Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Part Two of “My Message to the Nigerian Youths”. I strongly believe the first series made a huge impact on you. The ultimate goal of this write-up is not to make you feel good. No! The whole idea is for it to serve as a catalyst in inspiring you to become one of the “Change Agents” in our society that will make a difference in the lives of others. Listen, there are “Six Questions of Life” you MUST answer before you exit this earth. How well you answer these questions will determine how far you will go in life. The questions are: Who am I? Where am I from? Why am I here? What can I do? Who do I have? Where am I going? Failure to answer these questions will amount to derail of destiny.

Who am I? is a question of identity. The greatest discovery of life is self-discovery. Today we have identity crisis because until a man discovers himself he will always wish to be like someone else. So many young people today have low self-esteem and self-image because they do not know who they are. When the opinions of others count more than yours, then you lack personal identity. “Know thyself and be thyself” is a motto for authentic leaders. Knowing who you are is about understanding your uniqueness and not confusing it with others. Where am I from? is a question of origin. It is not enough to know who you are, but also know where you come from. You have an origin – a source of life – to which you have. As the fish can’t do without the water, so you too can't do without your source. True leaders are originals because they embrace their origin – The Almighty God. He said in John 15:5, “For without Me you can do Nothing”. Why am I here? is a question of purpose. Purpose is the reason for being. It is the WHY you Exist. You are created on purpose for a purpose. You are not an accident. You have a unique assignment here on earth to accomplish. And if you are to Fulfill it, you Must find it out before you Die, otherwise you live a purposeless life. What can I do? is a question of Talents and Gifts. There is no man or woman born on the surface of this earth without a unique talent or gift. You are loaded as an individual. Buried inside of you are hidden potentials waiting to be unleashed. Who do I have? is a question of relationship. You need people to achieve your God-given purpose and vision in life. No man is an island. A tree can never make a forest. You need network and solid relationships to get there. And finally, Where am I going? is a question of destiny. You have a destination in life. There is an ultimate goal or end to your life. You are on a journey. But you must follow the right way in life otherwise you get nowhere. And Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and Life. He is the way to your ultimate end. But you still have a Choice to make.

Today my advice to you as a youth is to look inward and ask: What talents do I have? What skills should I learn or improve upon? What problem or need is facing Nigeria today, and how can I be of help? What can I make out of the potential – the gifts and talents – that God has placed in my life? Unfortunately, many youths do not ask questions like this. Rather, they would keep applying for jobs, sharpening their CVs, and knocking from one office to another seeking for a job. It does not work that way. I am not against looking for jobs and sending out CVs. But if the job doesn’t come, what should you do? Would you stay at home for years doing nothing like I see some people spending up to 10 years applying for jobs without looking inward to discover what they can make out of their lives with the enormous gifts and talents they possess?

Look, young Americans stopped writing CVs in the 1970s and started writing Business Plans. The whole idea is to become the CEO of their own companies and become employers of labor. The choice is yours. This is the reason why you have many young American entrepreneurs and CEOs of major companies like facebook, google, yahoo, youtube, and the rest. At the age of 19 years in 1974, Bill Gates founded Microsoft Inc. Today he is one of the richest men in the world. They all started their company as students. I am glad to announce that even in the midst of hopelessness and difficult situations facing many Nigerian youths today, some are still creating jobs for themselves, spotting opportunities, building houses and buying cars. Why? They are seeing what others are not seeing. These are the group Mark Zuckerberg noticed and decided to visit Nigeria. Mark didn’t come for everybody. With his telescopic lens from far away America, he saw few Nigerian youths ready to take the world through Information Technology, and he decided to come and identify with them. Can someone cross over the Atlantic to see what you are doing here in Nigeria? While many are busy abusing and cursing the government, others are busy spotting problems they can solve, and they are succeeding.

