By Gbenga Osinaike & Bosun Obafemi
At 40, Tunde Lafe (not real name) is single. But he is not looking for a wife. Since he graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University 15 years ago from the Department of Economics, he has not been able to find his feet.
Shortly after his university education, he secured a job with a bank. But not long after, the bank had an issue and he lost his job alongside many others.
He has moved from job to job. In-between securing paid employment, he has done some one-off businesses. But his take home from his various engagements can barely take him home. In pursuit of a better job, he returned to school to obtain a masters degree in Business Administration. Yet, things are still not looking up.
Today, he lives in a one-room apartment somewhere in Ketu, Lagos, and has had to just manage with an auditing firm. His salary is less than N50,000 per month.
“I can’t bring a woman into my life when I am still trying to find my feet. I have made attempts in the past, but the relationships have not worked out. I sense that the bottom line is money. It’s hard to get a lady who would want to sacrifice with you these days,” he said during a conversation with Beautiful Day Magazine.
Lafe is just one out of thousands of young people scattered around the country whose future seems bleak. But some will consider Lafe blessed to have secured a job in the first place.
A large army of young people in Nigeria simply don’t have a hope of a secure future. Some have acquired multiple degrees, some have acquired skills, yet, it seems the system is suppressing and repelling them.
The aphorism used to silence them is: Youths are the leaders of tomorrow. But these youths that should be in leadership positions have become adults and it seems their future has been eaten up.
No thanks to mindless leaders who think only of themselves rather than the generality of the people. The consequence of this age-long neglect is the restlessness among the teeming youth population of Nigeria.
A tip of their angst came to the fore in October 2020 when many of them occupied major streets in the big cities of Nigeria protesting the oppression they have suffered from the Nigerian state. Tagged ENDSARS, the protest was a watershed in the history of social revolt in Nigeria. But three years after, nothing tangible seems to have come into play. Those at the corridors of power still carry on as usual. They are yet to come to terms with the reality of the challenges young people are facing.
Precious Sanni, President of the Redeemed Christian Students Fellowship at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital told Beautiful Day that it seems Nigeria is structured to frustrate the youths.
Sanni, who is a final-year Pharmacy student, observed that the system and structure of Nigeria is not pro-youth. According to her, every attempt of the average young person to make personal and professional progress, is being repelled by the corrupt and inept leadership system in the country.
“The outlook of Nigeria seems to be anti-youth. The country does not appreciate talent and creativity. Many young people that are excelling in academics, commerce, and science are not getting the necessary encouragement from those in government.” she said.
Apart from the lack of patronage from the government, Sanni observed that the society has been configured to support those who churn out immoral content. “If you post content that is educative on social media, you hardly get people to like such content.”
“What gives money more on the internet is vanity. Many young people are carried away by this. They have seen that people who are into fraud, nudity, and all kinds of crimes are making it faster than those who go to school. So it is difficult to make them see reasons why they should study hard for a better future.”
Sanni believes the church has a lot of roles to play in harnessing the potential of the youth. “So far, I think the church has tried to make young people better. The kind of teachings we are exposed to, the kind of resources available to us, have gone a long way to help us build competence and character.”
She, however, noted that the Church came too late into the scene. “We have the seven mountains of influence that is being talked about. We have the media, entertainment, business, religion, government, education, and family. But it seems the church did not realise in time that it had to influence these mountains.
“Some of us grew up to understand that there was a time when Christians were discouraged from watching television. They were also discouraged from joining politics. So, it seems to me that the enemy has gained so much ground in all these areas of influence and it has now become difficult for us to catch up and make a difference,” she said.
A realtor, Adekunle Adewunmi, believes the level of frustration among young people is taking a frightening dimension. “I think something fast has to be done. There are so many young people who are frustrated and suicidal. It is time for the church to wake up to do something practical to help them. As of today, there is no future for the average Nigerian youth.”
Adewunmi, who is a zonal youth president in Lagos Province 36 of the RCCG, observed that many young people are now obsessed with traveling out of the country in search of greener pastures. “Many young people have left the country for other countries, even countries that are not as endowed as Nigeria.
“Those who are still in Nigeria today are staying behind because they have not been able to gather enough money to travel out. Only a few really have the love of Nigeria at heart. That is the reality.”
He noted that, “the youths in Nigeria have proved their worth by revamping the banking sector through technology in what is known as Fintech. They have also proved their worth in their ingenious use of social media to impact virtually all areas of life. These are areas they delved into without government support. Many young people have to go the extra mile to make meaning out of life in Nigeria.”
On the role of the church, he stated, “I think the church is not doing enough in terms of harnessing the potential of young people. The RCCG is trying, but I think more could still be done in the area of harnessing the potential of the youth. One church that I think that has done well in that area is Daystar Christian Centre. Many churches should emulate what is being done in Daystar to encourage young people. We should not shy away from learning from ourselves to improve on our lot.
“Many young people move from church to church because they are not getting what they want. They are looking for a worship environment where they are appreciated and where their potential is harnessed and encouraged. It is not only about coming to worship. I think we need to do more of offering assistance and encouraging talents as much as we can.”
While noting that young people have a lot to offer Nigeria in this age of technology, he said, “There is a need to urgently arrest the rate at which the youths in Nigeria are moving out of the country. If we don’t, we may be creating a problem for the future of our nation. If all our talents and potentials travel to other countries, we will be left with dregs.”
