical challenges, their state of minds is of major concern to any nation. This state of mind is what is needed to propel them, into action, towards creative thinking and innovation, to challenge the course of historical hopelessness and underdevelopment of their nation.

There is a direct relationship between youths and morals. Sound morals youths, create and facilitate transformation in their society. Societies that are not armed with sound morals are not, rule by good leaders and don’t deserve life of existence. Moral uprightness, in any society, is sacrosanct to the development of the next leaders that will be saddle with leadership responsibilities of their country come tomorrow. The youths represent the most active and venerable groups, that, are often prompted for social mischief once adequate guidelines are not set up and enforce by the society.

Over the years, these vulnerable groups (youths), have often been found to constitute themselves into social nuisance; thus contributing to the general hopelessness the Nigerian nation has found itself. Instead of youths to be the watchdog of the social ills that were daily falling from their elders’ tables, with the view of changing them, Alas! The youths have joined their elders in furthering the destruction of their society, without pity. Today, the Nigeria youths are armed with characters that are antithesis to its progress. Such antitheses includes false dreams of getting money quick without any difficulties, ostentations and flamboyant life style, disco dancing, drunkenness, armed robbery, thuggery, cultism, prostitution, and exams malpractice. These antitheses are inimical to the development of the nation.

Today, our tertiary institutions are populated by young men and women who are students by accident, without the mindsets to pursuit intellectualism and academic excellence; but, with the mindsets of pursuing frivolities and silly things that have no direct bearing on the development of their nation. In this institution today, nothing seems to be happening, except half naked and half crazy disco dancing and European football rebranded youngsters as youth.  The role of youths in championing societal re-generation is legendary over the years. Most nations that have achieved development were purely, the byproduct of sound and actives youths, who serves as the engine that propelled such societies into development.

The question we may post and ask is; why is it that, Nigeria with all its vast potentials have failed to achieve development? The answers could be far fetching, from the facts that, the failure of Nigeria is partly predicated on the failure of sound and conscious youths, who should have been alive to their responsibility, of been the watchdog of their society against the ill-formed leaders and elders who are daily destroying the fabrics of the Nigerian society.