Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that adults and leaders owe young people a duty to provide truthful, transparent, and selfless leadership that brings real change to society.
Obasanjo made the remark on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the grand reunion and maiden lecture of the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) United Kingdom Alumni Association, Nigerian chapter.
RCDS, founded in 1927 in the United Kingdom, is a prestigious institution for leadership and strategic studies.
Represented by the Deputy Director of the Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute, Prof. Samuel Daramola, Obasanjo described youth as a phase between childhood and adulthood, marked by energy, hope, dreams, and sometimes a bit of naivety.
He noted that while today’s leaders once enjoyed those youthful years full of enthusiasm, the present generation faces far tougher challenges in an increasingly unstable world.
“Some of us were youth immediately after the Second World War; I was. Most of you were youths at the height of the Cold War,” Obasanjo said.
“The world was not perfect, but there was some order, respect for international law, rules and regulations. There were threats, but no impunity. They talked of the balance of terror in those days with reasonable stability, predictability, peace and common security with shared responsibility and prosperity among the leading nations of the world. The developing nations could breathe reasonably freely. The superpowers negotiated and consulted among themselves. Today, the youth face herculean challenges which they must not be left to handle alone.”
He called on leaders to think about the future by investing in it rather than consuming the resources meant for future generations.
According to him, youths must be included in all aspects of family, business, and public life to help them build resilience and confidence.
“Youth are not leaders of on Monday; they are leaders today. Let them be part and parcel of leadership today in preparation for on Monday,” Obasanjo stated.
Earlier, the President of the Association, Maj. Gen. Oluwaseun Oshinowo (rtd.), said the group was established eight years ago to contribute to national development through strategic discussions and policy recommendations.
“Our main aim is to tell the world that we are here and we are available for whatever they want us to do when it comes to strategic-level discussion and debate,” Oshinowo said, while also highlighting the critical role of youth in national progress.
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, described the event as an opportunity for reflection, reconnection, and renewal among graduates of one of the world’s leading institutions of strategic learning.
Represented by Mrs. Abosede Awolola, a Director at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Tuggar said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is committed to a foreign policy that is “citizen-focused, economically driven, and globally respected.”
Also speaking at the event, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, represented by his Special Adviser on Security, Olusola Subair, said the breakdown of family values poses a serious threat to national growth.
He called on all stakeholders to help redirect the minds of young people toward productive and positive pursuits.
