The National President of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, has blamed faulty political leadership as the bane for the unproductive psyche of most Nigerian youths.
Prof. Okolie who is also the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN said most Nigerian youths believe that all they need to succeed in the country is to become a politician and loot whatever is left of the national treasury, for self-actualization and enrichment.
He spoke at the university town of Nsukka, weekend, adding that the quantum of unvestigated stealing and corruption in the political system has made greater percentage of the younger generation to loose hope in the dignity of labour.
According to him “The attitude of our leaders in Nigeria has given our younger generation the false hope that all they need to succeed in the country is to become a politician.
“Are you talking about entrepreneurship training? Where will you train the youths? Is it in the universities that are constantly shutdown? Where is the infrastructure to even teach entrepreneurship? These are part of the reasons why ASUU is on strike.
” We need to improve the infrastructure status of our tertiary institutions so that if somebody studied Computer Science for instance, he would have an opportunity to behold a computer in the classroom. Let us show them the practical tools they are going to use as engineers in the classroom. How would you teach engineers how to fabricate engines or teach parts of computer through drawings? It has to be practical. This is the bane of our educational system in Nigeria.
“The general political and economic climates have taken the youths away from us. Also, the constant closure of tertiary institutions and deliberate punishment of the academia by the political class are making our youths to look so inferior and equally infuse lack of confidence in them.
“As a professor, I am not supposed to be looking for what I would use to teach, I should devote more time in using what I have on ground which I consider sufficient in bringing out something, and in collaborating and networking.
“We are constantly owed salaries. What will I be teaching somebody under empty stomach? We are supposed to be helping to profer solutions to coronavirus through researches but we are busy asking the government to pay us our money. The government deliberately leave the citizens poor so as to exploit them.
“Most of the Nigerian politicians didn’t have quality education, so, they don’t know what it is. How can an illiterate be permanent secretary over an educated person? The system has made the educated ones with their certificates to look inferior. We are no longer looking at meritocracy as basis for success, just join politics and breakthrough. This is a bad examples for our youths,” he said.
