LIFE Someone just died. Yes, right now. They left the world, forever. Make it two people, three, perhaps dozens around the world, for the time it too me to type this. That is life. Someone just got shot. It's the dark of the night in other parts of the world. It may be daylight here but some bad people are operating under cover of darkness elsewhere. Some just lost a job. They just gave them the sack letter. It's so close to Christmas but that is just how it is. Someone just got logged out of the system. That is how they do it in the modern world. Someone just lost a business. A transaction just went awry. Someone just got bad news. Sorry, it's a cancer. Yes, it's aggressive. Tidy up your affairs. Why did you wait so long?, they are asked. Someone just became crestfallen. Someone just felt dejected. Some just lost a ton of money. An opportunity just disappeared. A friend just stabbed another in the back. Ouch! That hurts. A close family member just betrayed another. Make that ten, or twenty, perhaps hundreds. That is the way life is. Someone just got into an accident. Someone just broke a leg. At this very moment, someone is wheeled into A&E. The doctors rush in to save a life. No, there are no doctors to be found. It's random. The world is as diverse as Pakistan is to Peru. So also are events that happen in the world. So, someone just got pregnant. Right this second. Oh, you don't know what's going on in half the world at this moment? Lol. A baby has just popped out of its mother. The pangs of childbirth just receded. In fact make that 100 babies since you started reading. In the thousands of maternity homes around the world. In fact, someone just delivered a baby on the way to get some help. Oh, they waited and agonised for 10 years! Sorry, it was not even desired; happened so easily, by mistake. Joy. Someone just clocked another year. Check your Facebook page. Dozens of your friends were born on a day like this. Someone just got promoted at work. They weren't expecting it... or they even schemed for it. Whichever way, it came. Joy for Christmas. Someone just won a job. Some just got a pay rise. The year has been great! Someone just won a lottery! Someone just got an inheritance. Someone's life just got turned around. Years of hustling melted away. Someone just ran into good luck. Someone's hard work just paid off. Someone just discovered something. Someone just got an Eureka moment. Someone just solved a knotty problem. Or the problem resolved itself. Make that hundreds of people since you started reading. In someone's body something just started healing. The body is fighting back and restoring to normalcy. Cancer cells are getting strangled. The kidney is making a recovery. The drugs are working. Or perhaps it is a miracle. However it is, someone just turned the bend. Someone's proposal is just being reviewed in some posh boardroom across the world. Hmm it looks good. They will go with the project. Yes, they will offer the job. 2018 will be fantastic, so long as you know, that in life, many things are random. And you are strong enough, to sometimes take the bitter with the sweet. The best thing to do, in my humble view, is to step out there everyday, and give life the very best shot you have. Whatever you seek to do, for good, never waste time. Get it done. That way, you can coast through life, positively. Add to this. Think about the world at large. Get into people's minds and walk in their shoes. You don't have to know them. See life through their eyes... it will shape the way you see everything. You may just realize, that the best gift life can give, is to walk out into the open, and stare in the open skies, and breathe in some fresh air. All else are but icing on the cake. Good morning..

