Osinbajo: Youths Must Control their Destinies by Taking up Leadership Roles

Abimbola Akosile

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has advised youths in the country to take their destinies in their hands by taking up leadership roles through innovative ideas.

Osinbajo gave the advice at the 2017 National Youth Convention of the Youth Ministry, Church of the Lord Prayer Fellowship, with the theme, ‘Unfailing Love’, which took place on Saturday in Abuja.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Chaplain of the Villa Chapel, Mr. Sheyi Malomo, said now was the time for youths to start thinking of leading the nation.

He recalled that Nigeria as a nation was built and shaped by the youths who were determined to build a formidable and united country.
According to him, people like General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) and Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the civil war, were in their 30s when they succeeded in making Nigeria one country.

“There is this popular saying that youths are leaders of tomorrow but I would like you to know that the tomorrow we are talking of is now. This is because the youths are leading in the world now, both in ideas and innovations and that is why we have the Facebook developer, Mark Zuckerberg, who is in his 30s.

“One of the things that you need to do as youths is to start to take responsibilities and rise up with commitment to God,” he said.
Quoting from the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 13 verse five, Osinbajo urged Christian youths to always examine themselves in order to be able to understand their responsibilities.

He also charged them to be committed to the nation’s course in terms of political participation, adding that the youth population constitutes the highest voting population in Nigeria.
He advised them to be fully committed to the political process in the country by making sure that they got their voters cards.

The Primate, Church of the Lord, Most Rev. Rufus Ositelu, advised youths to be hardworking and innovative to be able overcome the menace of unemployment in the country.
Ositelu, who was represented by Archbishop Victor Olasemojo, Northern Provincial Head of the Church, said the solution to unemployment lay with the youths.

He urged the young people to change their mindset and be pro-active to use their creativity, ingenuity and sense of innovation to think of becoming employers rather than employees.

“There are no ready-made and easy solutions to these problems but could be that there are possible answers in the hands of each of you looking for jobs. It may be that what is required is to be a little more pro-active in your way of looking at life,” he said.

Matron of Youth Ministry of the church, Mrs. Olubunmi Badejo, said one major way to curb youth restiveness was to ensure that they were engaged with jobs and employment. She said youths needed counsel to make sure that they worked hard and be successful and had hope in the future of the country.
According to her, “youths must also have the fear of God because if you have the fear of God, you will not do things that are against the will of God.”