Nigeria Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday called on youths in the country not to be moved by the challenges facing Nigeria.
Osinbajo in his statement noted that the youths hold the key to a more united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
He further stated that despite the challenges facing the nation, Nigerians have endured as a people.
The Vice President stated this on Thursday, at the virtual edition of the NASFAT Global Youth Seminar.
He advised young citizens to guard their hearts and protect their capacity for idealism and creative optimism.
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“These are the tools with which you will build the Nigeria of our dreams. We have a future worth fighting for.”
“Your generation has what it takes to move us away from the destructive and unproductive rent-seeking attitudes that engender conflict and on to the terrain of enhanced productivity,” he said.
Osinbajo said much of the discontent and tensions that are distributional conflicts ignited by the struggle for access to tangible and intangible resources.
“With a population of about 200 million, and with our country on track to be the third most populous nation on earth in a few decades, the challenge for us is creating opportunity for the huge number of people that increasingly need education, food, healthcare, and employment. This is where your capacity to innovate comes in,” he noted.
Osinbajo added that individuals who are willing to unite the country must confront the everyday injustices that mock aspirations and erode confidence.
He said everyone must make common cause with other groups when they are injured because rights are rooted in universal principles that cannot be selectively applied.
Osinbajo told Nigerians to reject the idea that some sections have to lose in order for other Nigerians to win.