OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FACE OF INSECURITIES

I have often imagined what life would be like if our dreams, visions and goals just materialized without our lifting a finger... I think what makes life worth living are the many little battles we triumph at daily on the way to winning the war of fulfillment. The sense of victory, even of completing the service year is one that revitalizes and energizes one to take on other life challenges.

Among young people, there is a sense of adventure and hope as we step into the world to find our place and taking the decisions on; who to marry, where to settle down, how to get the best job possible, how to make enough money, furthering your studies, starting a business etc.

The peculiarity of Nigeria as a country with a huge youth population (at least 50%) yet bedeviled with a lot of socio-political problems that has created a hard ceiling to crack for those that intend to move up or make progress in their lives. Yes, it is clear that the youths of this nation didn’t bargain for this situation in the same breath we find ourselves inextricably attached to this status quo. Since we without a doubt want to be successful, we are also without doubt the beacon of hope for that better tomorrow.

Every generation takes responsibility for the successes that are recorded in their timeline and few people are the shining light, those who are not the called but the chosen. The chosen because they make the sacrifice that makes them the hinge upon which the door of prosperity opens for that generation. I believe our generation craves for those few and what better platform to begin than having gotten the requisite training of the National Youth Service Corp.

There is a popular rhetoric: “what you see is what you get”, the future you see is what will energize and engender hard work, character and a sense of purpose all geared towards creating a life and a nation flowing with milk and honey. The sky is where eagles reside; the ground is often crowded with chickens, what you see, is what you get! So what do you see?

Only men of understanding, purpose and deep introspection see the message in their mess and rise above settling for less...

The mess of Ghana/Africa was the opportunity of Kwame Nkurumah.
The mess of computing was the opportunity of Philip Emeagwali and Bill Gates.
The mess of darkness was the opportunity of Thomas Edison.
The mess of Apartheid was the opportunity of Nelson Mandela.
The mess of first world dictatorship was the opportunity of Barack Obama.
The mess of racial inequality was the opportunity of Martin Luther King (Jnr.).
The mess of a dark blur on Arab world was the opportunity Dubai.
The mess of violent opposition was the opportunity of Ghandi.
The mess of Nigerian music was the opportunity of Tuface Idibia.
The mess of politics was the opportunity of Donald Duke...

The roll call goes on and on; there comes a time in the life of a nation, a person or an organization or an idea when a window of opportunity for good or evil presents itself, now is the time of opportunity for us to exploit Nigeria’s mess. So, what do you see?

As we set sail on defining our path in this world, make no mistake-there’s space for everyone. We all have an opportunity to exert our weight and be all we were born to be. There’s too much to do no time to waste. Prime yourself and belt-up for the ride of destiny, the world has seen nothing yet.
Go and succeed!