Friday, August 12, 2016 was an opportunity for two Nigerian leaders to speak to the youth across the country.
It was the International Youth Day and President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan both sent their statements, the former through a statement in the form of a letter and the latter through a post on his Facebook wall.
Both painted the youth in the country in glowing colours, but in different ways.
These are some takeaways from their individual statements:
1. Former President Jonathan showed a sharp memory when he recalled two names, Chimamanda Adichie, a novelist that is making Nigeria proud, and Jelani Aliyu, a senior creative designer for General Motors and project team leader for the design of the Chevrolet Volt. Through them, he commended the youth saying they have continued to make the country proud.
President Buhari did not mention any name, but spoke generally as a leader of the country, who remembers how the youth played prominent roles to see him climb the ladder of success in the 2015 general election.
2. Jonathan is no longer in government. So it would have been difficult for him to make promises. Buhari latched on his being in government to sell himself to the people again. The first time he did this was when he presented his inaugural speech on May 29, 2016 when he said he was everybody and for nobody.
Now that the celebrated speech has waned because of the many challenges the government is battling as well as the belief that the government is actually for a segment of the country, it was encouraging to the youth to hear the president say: “This government belongs to you.”
3. Jonathan recalled: “When Nigeria’s economy became the largest economy on the African continent, it was and is because of our youths…When we perform exploits at the Olympics and other sporting events, it is because of the great Nigerian youths.”
However, this was not the case with Buhari. He is weighed down by increasing unemployment, insecurity (kidnapping, attacks by herdsmen and militancy). There was a recent prediction that the country’s crime rate as well as the number of ladies going into prostitution could soar. Therefore, what Buhari needed to do was assure the people again.
“We have launched a number of initiatives targeted at expanding the economic opportunities available to young Nigerians…N-Power, our job creation scheme, for which applications are ongoing, will employ 500,000 of you in agriculture, education, healthcare and technology.
“The Aso Villa Demo Day will soon bring 30 of the most innovative young Nigerians to the State House to showcase their talent in providing technology-based solutions to some of our most challenging problems,” he said.
4. While they differed in some ways, they both agreed in another. Jonathan said: “Nigeria and indeed the world have no greater asset than our youth and you will continue to be my personal inspiration.”
On his part, Buhari said: “We are mindful of the fact that Nigeria has one of the youngest populations in the world. Those young people are immensely energetic and talented, consistently blazing the trail in the arts, sports, business and technology. We are proud of what you have done and what you are able to do.
5. Jonathan further urged the youth “to continue to develop yourself through positive endeavors. The future is yours. God bless our youths.”
In his Buhari’s case, there was no need for that. There should be hope for the people: “The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), part of our N500 billion Social Investment Programme, will provide soft loans to thousands of young entrepreneurs across the country. These are just some of the many initiatives we have designed and are implementing for you.”
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