Onaiyekan tasks political leaders on job creation
The Emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has called on political leaders address unemployment in Nigeria which was the cause of ‘japa’ syndrome.
The cleric made the call in Abuja on Monday when he received a delegation of members of the Initiative for Fostering Unity in Diversity, Youths and Nation Building his Anuja’s residence. .
He criticized the Nigerian leaders for failing to address current issues in the country, especially in matters concerning the younger segment of the population.
While warning the political leaders against taking advantage of Nigerians who were resilient, Onaiyekan said, “The best expression I have for what is happening in Nigeria is that we are dancing on the brink of chaos.
“Sometimes, we take two steps forward and four steps backwards. But, it is a game that we should not be counting on.’’
The cardinal said it could be wrong to think that Nigerians can always absorb all kinds of difficulties, noting that “There is so much that is being said about the resilience of Nigerians that we have unlimited capacity to absorb shocks. But this may not be the case forever.
“I have for more than 30 years been preaching all over the world that Nigeria is a special country where Muslims and Christians live together.
“But the belief by some elites that Nigerians had elastic capacity to absorb every form of difficulty is a dangerous gamble.”
While stating that those causing trouble in the country use the resilience of Nigerians to continue to deprive them of their rights, the cleric, however urged political leaders to chart a new path for youths to discourage the increasing rate of brain drain, popularly known as “Japa Syndrome”.
Onaiyekan said, “The question is, how long shall we continue on this path? The youths are anxious to work.
“They are not happy to be unemployed, underemployed or mis-employed.
“When I see able-bodied young men and women hawking groundnut, I tell myself: this is wastage. They should be producing.’’
The cardinal expressed worries that people who should act to make a difference for the nation, especially youths were idle, imploring kindhearted Nigerians to prioritize youth investment for the progress of the nation.
Onaiyekan, however, thanked the IFFUIDYANB members for making visible efforts at ensuring the unity of Nigeria by aspiring to bring youths together to forge a common future.
“We now have “Naija Unity House’’ where we plan to bring youths across religions and across tribes all over the country to discuss Nigeria.
“We have had a series of governments that seemed not to be so concerned about youths and the explanation for this is simple — selfishness and wickedness. It has nothing to do with tribe or religion.
“There is no lack of initiatives and I am sure IFFUIDYANB is not the only kind of NGO with this kind of initiative.
“One would have expected the political class to drive this kind of initiative,’’ Onaiyekan stated.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Steve Ebo, said that the group was concluding plans to hold a reality show for youths in the country in the near future.
He said the aim of the show was to bring a number of Nigerian youths together under one roof for a serious discussion on the future of youths in the country.
Ebo explained that the show, which would beging soon, would last for more than 30 days and that it would feature eminent personalities, who would take housemates through salient national issues, adding that the show targeting at fostering unity, promoting peace and supporting good leadership as well as peaceful co-existence among youths.
“What are the aspirations and intentions of our founding fathers? What is the way to get this country united?
“Can we go above where we are today, how can we unite as youths to make this country a better place?’’
Ebo said that the event would afford youths an opportunity to air their views on what they wanted from Nigeria, adding that it would showcase 37 youths, selected from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
