Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has called on the youths not to succumb to the challenges confronting Nigeria.
He reminded them that they hold the key to a more united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
Osinbajo expressed disagreement on comments reflective of a bleak view of Nigeria’s history.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said despite the onerous challenges, Nigerians have endured as a people.
Osinbajo made the remarks, Thursday, at the virtual edition of the NASFAT Global Youth Seminar.
He advised young citizens to guard their hearts and protect their capacity for idealism and creative optimism.
“These are the tools with which you will build the Nigeria of our dreams. We have a future worth fighting for.
“Your generation has what it takes to move us away from the destructive and unproductive rent-seeking attitudes that engender conflict and on to the terrain of enhanced productivity,” he said.
Osinbajo said much of the discontent and tensions that are distributional conflicts ignited by the struggle for access to tangible and intangible resources.
“With a population of about 200 million, and with our country on track to be the third most populous nation on earth in a few decades, the challenge for us is creating opportunity for the huge number of people that increasingly need education, food, healthcare, and employment.
This is where your capacity to innovate comes in,” he noted.
The VP added that he and others who desire a united peaceful and prosperous Nigeria must confront the everyday injustices that mock aspirations and erode confidence.
He said everyone must make common cause with other groups when they are injured because rights are rooted in universal principles that cannot be selectively applied.
Osinbajo told Nigerians to reject the idea that some sections have to lose in order for other Nigerians to win.
