There is deficit between Gov’t and the people
Youths feel a state of hopelessness, they need our assurance
The
former governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke has asserted that
Nigerian youth were badly bruised and their scares must be healed before
the Nation can move forward.
Duke said the older generation who were leading the country need the forgiveness of the youths adding that the trust deficit must be bridged in a bid to regain their confidence once again to be able to forge ahead as a nation.
Speaking
with Journalists at his home in Calabar on Sunday, the former SPD
Presidential candidate during the last elections averred that Nigerian
youths have been bruised over the years and they feel cheated stressing
that they must be heard.
His
word: “The youths have been badly bruised, and their scars must be well
taken care of. The youths are telling us something not in words but in
actions, they are speaking in their own manner because people speak
differently, some speak in parables too.
“The
youths have to forgive us first because we are the ones who are
managing their resources and they are telling us that our management is
poor, they cannot be silenced, they must be heard.
“If
it is right to life then there is right to livelihood, giving them a
job or engaging them is not a privilege but a right. There is a trust
deficit between the people especially the youths and the government, our
democracy is 21 years already, we can’t wait to be fooled at 40,” he
said.
Speaking further, he said Nigeria was now in a situation where the rich cannot sleep because the poor cannot eat
He
said: “We have always warned that Nigeria was seating on a gun powder,
from this moment we must be very sincere with the people. We must mean
what we say and say what we mean. The youths feel cheated because the
older generation had better opportunities at their age.
“The
youths need to know that we are listening to them, the youths should be
able to hold us accountable . The engagement of the youth is pivotal
Huge percentage of our youths are idle, in fact over 80 percent of them
because when you see someone carting away used toilet seat then there is
a big problem.
“Television
sets can be replaced, cars can be replaced, but a bruised mind is very
dangerous to handle, young people are beginning to ask questions and if
the youths feel your statements are empty, they will not take you
seriously anymore.
“If
they were gainfully employed or engaged they will not come out in their
large numbers, we must create jobs, we must find ways for them to out
the money in the hands of people because it is innate in man to survive.
“The
government on its part must also be ingenious in finding solutions to
these problems, let’s assure our teeming youths that they are not alone,
if China can create jobs for billions then Nigeria can also do it.
“What
we experienced in Cross River for the first time is a deep-seated
resentment from the people who feel a certain state of hopelessness, we
must therefore ask ourselves as leaders where we got it wrong with a
view to doing more because what the youths are saying is that we have
not done enough,” he said.
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