Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday said that Nigerian youths cannot become the leaders of tomorrow by leaving the country to “those who are messing it up”.
Obasanjo spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, at an event tagged ‘OBJ @85 Free Keke Programme’.
According to Obasanjo, the youth should hold their future in their hands with a firm belief that “today is our day”, as against the famous cliché that youths are the leaders of tomorrow.
He said, “The first thing we want to prove is that there are opportunities galore in this country. Yes, things are not what they should be but you, as youths, individually and collectively, must make up your mind, make contributions in order to make things the way they should be.
“If you leave things to those who are messing it up for you and who are saying you are the leaders of tomorrow, you will never have that tomorrow. Today is your day.
“Then the third point is; yes, sometime you may get people who would help you, and at times you may not even get who would help you; you must remember God has given you innate ability to be what He wants you to be. And if you make up your mind on what you want to be, God will help you and He would provide those people who would help you to reach the sky which should be your limit.”
At the programme, 85 tricycles, popularly referred to as keke, were distributed to youth beneficiaries as part of the activities marking the former president’s 85th birthday.
The tricycles were donated through the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) with beneficiaries drawn from the 36 states of the country and the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
Chairperson of the centre, Bisi Kolapo, asked the youth to emulate Obasanjo’s passion and commitment to build “Nigeria of our dreams”.