For the sake of Nigeria’s future

It was a joyous day when I got the news was that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has deemed it fit to come up with a bill titled “Not Too Young to Run.” Instead of the 40 years prescribed by the 1999 Constitution, the Bill now proposes 35 years as the minimum age for the Office of the President and election to the Senate; and 25 years for the House of Representatives. Once this proposed bill is approved by at least 24 state assemblies, and acceded to by the President, our youths will be eligible to occupy the above stated elective offices in the country.

So, once a youth is 25 years of age, and he/she is able to muster some millions of Naira to procure a political party’s form, and possesses education to at least Secondary School Certificate level or its equivalent, such a candidate is eligible to contest for elective office in Nigeria less the Presidency. I am not too sure the Senate is aware that Nigeria has about 50percent of its youth as unemployed/ underemployed.

But for a court injunction, our children would have been admitted into Unity Schools based on the Federal Government’s prescribed cut-off marks for different states of origin and gender. Some of these children may likely emerge as lawmakers, ministers and director generals of government parastatals and agencies in the future. Furthermore, where will a 25-year-old get millions of Naira to pick his/her political party’s ticket for elective office? Or, is this another way of creating jobs for boys and girls of the rich, after being sponsored by their fathers or political godfathers? Well, this is Nigeria- the “land of opportunities”!

I know good governance is not an easy process. It requires those saddled with the responsibility of governing to make and implement decisions, firm up cohesive policies and strategic guidance, and processes with appropriate oversight functions full of accountability and transparency. It is for this reason I advocate that for the sake of Nigeria, we need talented youths in elective offices. The more talented youths the nation can parade in the political arena, the better the quality and effectiveness of policies. It is Nigeria that will benefit from a group of talented young people in politics. In order words, we must have a mechanism in motion to prepare our talented youths for good governance because “nearly 80 percent of a person’s make up is from nature, and about 20 percent the result of nurture.”

It is commonly said that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow. If we as a people do not focus on ensuring that these future leaders are well groomed, we may be building a country which will in future be driven by people who are ill-equipped for governance, rusty and riotous. This is a recipe for perpetual under-development. Regrettably, development is a struggle and Nigeria cannot afford to have youths that are not adequately prepared for leadership responsibilities.

Neglecting the development of our youths through proper education, imparting pro-industry skills and adequate investment in their welfare has a great consequence. If the nation is unable to provide robust education, health and entrepreneurial programs, we may unconsciously breed a massive, redundant, counter-productive and rebellious youths. This is not good for the general growth and development of our society as we plan to vector our youths into elective offices.

The relevance of leadership in any nation cannot be overemphasized as it holds an evidently important position in philosophy and history. Good leaders though not in large supply make a lot of positive impact to their nations and the world at large. Africa has also been blessed with a few leaders of international repute, and the same goes for Nigeria.  In his book the Art of War, Sun Tzu characterized leadership as a mix of 5 traits namely: “intelligence, credibility, humanness, courage and discipline”.  These good traits when formed in early life make a difference in the lives of individuals, and ultimately the society. But will these traits make an individual an effective leader? It depends on the situation that led to the emergence of an individual as a leader.

Since the beginning of the Twentieth Century, most psychological research on leadership has been tailored to finding out those traits and personality patterns that make a difference in organizational performance. An expert research finding on leadership traits reveals “no evidence of a single trait or characteristics that identified a person as a leader”. Furthermore, there was no trait which identified a leader in all situations. Although, it is desirable for a leader to be brighter than his followers, but all people are leaders on a few occasions and at other times they are followers. The fact that you are a successful lecturer in the university does not mean that you will succeed as a local government chairman and vice-versa.

Leadership and mentoring are mutually reinforcing and there exist a relationship between them. Mentoring is about transforming people and the entire society. It is the system that promotes professional development by linking the mentee with a mentor who will focus on the overall development of the former. It is to be emphasized that not all leaders are mentors because they do not have what it takes to do so.

The implication of neglecting the personal and professional development of our youths is grave. Our leaders and youths need mentoring as it is a lifelong process. Our youths are tomorrow’s leaders, while elected and appointed public officers in states and at the federal level are today’s leaders. All our youths like anyone else need guidance for support. Through mentoring, our youths would be made accountable, focused, confident, and truthful. Our youths will equally be creative, intuitive and positive. Accordingly, if you are already a successful leader, or an aspiring leader, and also a youth, it is suggested that you should continue to seek mentors even informally.

MA JOHNSON