Ayodele Olalere
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has urged youths to be actively involved in politics with a view to building the nation.
Omotoso spoke on Saturday while delivering his lecture with the theme ‘Closing the generational gap between the old and young in Nigerian politics’ at the 13th Convocation Ceremony of Caleb University, Imota, Ikorodu.
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Omotoso said there is an urgent need to bridge the generational gap between the old and young in the nation’s politics for improved development and progress of the country, adding that the cliche ‘youths are the leaders of tomorrow ‘ no longer applicable as today belongs to the youth.
He cited examples of young political appointees in Lagos State such as the Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Tubosun Alake, as well as ministers serving under President Bola Tinubu,all of whom are in their 30s and 40s and have distinguished themselves.
Omotoso urged youths to brace up and shun peer pressure which could jeopardize their attainment of greatness as leaders.
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Commending President Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for giving youths opportunity in their cabinets, Omotoso encouraged the 1,209 graduating students to see themselves as future governors, presidents, ministers and commissioners.
He further urged them to always think out of the box for entrepreneurship engagement, rather than looking for unavailable white collar jobs.
“Let me state that the common cliché that youths are leaders of tomorrow is no longer in tune with present-day reality. The truth is that what becomes of tomorrow is determined by what happens today. So, the more everyone grasps the fact that the youth are actually the leaders of today and not tomorrow, the better for all,” he said.
The university honoured Omotoso with an award for his contributions to Lagos State.
The monarch, Oba Ogunwusi in his address applauded the university for raising the bar of education and discipline in the 21th century youths.
He urged the youths to participate actively in nation building and contribute their quota to the growth of Nigeria.
Oba Ogunwusi also used the opportunity to call on the Federal Government to take urgent steps in addressing the suffering commuters are going through on Ikorodu/Itokin Road .
The monarch pleaded with President Tinubu led administration to rehabilitate the road in good time to complement other social services along that route.
Other dignitaries at the occasion included former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, representative of the Benue state Governor, traditional rulers in the Ikorodu Division and the Inspector General of Police who was represented by Commissioner of Police in Lagos.
