Former President of the 9th Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawaw, Friday stressed the importance of prioritising youth development, warning that any nation not doing so, was set for doom.
He stated this when he received a delegation of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria – Yobe State Chapter – at his office at the National Assembly, Abuja.
The 10-man delegation was led by the Speaker of the Yobe State Chapter of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Mohammed Hashim Auwalu; and the body’s Zonal Coordinator representing Yobe North, Mohammed Isiaku.
The group, during the visit, presented a letter of appointment to Senator Lawan as Patron of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN). He was also presented with an award of excellence for his dedication to the upliftment of his constituents.
In his welcome address, the former Senate President underscored the need for nations and leaders to prioritise the welfare of the youth population in a way that accommodates their interests through succession plans.
He also charged the youths to take an interest in governance to guarantee their place in successive leadership of the country.
Lawan, who represents Yobe North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, said, “Any nation that doesn’t prioritise its youths is doomed to fail. As they say, the youths of today are the leaders of tomorrow, even though we sometimes run into the trouble of who is a youth.
“I don’t think the youths should wait until tomorrow because leadership should be developed. Youths should get involved in what the leaders of today are doing, listen to them, see them in action, and, of course, seek their opinion about certain issues, so it won’t be difficult when they find themselves in certain positions.
“Leadership is not that easy but if you have the rudimentary or basics of how you should lead, then you’ll find it a little helpful while you learn other aspects on the job.
“As leaders, you’re supposed to be tolerant, accommodating, and patient because you’re leading your peers. It’s just like the National Assembly, it is the totality of the members of the house that will elect you. It means you have to carry everybody along.
“People trust their leaders when they see them trying to be honest, sincere, transparent and accountable. Nothing brings ease in leadership like achieving some trust between you and those that you lead. If they trust you, you can make your mistakes and they will forgive you. But if you play it in a way that they have doubts, then it becomes a problem for the leader.
“Obviously, there must be succession. So, if you have a set of people who are supposed to be in a position of leadership who are not prepared, then that tomorrow is doomed to fail, and it’s a whole generation that could fail. That could bring a disconnect between the outgoing leaders.
“I always believe that there should be support for the young people who are the leaders of tomorrow. Even if you don’t prepare them for leadership of tomorrow, prepare them to be good followers of today because you need them to be part of whatever programmes or projects that you have. So, we always look at those projects that have maximum impact on our youths.”