YOUTH, MONEY AND POLITICS IN NIGERIA- 2019 Kogi East In Focus. "Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself." -Gloria Steinem Gloria Steinem is an American Social Activist of the ‘60s and ‘70s whose statement above is perhaps the most truthful insight into the politics of power. So, let us start by agreeing that power is never given, it is taken. I believe politics evolved that way so that by exerting your mental and other capacities to acquire power, you also acquire a healthy respect for it, as well as the people who legitimises it in your hands. In Kogi a Forty Year old Agassa farm boy from a minor clan from a tribe many call minority ventured into the dirty, wicked, bitter, dirty and diabolical world of politics from his very undeniable comfort zone along with like minds of same age group myself inclusive to "take" power knowing fully well it ain't given. If nothing else that in itself is empowering and empowerment. What we do with it is our direct responsibility . GYB and his team that I play a strategic role alongside others seated here must have broken an age long jinx that book writers will not only acknowledge but reference to in future political discuss of this state, country and Internationally. I am therefore always amazed when young persons want political power to devolve on them like princes and princesses in a monarchical hierarchy whose destiny it is to inherit their parent's throne. Let it enter our heads today that the average Nigerian in public office does not even want to retire when his statutory age becomes due, much less those who are politically able to move from post to post indefinitely. At any point in time, political power is always in the grip of somebody who does not want to relinquish it. It will not be given, it must be taken. When I say, ‘taken’, I want to make it abundantly clear that I do not mean by unconstitutional processes. Not at all. The world has gone beyond the barrel of the gun and other extralegal means of taking power. Coupists are increasingly finding themselves unable to hang onto stolen power in a world where civilised nations are prepared to go to war to restore stolen mandates to the electorate and their ousted elected officials. Accordingly, the Nigerian youth demographic must realise it ambitions of leading the nation through the statutory ways allowed in our laws. Unfortunately, that is an uphill task in a nation where at 30 the average youth is still more or less dependent on his parents, or at best an appendage within a career or political system which does not see him as fit for leadership yet. If that is the case, then the youth must make the decision for himself and begin to take smart actions to achieve this paradigm. Some youth have taken the bull by the horns and by a combination of their labour and God's favour, we are now seeing more and more of these precocious ones in high offices across the nation. In addition to these ones, there is also a rising movement to replace the generation which lived through colonialism and the Civil War with the younger ones in Nigerian politics. The #NotTooYoungToRun Movement and others like it are trying to create a national awareness to draw more youth into active roles in politics. The thinking in this movement is that the youth will hopefully bring a vigour to governance which will improve our chances of leapfrogging into development. But we must remember that vigour alone has never developed any nation. If the youth fail to develop and bring real leadership qualities to the table, no amount of leaping around will make any difference to Nigeria. We will just be exchanging poor governance by one generation for more of the same by another. In effect, since the sole aim of government is the welfare of the people, the starting place for any youth who wishes to participate in politics is to build himself or herself as a leader. Happily, Leadership Qualities can be learnt and practiced by any one who is committed to the process. Like John Maxwell, the No. 1 Leadership Guru on the planet says, ‘No one is born a leader. You may start with a gift for leadership, but you must work hard to develop them fully.’ From my own learning and experience, a youth who wants to succeed in politics to the extent of wielding significant political power must have some things going for him. These are core political leadership skills, community service and volunteering, a history of philanthropy, sustained and sustainable political involvement, and the ‘Big M’, or money. Core Political Leadership Skills: Self-awareness. ‘Man, know thyself…’ is a political leadership requirement which any aspiring leader cannot ignore. Know your weaknesses and strength and never blame someone else, or any circumstances, for your failures. Instead, analyze what you did or didn’t do to allow the failure to happen. Authenticity. Political leaders must be real. Do not try to be what you are not, people will always find you out otherwise and not trust you. Learn to be moved by people's sufferings. Enter politics to help and you will find that genuinely helping, especially on a large scale, will make your people draft you into leadership. Reputation. Good reputation goes before you and opens doors of influence that nothing else can. Ethical behavior. Can people trust you to do the right thing? The best leaders solicit feedback from those above and below them on their behavior and make positive changes accordingly. Always work to establish trust. Willingness to listen, empathise and act. Good leaders listen to their people. They are known for empathising. They connect through sympathy. Good communication skills. A politician who cannot move people through speeches is not going far. These days, you have to communicate well through multiple platforms. You may need to hire experts to get your message across in the best way possible. Do so. Communicate often and communicate well. A. Optimism. A leader is supposed to showcase solutions not problems. Your people need you to be upbeat and solution-minded when it seems things are falling apart. The good thing is being optimistic in bad times can free your mind, helping you to uncover solutions that ultimately work, making you appear like a magician. Etc. B. Community Service and Volunteering. A young person who wants to be elected by a constituency must be at home, and engaged. It is possible for a godfather to impose you in an unwilling people, but that is rare. To grow in politics, you need a grassroots Base and the cheapest way to get that is to be known in that constituency for community service. Join youth or religious organisations. Mobilise people to solve common community problems. Repair streams, cut bushes around popular community roads or gathering places. Lead by serving. They will remember. C. A History of Philanthropy. Give. No matter how little. You have to be seen as a giver. Pay school fees or part of it. Give according to your strength and give strategically. D. Sustained and Sustainable Political Involvement. Get into politics early. The best time to enter politics was 10 years ago. The next best time is now. The only way to contest any political leadership position in Nigeria for now is through political party platforms. Parties give tickets to loyal members. Join a political party and be a loyal member. In that party, belong to a political family and campaign for it. Be seen and perceived as a politician. The APC is the Governing Party today. All things being equal it will remain influential and in power for long. I urge you all to join it. E. Money. You will notice I have put money last. This is because money is important in politics, but it is often useless to anyone without a solid foundation in politics. Somebody with N1bn who is grounded in the community and has the backing of a credible political party will win the one who has N10bn and no political structures to back him up. SPECIAL THOUGHTS ON THE UNFORTUNATE ROLE OF MONEYBAGS WITHOUT CHARACTER IN THE POLITICS OF KOGI EAST SENATORIAL DISTRICT. Politics is not about money, but it requires money. A wise politician will always know the difference. Unfortunately, some of our past leaders have misused ill-gotten wealth to distort political realities in Kogi East. Money has been used to elevate individuals above the community. Money has been used to perpetuate some families in politics as if they are the only ones around. The fathers use money to implant the sons and both try to oppress everyone else in the community. Money has been used exclude those who have all the qualities to lead well while those who are well-known as riff-raffs have been imposed and they ended up abusing the power and the people. Money has sponsored thuggery, maiming, assassinations, and other types of violence against individuals, especially during elections. Money has bred and armed thugs for election who later became the armed robbers and kidnappers who terrorised Kogi East after they were abandoned by their well-known patrons. In all we do let's Stop talking! stop wailing! Stop sleeping! Take action, get your PVC and join a Political Party today and roll up your Sleeves and get into the game of Politics. Hon Edward David Onoja Chief Of Staff to Kogi State Governor.

