By Chesa Chesa
Nigeria’s greatest assets are the teeming youth, rather Nigeria’s greatest assets are the teeming youth, rather than mineral resources, infrastructure, and money, says the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye.
Faleye made this submission in his speech as a guest speaker at the Student Mentorship Summit, 2006 organized by the National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) in Abuja, Thursday.
In his words, “in Nigeria, our greatest asset is neither oil, nor infrastructure, nor even capital, it is our people. More specifically, it is our youth – energetic, innovative, and full of potential.”
The MD noted that to nurture that asset, the youth need guidance and support to achieve that potential. According to him, “potential alone is not enough; we need to guide, support and protect it.”
“This event is part of our shared journey to shape Nigeria’s future where our young people are not just equipped with skills, but also empowered to lead across sectors, drive innovation, and create sustainable progress,” he stressed.
The NSITF boss, who was represented at the occasion by his Technical Assistant, Dr Dayo Alao, argued that empowering youth with the right tools, skills, and vision has become non-negotiable for national progress, adding that young people must be empowered to lead across all sectors.
He went on to suggest a to-do list, saying “We need to change the orientation of our youth, we need
to shift from a mindset of entitlement to one of responsibility, from dependency to self-reliance, from consumption to production.
“We need to inspire them to be job creators, not just job seekers, and encourage them to be innovators solving real-world problems, not just chasing certificates. We need to empower them to be leaders, driving change in their communities, not just waiting for opportunities to come to them.”
Striking a nexus between social protection and the youth and national development he said, “As the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, I’m proud of the role we continue to play – not just as a provider of social security, but as a strategic enabler of workforce resilience and national development.
“We’re talking about creating a safety net that’s not just reactive, but proactive supporting entrepreneurs, protecting workers, and promoting a culture of safety and productivity.
“Investing in youth development is inseparable from investing in social protection. A protected workforce is a productive workforce, and that’s what drives national
prosperity.”
“This is where the idea of sky bound leadership becomes not just relevant, but essential. It challenges us to rise above limitations, to think beyond silos, beyond sectors, and beyond the present. It calls for a generation of leaders who see connections where others see divisions, anticipate the future rather than react to it, and build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable systems.
“We must raise a generation of systems thinkers. Young leaders who
understand how decisions in one sector affect outcomes in another,” he submitted.
