In my estimation, out of every ten young Nigerians, eight of them are thinking of how to exit the country.
I don’t know if there is a record of the number of young people leaving the country on a daily basis.
But the desperation is real.
The desperation to “escape” to a land where they think their dreams will be fulfilled is what has emboldened many to embark on risky adventures.
Not too long ago, the whole world was shocked at what was going on in Libya slave camps where young people were auctioned like commodities.
It is perplexing that Africa, a continent with the world’s youngest population is not doing enough to harness its tremendous asset.
Its brightest brains hardly find the atmosphere or the necessary support system to unleash their potential.
Just recently, a friend of mine sent me a piece of news about Professor Olutoye Oluyinka, a Nigerian doctor, who along with his partner, successfully carried out an operation on a foetus – a feat that has been celebrated across local and international media.
As I savoured the piece with delight, a question crossed my mind.
“If this man had stayed back in Nigeria after studying Medicine at the Obafemi Awolowo University in 1988, would he have achieved this feat?” You know the answer based on the reality on ground.
There are so many geniuses that never had the opportunity to travel out and expectedly they have not been able to do anything spectacular.
This is not just about Nigeria, but about Africa as a whole.
As a youth enthusiast, I have interacted with so many young people and the feeling is almost mutual.
They feel their potential cannot be maximized in Nigeria.
This is almost the situation across Africa.
Young, talented people with stupendous potential striving to travel out of their countries.
If this ugly situation persists, our future would be dry and bereft of innovators, talents and geniuses.
Now, the pertinent question: What fuels the exodus of youths? On reasons why young people desperately seek to leave their countries, a professor of New York University and expert in Latin American politics and culture, Alejandro Velasco gives some critical insights: “One of the major reasons is the lack of prospects and the lack of jobs and the lack of confidence that things are going to change; a lack of hope about the future domestically,”.
For me, this captures the genesis behind this exodus.
In the coming decades, the exodus of youths will explode if our leaders refuse to take concrete steps.
The onus is on the government to give strong reasons to our youths to stay in the country and convince those who have prospered overseas to come back home to add value.
How can we have our own people coming up with inventions, performing feats and touching lives positively in other countries while our own country is in dire need of their expertise? Bad governance is a reason why young people leave.
Who does not want to live in a system that works effectively? Basic social amenities such as water supply, electricity, roads, housing, recreational facilities, social welfare and the likes are still somewhat luxuries.
That is why the news media is awash with encomiums whenever a governor is spending taxes paid by citizens to build roads and bridges.
We are not yet used to good governance, we are overly impressed when we see a governor or commissioner who is development-driven and determined to make a difference.
It’s high time Nigerian leaders at every level provided good governance.
Good governance reflects in the standard of living of the citizens and in the speed of development.
Unemployment is a global phenomenon but every country has to figure out how to resolve it at their end.
In Nigeria, there are so many mineral resources that could have been cultivated and developed into industries.
From time, we have had farsighted leaders.
Just imagine the thousands of jobs that would have been created by these industries.
When are we going to have visionary leaders with the tenacity and political will to maximize the resources Nature has endowed us with? The economy will be revved up when steel, limestone, uranium, columbite, tin, coal, bitumen, kaolin and the likes are cultivated and harnessed into exportable products.
More foreign exchange would come in and the naira will experience a significant rise in stature.
Unemployment rate can be drastically reduced if those in the corridors of power do the needful.
At the moment, there is no exciting Nigerian Dream that any young person can believe in and weave his or her aspirations around.
Level of patriotism is awfully low and it is difficult to find any youth that would refuse the opportunity to relocate to a developed nation with a high standard of living and better opportunities.
Elections are around the corner.
Young people of voting age should use their demographic advantage to vote in honest and visionary leaders that can move the country forward and help youths unleash their potential.
Omisore writes from Abuja