Before you endeavor to allow your emotions to destroy another man's life, please read this. In 2010 I was a senior manager in a nice firm, my future was bright in the company and I was highly recommended for head of my department. There was a rising star as well, his name is Jacob. I tutored him and tried to manage his excesses because he was exceptionally brilliant. But, he was lazy and carefree. Hardly would he take corrections and rarely would he apologise. My other colleagues wondered what I saw in him, but they weren’t working directly with him. I knew his type: he hated structure and would never last under a corporate environment. Still, he was a brilliant strategist. I handled him well and our results together with others on my team was highly commendable. There came a time I was having marital issues and for this reason, I had little patience with Jacob and his shenanigans. I was short-tempered with him but he had gotten used to me managing his excesses, he didn’t take my anger seriously. In two weeks, I had given him 3 queries. This meant dismissal and when I was asked by HR if I truly wanted to let him go, I could not care less. I had my own problems and was not in the mood to babysit anyone. Three years later, I lost my job because the company was downsizing and top management was affected. I foolishly assumed I would get a job anywhere so initially, I wasn’t worried. But 12 months in, I was still searching and my savings was dwindling fast. I decided, since I wasn’t getting any job, I’d drive my SUV as a cab to those commuting from the airport. This was better than waiting around for nothing… The cab job surprisingly was not doing badly as I was picking up and dropping off esteemed clients. It wasn’t a lot of money but it was steady. In July 2016, an esteemed client asked me to pick up his friend from the airport because his driver had flaked on him. This person I was to pick up would turn out to be Jacob. When he called to confirm his location, I instantly recognised his voice. My heart plunged but I wasn’t going to reject the job and disappoint a long-term client. Jacob exited the airport with only a hand luggage so there was no need for me to alight from the car. As he got in the car, I looked back from the driver’s seat to greet him but he was distracted on the phone and never looked up to notice me. He only answered my greeting and asked me to get going As I drove him all the way to a hotel on the Island, I had tears in my eyes. He looked like he was doing well, his conversations on the phone also showed that he was in control. Jacob had done well for himself and I was now driving him. Life is tricky and has a way of making you the butt of its joke. I cannot lie that I was ashamed but I would never forgive myself if I let him go without letting him know I was proud of him. We got to the hotel and I quickly got down from the car to open his door. This was when he noticed me. He was speechless for a while then he said in Yoruba “Oga you have been the one driving me since?” He was shocked at first but then he hugged me tight. The tears finally poured, I can’t really say what I felt but I know I didn’t expect his reaction. “I heard you were let go, I sent you a message on my other number to find out how you were but you never responded”He said while still holding on to my shoulders I remember receiving a message from him but he was one out of many that called or texted to pity me. I didn’t want anyone’s pity so I never responded. Jacob made me park my car and took me in to his room to talk. He immediately told me about his new gig. After he was laid off, he got a consultation deal with a multinational which opened doors for him in other multinationals. Now, he has 15 people working for him but he was in desperate need of someone who does the same as him and he didn’t have to worry about their competence. He just wanted to focus more on bringing business to the company. My life changed that day. I resumed work with Jacob in one week and I have made sure since then to treat his company as if it were mine. I don’t know why he treated me so nicely after what I did to him but as men, we have never talked about it. I am sure though, that he can feel my gratitude in the way I work and my zeal in doing all I can to make sure he doesn’t have to worry about the back-end. I hope someone learns from this. lf the world turns upside down, you may end up cleaning for your cleaner. Please always remember this when you act without consideration of the other person’s future. ANONYMOUS

INEC registers 21 new parties bringing the total number of registered political parties to 67. Note that Nigeria: General Elections 2019 will be on Saturday, 16 February 2019, 08:00:00 (Lagos time) We are 428 days from the general election. Do you have a PVC?

