Why youths don’t trust Nigerian leaders —- Ex-minister

A former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has said Nigerian youths do not trust the country’s leaders because they consistently have failed to prioritise youth development.

Mr Dalung, who served as minister between November 2015 and May 2019, spoke on Saturday at the maiden annual virtual lecture of the Crisp Nigeria, a Youth-focused media organisation.

Themed: “The Nigeria of Our Dreams: Are the Youths Involved?” the lecture was held to

commemorate the 2024 International Youth Day.

‘No investment, poor youth education’

Mr Dalung, a lawyer, said the continuous decline in the standard of education in Nigeria and neglect of Youth development were responsible for the youth’s lack of trust in the country’s leadership.

The former minister recalled how, during his time in primary and secondary schools, he and his colleagues were lured with “a can of milk” to attend school because of the prevailing disdain for Western education at the time.

He said students then had access to all necessary materials and amenities needed for quality education which made them trust the leaders at the time.

“At Government College, Keffi, when I arrived, the only things my parents bought for me were a towel and a box.

“I went to the school office and reported. Upon presentation of my admission letter, everything was provided to me, including cutlass and hoe.

“They sewed school uniforms. When I went to class the following day, all the books were provided,” he said.

Continuing, Mr Dalung said: “So, these investments actually contributed to the type of mindset and confidence I have in the country’s leadership.”

The former minister, however, said things took a different direction after successive Nigerian governments failed to sustain the investments in Youth education.

He said, as a minister, he shed tears when he visited a secondary school in his neighbourhood because the school was in deplorable condition with students seated on the ground.

“So, what has the nation done for them that they will be able to believe or trust anybody?” he said of the students.

“So, the inability (of successive Nigerian leaders) to prioritise youth development, as it were when we were growing up, and investing in the Youths, giving them the opportunity to express their potentials, is one of the greatest obstacles against the concept of the dream for a new nation,” he said.

The former minister contended that due to the continued failure of the leaders, Nigerians were compelled to fend for themselves by providing water and other needs of life by themselves which made them lose trust in the leaders.

What can be done

Mr Dalung stressed that, to reverse the trend, there was a need for the government at all levels to invest in the education of the youths and stop using them as political thugs to rig elections.

“So, if we must rebuild the nation, leadership in Nigeria must be very deliberate. Some of the youths are already frustrated. So, there must be a deliberate policy of dealing with them, to rehabilitate them, to reposition them, get them involved,” he stated.

The former minister said repositioning the youths would be fruitless without tackling corruption and injustice in the country’s system.

“We must tackle corruption headlong. The issue of injustice has to be resolved. The Nigerian state has to be very fair to every citizen,” he said.

“If nothing is done too soon, we all are living on a timebomb. When it explodes, survivors will only be those who would have been designated by nature and God to survive.”