Have you ever asked why there are many Asians, especially the Chinese in Nigeria today? It's because there are too many opportunities in Nigeria. With over 170 Million Nigerians, if you can create a product or service that can serve only 5000 customers consistently, you are a multi millionaire. You can imagine if you produce a service that can serve millions of people like MTN and other GSM providers are doing today. In fact, only God knows the billions of naira you will be making. The first year MTN came into Nigeria, they declared a profit of well over N51 Billion. They were shocked by what they saw. They could not imagine such a huge turnover in profit within a short space of time. In their entire life as an organization put together, they have never seen such a rise in profit. It was learnt that their top executives literally relocated from South Africa to Nigeria immediately. Today, many Nigerians queue up at MTN office seeking for jobs. Isn't that a SHAME. Briefly after my secondary school, I left for Johannesburg to study at Wits University. This was the time Mandela was still the President of South Africa. You know what? MTN was just a mere phone network appealing mainly to the youth. Then it was not too fashionable for the big boys in South Africa. VODACOM was the main GSM phone network for the upper class. But MTN spotted a huge opportunity in the Nigerian market space and they became a dominant force in Africa. Today they have pushed others away from the top spot. Where is our Mind? Why can't our youth start thinking like Mark Zuckerberg that can see the future in the present? Why don’t our youth stop thinking of how to run out of the country and become nuisance in foreign lands? Today many Nigerian youths with promising destinies have been executed in Indonesia for illegal drug trafficking?

It is about time the youth should start strategizing for success, leave their comfort zones, do away with instant gratification syndrome, pen down their vision and have set goals, strive to unleash and maximize their gifts, talents and potentials, become bold and courageous even in the midst of adversity, do not put their entire life or hope on government, believe in themselves, and most importantly look up to God. Never forget, it's all about your MINDSET. Whatever you think, you become. Think RIGHT even in difficult times...then you can see clearly where the opportunities are. Who knows! You may be the solution Nigeria need at this critical time. Nigeria needs many Dangotes. Out of over 11 million unemployed youth in Nigeria, there is a limit to the numbers of youths Dangote can employ. Rather than become a job seeker, seek to become a job creator. No matter the area of your dream, pursue it with all vigour and determination. If you have passion for farming which is the main thing for the moment, go for it and attend trainings for the particular area you are interested – fishery, poultry, etc. If you are interested in singing and you know you are gifted, go for it and get the necessary training you need. If you are passionate about politics begin to study and research on it, form a group on whatsapp, twitter, and facebook and begin to make a difference in the society in your little domain of influence. What seems small or insignificant today will definitely become big tomorrow if you do not give up. Do not sit down and do nothing. Remember, “To Begin is to Win”. Obama made it happen when he located his dream in politics, and then began to put action to his dream. Even when his colour of skin and the name which he bears did not seem suitable or qualified to be in the White House he did not give up. Like he said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Today Obama is the President of America whether anyone likes it or not.

Therefore, here are my final recommendations. I strongly believe there is an urgent need for a youth political coalition in Nigeria – a forum that will bring about a dominant voice of the youth in the Nigerian political arena. If you can remember some few years back, we had a group called “Enough is Enough”. This group was championed by some Nigerian youths who became tired and concerned about the failing state of the government. Notable amongst them was Mr. Chude Jideonwu and others. Did they make an impact? Of course yes! Their voice was heard along with another dominant group called “Save Nigeria Group” led by Dr. Tunde Bakare. When the youths pursue laudable causes like this, they put the government in check, and also pave the way for the emergence of young political leaders in government. Other causes I strongly believe the youth need to champion and push the government to implement are: The Nigerian youth must be given more opportunities to participate in the government, economy, and society; the government to review the outcome of the sovereign national conference held in 2014 and come up with a well-rounded constitution accepted by Nigerians; the government to create employment opportunities and enabling environment that fosters skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development; the immunity clause under section 308 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution that protects corrupt government officials must be revoked from the constitution; the government must focus on non-oil options to boost the economy and generate revenue for the country; the government should do a total overhaul of the educational system in Nigeria with proper funding, and also provide free education where needful; and finally, pursue a cause that will foster True Patriotism by all Nigerians that should be promoted through government policies that care for Nigerian citizens both home and abroad. As we all know, “Nigeria has suffered from a deficit of civic pride and collective responsibility”. This has to be RESTORED. Remember, “Be the change you want to see”.

God bless you & God bless Nigeria.

See you at the Top!

Dr. Elvis UKPAKA
Trainer. Coach. Consultant. Author
President, Youth With A Vision (YWAV)