The difference between ordinary thief and a political thief 1. Ordinary thief steals your money, bag, watch,gold chain.... Political thief steals your future, career, education, health, businesses & also your thinking faculty..... The hilarious part is; 2) The ordinary thief will choose who to rob. We you choose the political thief to rob us. The most ironic one, 3) Police will chase after the ordinary thief and hack them down, but police will look after and protect the political thief and his children & children children! The weirdest part is: 4) we will still choose this political thief again again and again to rob us. #osquare78

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SET OF ADVISE l HAVE EVER READ. ALL MANKIND NEEDS THIS ADVICE!!! 1. Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead; if you lose, you can guide. 2. People are not what they say but what they do; so judge them not from their words but from their actions. 3. When someone hurts you, don't feel bad because it's a law of nature that the tree that bears the sweetest fruits gets maximum number of stones. 4. Take whatever you can from your life because when life starts taking from you, it takes even your last breath. 5. In this world, people will always throw stones on the path of your success. It depends on what you make from them - a wall or a bridge. 6. Challenges make life interesting; overcoming them make life meaningful. 7. There is no joy in victory without running the risk of defeat. 8. A path without obstacles leads nowhere. 9. Past is a nice place to visit but certainly not a good place to stay. 10. You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time. 11. If what you did yesterday still looks big to you, then you haven't done much today. 12. If you don't build your dreams, someone else will hire you to build theirs. 13. If you don't climb the mountain; you can't view the plain. 14. Don't leave it idle - use your brain. 15. You are not paid for having brain, you are only rewarded for using it intelligently. 16. It is not what you don't have that limits you; it is what you have but don't know how to use. 17. What you fail to learn might teach you a lesson. 18. The difference between a corrupt person and an honest person is: The corrupt person has a price while the honest person has a value. 19. If you succeed in cheating someone, don't think that the person is a fool...... Realize that the person trusted you much more than you deserved. 20. Honesty is an expensive gift; don't expect it from cheap people. This is very interesting post and I want everyone to benefit.

LATE M.K.O. ABIOLA - I WAS A BENEFICIARY Many people wondered why Simbiat was next to God in Abiola's life. Abiola owed her a lot. One, throughout Abiola stay in Grammar School, it was the uniform he used from year one, he used till year 5 until he went to Simbiat's house one day and the girl's parent saw MKO, it took the love of God to allow MKO to enter that house in a cloth that looks worse than a rag!!! The following day, they got him a New uniform. It was Abiola's happiest day. Two, the First time Abiola ate fried egg in his entire life was at his year 5 when he visited Simbiat family. Abiola was only eating YAM until they asked him to eat egg, he asked "what is this", they told him "egg"...."what type of egg is this", he asked. "FRIED EGG", they replied. "FRIED egg?, do they fry egg?".... MKO said this himself!!! Now this is the type of poverty we are talking about!!! VERIFIABLE FACT. MKO did 16 subjects and had Distictions in all. This amazed the SW Regional Government because his was the best result in the region. He was also offered overseas admissions to study LAW, ACCOUNTING and MEDICINE. Abiola, under the scholarship of Western Region went to the University of Glasgow, Scotland to study ACCOUNTING!! He graduated with First Class and got overall best result in the University!!!! He was chartered at both Scotland, England and Nigeria!!! If poverty did not stop MKO, nothing will stop your progress too!

