From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Former Senate president, Ken Nnamani and immediate past Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Nnia Nwodo, have tasked Nigerian youths on the need to see politics as a means of rendering service.
Emphasizing that those veering into politics must ensure they have what they described as ‘second address’, the duo said that was the only way to avoid stealing public funds and ending up in jail after service.
The duo, who spoke in Enugu, at the weekend, during an award ceremony and Gala Night for 17 finalists of the 2021 Youth Entrepreneurship and Leadership Initiative (YELI), lamented the high level of corruption in the polity.
They said Nigerians now see politics as profession and tool for financial enrichment.
Nnamani, who was the chairman on the occasion said: “The same thing in politics, is to serve, if you don’t have a second address, you’re in politics, you went there to make money, you are likely going to end up in jail because you will be so desperate trying to grab money and that grabbing will land you somewhere you would not like.”
Nnamni and Nwodo said the change that must be brought to bear in the polity by the youths was for them to have a meaningful employment before venturing into politics to enable them offer the needed services.
He charged Nigerian youths to think about studying courses that were relevant to the future, stressing that some courses offered in universities were no longer relevant in solving challenges of the country.
The entrepreneurial skills the YELI was impacting on the youths and the financial support to their businesses, according to him, was what was needed to achieve growth and development following the diminishing job market and urged the beneficiaries to put them to good use to build a strong future.
On his part, Nwodo stressed that changing the idea of making quick money among the Nigerian youths was needed to advance the course of the nation.
He said: “I walked over three miles away to fetch water, cracked wood for my parents to cook and cooked in the midst of huge smoke coming from the wood. We walked various miles to go to school. We didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy what technology has brought today but in them, we survived.”