Several young Nigerians are currently taking key leadership positions in different countries but not in their own country.
Recently, Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch, a young Nigerian woman who was appointed Trade Secretary in the United Kingdom and Wally Adeyemo, deputy Treasury Secretary in the United States, joined the ranks. This is aside from the numerous young Nigerians who were elected into different Congressional positions during the US midterm election.
In the last two decades, Nigerians have been clamouring for younger people with fresher ideas and solutions to the nation’s socio-economic problems in recent years but to no avail. This has made many observers wonder how genrontocrats will run Nigeria which has one of the world’s youngest populations.
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Some analysts have suggested that if Badenoch and Adeyemo were still in Nigeria, they may not have been able to achieve such a feat in politics.
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This fear may have substance. A cursory look at the membership of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), shows that the average age stands at 60. The current Minister of Youth and Sports, should not be called a youth at 56 years of age.
This development seems to have contributed to the increasing desire of young people to leave the country in large numbers in recent times.
It is only recently that the Canadian government said it was set to welcome 1,450,000 migrants in 2025 into the country. With the understanding that there are a large number of Nigerians already in Canada, Ottawa said the development is needed to tackle the problem of labour shortage in the country.
Already, Kaycee Madu and Akolisa Ufodike have been appointed into top Canadian political positions. Mr Madu serves as Alberta’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Skilled Trades and Professions while Ufodike serves as the province’s Deputy Minister at Alberta’s Ministry of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism.
Also in Canada, Ayo Owodunni became the first black person to become a City Councillor in Kitchener, London Ontario, Canada.
Noticing the trend of the constant passion of Nigerians moving abroad, the Federal Government set up the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) which was created with a duty to engage the diaspora in national policies and projects towards development and nation-building.
For Nigeria to compete with other developed countries like the US, UK, among others, young Nigerians must feel connected to the polity of the nation and have more political participation. There is a knowledge gap between the old crop of politicians and young Nigerians who should be at the helm of affairs; and not vice-versa.Â
Countries like Japan during the Meiji era, sent its nationals to universities in the West to learn and return to Japan to contribute to their country’s development. But in Nigeria, it seems the citizens believe going abroad is an avenue to escape bad governance and seek greener pastures.
Some analysts have suggested that Nigeria must take a cue from countries like Japan by strengthening its citizen engagement, which in turn, will help build a new national consciousness among the citizenry.