Jonathan at Oxford University, makes case for youth empowerment 'I worked for next generation, not next election'
Former
President Dr Goodluck Jonathan yesterday defended his administration’s
Transformation Agenda stressing that it was designed to engage the latent
potential in the entire nation, as well as stimulate and enable higher productivity.
Jonathan who stated this yesterday in lecture at the Oxford Union of the Oxford University in the United Kingdom, also said that while serving as President of Nigeria, he worked for the next generation and not for the next elections, as a means of ensuring that Nigerian children had a promising future.
Jonathan who stated this yesterday in lecture at the Oxford Union of the Oxford University in the United Kingdom, also said that while serving as President of Nigeria, he worked for the next generation and not for the next elections, as a means of ensuring that Nigerian children had a promising future.
He said:
“While serving as President of Nigeria, I worked
for the next generation and not for the next elections. Somebody must sacrifice
and work for the next generation otherwise your children's children will suffer
the same predicaments as you have.
Jonathan
who was speaking to students of Oxford University on youth entrepreneurship,
further pointed out that quality education and youth empowerment were at the
heart of Africa’s growth and development.
He said further:
He said further:
“I am excited to be in the midst of some
of the World's future leaders to discuss issues relating to youth empowerment
and entrepreneurship. The issue of youth entrepreneurship in Africa is very
critical, as Africa is the only continent in which we will witness a population
boom. Most violent crises in Africa can be traced to a lack of education and
opportunities among its teeming youth population. Studies have revealed that
there is a symbiotic relationship between youth unemployment and youth
restiveness.”
“As a leader, you can decide through your
policies to educate the youths, or face the consequences of failing to do so.
The Transformation Agenda was conceived to engage the latent potential in the
entire nation, and to stimulate and enable higher productivity.”
The
former President emphasised that his Administration came up with various
programmes to encourage young entrepreneurs including the youth enterprise with
innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN).We reformed the institutions and introduced
various mechanisms to stop the problems associated with in our country without
much publicity.
“We may not have been perfect, but we did our
best, and our best yielded an era of unprecedented economic growth for Nigeria.
A growth that proved the truism that a Nation's wealth is not underneath the
ground but between the ears of her people. Nigeria was rated as the largest
economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with
a GDP above US$570 billion.”
He
stated further:
“We identified Nollywood as a sector that can
employ many young people and provided a grant of $200 million to boost the
industry. As a result, Nollywood became a major contributor to our GDP and in
2014, the industry contributed 1.4% to our GDP.
Jonathan
also recalled that as Governor of Bayelsa State and later the President of
Nigeria, he asked himself some critical questions:
“Why do individuals that grow up in similar
circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as
failures? Why are some nations rich and some poor? Is the wealth of nations a
result of geography, weather, culture, destiny? What could a leader do to
effectively lift a people out of the depths of poverty, and enable them to
achieve prosperity?
“After much soul searching, I concluded that:
wealth is a creation of the human mind properly prepared by education. Any
nation that does not spend its wealth and resources to develop the capacity of
its youth will be forced to use them to fight insecurity”
He
challenged
“contemporary African leaders to see youth
entrepreneurship as a collective project transcending national boundaries,
adding that “despite incredible challenges, Nigerian youths are achieving great
things and placing Nigeria positively in the world map. They inspire us.”
Ikechukwu Eze
Media Adviser to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
Media Adviser to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
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