OSINBAJO TO YOUNG NIGERIANS: You have what it takes to move us away from unproductive attitudes

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has told young Nigerians that they have what was needed to move the country away from destructive and unproductive rent-seeking attitudes.

He spoke on Thursday during a virtual edition of the NASFAT Global Youth Seminar themed ‘A unified, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.’

Osinbajo, who disagreed with a bleak view of Nigeria’s history by some commentators, said that not minding the onerous challenges the country faced, “we have endured as a people and there is still so much that I believe should give us reason to face the future with hope.”

According to the vice president, young Nigerians have the key to a more united, peaceful and prosperous country.

“I urge you to guard your hearts and protect your capacity for idealism and creative optimism. 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.

“Your generation has the tools to usher in a new age of abundance and wealth creation that will lift our society beyond the hunger-induced and poverty-inducing squabbles over a national cake that has ceased to exist.

“As Nigeria seeks to find her proper place in the world in the 21st century, you are our nation’s most important resource. It is because of you that a united, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is very possible,” he said.

Speaking further Osinbajo said, “Much of the discontent and tensions that we have are distributional conflicts ignited by the struggle for access to tangible and intangible resources.

“As resources become scarcer, identity-based claims to a share of the national patrimony become more aggressive and lead increasingly to conflict.

“Under these circumstances, we are liable to see each other as competitors and rivals instead of compatriots and eventually we begin to demonize each other as enemies.

“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.”