TIME FOR PROPER SELF REVALUATION: We are just a dishonest, unpatriotic and ungodly human beings on the path of self destruction. A shame on our race. I totally agree with the following by Bar Ola Kunle Allison: Leader of the Arab World. Religion is not our albatross in Nigeria. It has never been. We are just a sick indigenous people blaming everything but ourselves. I just saw a short documentary on CNN about the Emirate of Dubai (an Islamic State) and her many disruptive and record-breaking technological/innovative strides, and my heart sank into despair. Dubai is NOT a country. It is just one out of seven emirates that make up the UAE. An Islamic country which declared independence from Great Britain in 1971. Yet, Dubai is the fastest growing Science and ICT hub in the world. Yes, you read that correctly; in the world! As I watched the documentary and marveled at the unbelievable leaps in education, innovation and infrastructure achieved within 50years, I began to compare the emirate with our own Emirate of Sokoto and Emirate of Kano back home. Folks, the difference is a universe apart. Did you know that the Emirate of Dubai has singlehandedly launched 2 satellites into Space? Did you know that the last launched spacecraft had the innovative signature of a Dubai teenage girl on it? A teenager who dreams to be the first astronaut on Mars. Did you know that by 2020 the Dubai emirate will be launching its first Mars Exploration Spacecraft? Did you know that the Dubai emirate currently has the largest number of foreign research Scientists and ICT experts in the world? This is a deeply culturally Islamic State prioritizing Science, Technology and Futurism. What then is different about their own practice of Islam and the ones we have here at home? What is different about their practice of Islam which encourages a teenage girl to aspire to Mars while emirates at home marry off under aged girls? What is different about their practice of Islam which prioritizes innovations and science, while even Churches back at home only prioritize buildings and tithing? Guys, religion is not Nigeria's albatross. Anyone who argues otherwise is thinking fallaciously. Nigeria is messed up because we have our own issues. Our orientation, our mindset, our value-system, our sociocultural ethics, our ways are deeply ANTIPROGRESSIVE! I just saw men in Arabic gowns and women in Arabic purdah (the moderate ones) having a dialogue about championing the next frontiers in science and innovations. Any so-called Christian who defends the kind of Christianity we practice in this country is part of the problem. For now, the Emirate of Dubai is the leader of the Arab World. A well deserved title. #truthissacred Selah. Professor Isa Hussaini of Faculty of Pharmacy University of Maiduguri wrote: The blame for what Nigeria has become falls on you and me. Not Buhari, not Jonathan, not Obasanjo and definitely not Abacha. Our wickedness stinks to the heavens as we go about our daily lives, pulling down everyone and everything to become rich. We import substandard products, fake drugs and expired baby food unfit for human consumption and we have the nerve to complain about leadership? We even steal from widows, orphans, and refugees. We take their food and sell it for profit. No conscience. Nothing is sacred. No one is spared. We build substandard roads, schools, houses, hospitals, all for profit at the expense of human life;an invaluable item which all our profit and contract sum cannot buy. One would think this behavior is reserved for urchins but it would surprise you that this is the character of many decent looking people who appear to be normal but are not any better than Boko Haram members. They are church members, Muslims, husbands, wives and sadly youths. We pervert justice and pretend we do not know right from wrong just to serve our selfish interests. Slave traders pale in comparison to what we do to ourselves. We are wickedness personified. So much hatred flows in our blood and we transfer it to our children. It's evident in what we say and do. We have fasting and prayer sessions all year long, night vigils and deliverance when the actual problem is us. We simply cannot learn to love others . It is me, me, me. That is all that ever matters. It is sickening. Anyone who cannot love has no business in politics, Government and in Nigeria. Until we understand this, we will continue on this path of destruction. I can Change, You can Change, They can Change and We can Change.Let's make it our priority

In 1999, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was elected Governor of Lagos State. His then party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) produced all the governors of the South West. By 2003, Tinubu was the onl y governor left in the AD. He was under pressure to decamp but he stayed. He built the party and it became stronger. For the eight years that he ruled Lagos, he hired several guys to work with him. I think he carefully picked them. Apart from using them to work in his government, he also groomed them for the future. Eight years down the line, see where those Tinubu guys are today - 1. Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN was Tinubu's Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. He is today, Nigeria's Vice President. 2. Rauf Aregbesola was Tinubu's Commissioner for Works. Today he is serving his second tenure as Governor of Osun State. 3. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN was Tinubu's Chief of Staff and successor in office. He is today Nigeria's Minister of Power, Works and Housing. 4. Alhaji Lai Mohammed was Tinubu's first Chief of Staff. He is today, Nigeria's Minister of Information 5. Babatunde Fowler was appointed by Tinubu as Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. Today, he is the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. At the National Assembly, there are countless "Tinubu boys" who have occupied and are still occupying seats till today. Since 1999, the Tinubu camp has produced almost 98% of the members of the National Assembly from Lagos State. Forget politics, this man is a political enigma. Rewind to 1999, I am sure most of us have forgotten the names of the People who were elected Governors then. Some of them have gone out of circulation. Some are gasping for breath politically. Indeed, most of them are no longer relevant today. Who still remembers Mbadinuju of Anambra State, Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Mohammed Lawal of Kwara, Segun Osoba of Ogun, Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto, Achike Udenwa of Imo, Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia? That one has lost two consecutive senatorial elections. But Tinubu has not only managed to remain extremely relevant, he has continued to control Lagos politics 100%. Not only that, he manages to carry his boys along and today they occupy critical positions in our national life. Take it or leave it, Tinubu is today, Nigeria's most powerful politician. It didn't just happen by chance. He worked very hard for it. Very very hard. The hallmark of a true leader is not just the ability to rule well but also the ability to nurture and groom his associates. MY TAKE: 'If you are lonely at the top, then something is wrong somewhere'. The most successful business you can venture into is building people like you (Human resources). Start that MENTORSHIP today, because there is no success without successor.

