The spate of insecurity, poverty, ritual killings, fraud and violence and other societal ills in Nigeria are pointers to the fact that all is not well in the country.
Nonetheless, this is not enough to write off Nigeria, provided her teeming youths could rise up to the challenges, be determined to right the wrongs and put Nigeria again on the road to international reckoning.
These were the words of the Director-General, Institute for National Transformation (INT), Prof Vincent C. Anigbogu, at the Founders Day/Matriculation of the Cecilia Ibru University (CIU), Agbarha- Otor, Delta State.
Anigbogu said since the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) had projected Nigeria’s population to be about 350 million by 2050, this means that a substantial portion of the population would be youths.
Anigbogu spoke on the theme: National and behavioural transformation.
Addressing the 150 new students tagged: ‘2019 future Stars’, Anigbogu called on Nigeria to rise up from her slumber and start addressing her socio-economic challenges, particularly within the youth segment.
Quoting copiously from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2007report, Anigbogu submitted that how a country would fare in the 21st Century was not determined by her natural resources, but by highly effective teachers, involved parents and committed students.
“Today’s learning outcomes at school, according to the (PISA) study, are a powerful predictor for the wealth and social outcomes that countries will reap on the long run,” he added.
He recalled that a country like Israel, for instance, began with modest agricultural technology, and her citizens were eventually forced to come out of their shells. Today, Israel boasts of having new software, drugs and microchips.
“The Israeli story concurs with the PISA team report, revealing the reality that societies that get addicted to their natural resources seem to develop parents and young people who lose some of the instincts, habits and incentives for doing homework and honing skills.”
He admonished Nigerians to borrow a leaf from countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan which at their respective independence, were bequeathed with nations split across social, ethnic and religious lines; yet rose from the ashes to emerge some of the strongest nations economically.
To wriggle out of their predicaments, Anigbogu recalled that the aforementioned countries underscored seamless land and sea transportation; training of skilled workers, establishment of a stable and efficient government, as well as economy that attracts foreign investors.
He said: “It is quite clear from the above quotations that the leaders of Singapore were highly intentional in developing rugged, better organised, and efficient young men and women who could do things better and cheaper and are able to provide first-world level of service. Such dedicated commitment to human capital development created massive employment, which in turn, created committed and loyal followership.
He alluded to the 2015 Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) where stakeholders at the event admitted that the nation’s education sector is in dire straits and would require the intervention of both public and private sectors to fulfil its function of preparing Nigeria to compete in the global economy.
‘’To ensure that Nigeria has the labour force that is highly skilled, innovative and globally competitive, NES recommended that government must ensure that her curricular be tied to the national vision and 21st Century skill development towards national transformation. Among other things, NES also recommended that the education sector be led by competent and disciplined professionals who are appointed on merit; adding that assessment of students should be based on knowledge-application. Most importantly, NES suggested a significant private sector intervention projects through public private partnerships (PPPs).”
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