He suggested that the church can create platforms where talents can be discovered and then help provide a support base for such talents. “The church, for instance, can create a pool fund to support outstanding business proposals.
“There could be a competition asking people to present their business proposals. The outstanding of such proposals can be supported from a dedicated fund. If truly we are the light, I believe the church can do a lot to show the light in youth empowerment.”
Sola Owoeye, RCCG National Youth Pastor, corroborated Adewunmi’s views. He noted that there is no platform for the youth to release their potential. “The impact is not actually there because the older ones have refused to leave the scene for the young ones to come in. There is this sense of insecurity on the part of the elders thinking about what will happen should the youths be in charge. The fear of the unknown will not allow them to give them the platform to release their potential.”
Owoeye, however, believes that rather than wait to be given the opportunity, the youths should accept the responsibility and get involved in re-engineering society. “Nobody will give you what is your own until you place a demand on it. Now, you don’t wait for the future but rather, you go for the future.”
He reasoned that young people are not making an impact because they are waiting for the future to come and meet them. “But I insist that they have to go for the future if they really want to feature their potential. You don’t have to wait for it. If you wait for it, you will waste. That is why we see many young people with high potentials wasting away because they are waiting for them to be called to do what they are supposed to do.”
Citing the example of David in the Bible he said, “Until David gave Saul proof that he could fight Goliath, he was not given the platform.
“He was not sent to the battlefield to go and fight; he was sent to go and give his elder brothers food and see how they were faring in the battlefield. He was sent to be a spectator. But when he got there, he refused to be a spectator. He became the major actor on the battlefield where he was meant to be a spectator.”
He explained that the only way young people can show that they have capacity is by accepting responsibility. “I think starting small in one’s area of influence can go a long way to make that happen. David started by killing bear and lion and it was his testimony of killing lion that created the platform for him to fight Goliath.”
Owoeye explained further that it was the impact that David made in his own little space of influence that opened the door for him in a larger dimension.
“When his brothers sat at home doing nothing, he would be on the field attending to the flock of his father. In the course of doing that, lion came and he fought the lion and won; the bear came and he fought the bear and won. While he was fighting lion and bear, nobody knew. It was when he mentioned it that we got to know he fought lion and he fought bear.”
The RCCG National Youth Pastor believes young people must not keep quiet about what they can do. “They must make noise about it, and let the world know that they have what it takes to do it. Nobody will hand it over to them.
“Take for instance, if God had not called me, I would have been a politician because I knew within me that I have what it takes to provide a solution as I was growing up in life. I knew I’m the type that can vehemently resist anything that is not progressive.”
He said the day he was appointed the National youth pastor was the day he came up with the “mind of 75 initiatives. By the following day, the thing had grown to 92. As I speak, we have a paint production outfit, we have opened Enoch Travel and Tour Limited, and others. We have the YAYA employment bureau which will serve as a database of those who are jobless.
“So, the youths have to get involved in their own little space to influence the nation. My advice is that they should not sit on the fence but get involved.”
Talking about seizing opportunity, Bisola Osibeluwo-Babalola epitomises that. She told Beautiful Day that after graduating with a master’s degree, she started off with a monthly salary of N15,000 teaching in a private school. But with time, she began to think of how to explore her teaching skill. She quit her job and began to do home lessons for students. What she was being paid became far more than her salary. She moved from her base in Ota and linked up with some other clients in Lagos. By the time she got to Lagos, an idea occurred to her to begin online coaching for students.
“Today, I can tell you that the online coaching and onsite coaching for students have paid off. I now earn in dollars because there are students from outside Nigeria on the coaching platform. I get referrals from parents whose children have benefitted from my coaching classes. It is now a big venture. I have had to employ more people to join me in the teaching business.”
While noting that many of her contemporaries secured bank jobs, she said, “I can proudly say that God has helped me to maximise my potential. Many of my colleagues who secured bank jobs that I thought were better off when I was on a N15,000 salary, are now asking me the secret of my rise. It is God who gave me that inspiration and Him alone be praised.”
On what the church can do to empower the youth, she said, “It is not enough for the church to run empowerment programmes. They should follow up on what has become of the beneficiaries. Some people show up at empowerment programmes, collect the goodies, and disappear. I did one with the RCCG but there was no follow-up. We should not just throw funds at people. The church can start small with people and follow up to know those who are serious and who really want to work, not those who are looking for freebies.”
Israel Momoh, a youth president in one of the zones of RCCG Province 71 believes young people should continue to take advantage of the digital space to do exploits.
“Social media has become a vital tool for businesses to connect with customers and grow brands. Nigerian youths are digital natives who are familiar with the various social media platforms. I think they should continue to leverage their social media and digital marketing skills to create new businesses and grow existing ones. The government can support this effort by providing training and funding opportunities for young entrepreneurs.”
He urged the church to invest in young people so they can excel in leadership. “The future of the nation depends greatly on the seeds sown in their lives now. Therefore, guided by the Youth for Christ vision, mission and strategic focus, we are positioned to reach out to the millions of young people in Nigeria with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe this is important along with the various drives to succeed in material terms”, he said.
Christian parents, according to him, should also take up the challenge of moulding young people to what God expects of them.
As Nigeria celebrates its 63rd independence anniversary, it is hoped that the Nigerian youths will rise up to take their place in the nation. Their time is no longer tomorrow, it is now.
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