"HOW TIMES CHANGED" The famous actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), who later became Governor of the State of California, USA, posted a picture of himself sleeping in the street under his famous bronze statue, and wrote sadly ("How times changed"). The reason he slept there and wrote the sentence was not only odd to many but intriguing. Some thought he was a nut or in the usual joking mood as a famous actor, though rare. Then a journalist took a bold step to approach him and ask why he was sleeping in the public glare when he could have afford all the comforts inside his home or better still in the hotel. Do you know what he found out? Arnold Schwarzenegger told him that he was not a nut neither too old to forget his senses and propriety. He was neither catching his fun, but rather making a statement of life. He recalled that when he was the Governor of the State of California, he was invited to officially open the massive multimillion dollar hotel where his statue was placed in front of it in his honour. He noted further that the hotel management publicly declared at the opening ceremony that "at any time you come back, you will meet a room reserved in your name that will be placed at your disposal free of charge." He said he never came back while in office. However years later he recalled those promises after leaving office and decided to come back and spend a time in the hotel either for free or at paying cost. However what he discovered on arrival is that the hotel administration had refused to give him a room arguing that the hotel was fully booked, even when he was ready to pay. He therefore decided to place a cover under the statue and sleep. REFLECTIONS Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the reporter to send this message of reflection as a lesson to those in position of responsibility thus: "When you are in a position, people may be praising you. Don't let it get to your head or your heart. Be yourself and don't get carried away. Even if they mean to be true and sincere, check yourself that you have not exceeded your limits. Be sure that you are doing what is right and what is good. Don't place any expectation on others and don't look away at your friends and family or make enemies for yourself. Let your door be open to everyone and open your mind to anyone making a point. They may be your guardian angels. No one knows it all. Remember that your position is for a while. The people who surround you to seek your favour may even forget you sooner than you can remember. Those who spent time with you are no exception. You may be lonely someday. Even some of the people you helped may eventually loath you. Remember, what you have to your name is your good works. The legacies that you left in the sands of time. That is what will speak for you. Do not assume that every word spoken to you in office will be kept as a promise in future. Do not trust your position, name, power, money, fame or intelligence as a magic to open doors in future. Only trust in your good work and legacies because nothing last long in life but death. Yes, times have changed." #copied

I tell people my age that to understand young Nigerians, we need to understand the difference between Nigerian and Naija. Naija embodies the hopes and dreams of young Nigerians, the country they love and long to go home to when they are abroad. Naija is the country that brings them pride in music, film, comedy, fashion, and technology. It is the country of Wiz Kid, Asa, David O, Tuface, the Olympic bobsled team, Iwobi and Don Jazzy Again. Nigeria on the other hand, is the country of their parents, the country where leaders are constantly failing them, of Boko Haram, of herdsmen violence, of recessions and joblessness. Our young people need us to make our country live up to the aspirations of Naija by fixing the problems associated with Nigeria. This is a part of my reply to comedian, I Go Dye’s open letter to me. I hope it answers many of the questions young people have for me. Please read here: http://atiku.org/aa/2017/12/07/dear-i-go-dye-you-are-right-but-we-can-fix-nigeria-together/

Tony Elumelu, TOE as he is fondly called, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Group Chairman of UBA Group writes a letter to the next generation. Young African, You are brave, you are resilient. You are savvy, you are entrepreneurial, and unlike the generations that have come before you, you are much hungrier for success. You call your ambition, “your hustle”, and you have several of them because you are tireless and eager to achieve financial independence – no matter how elusive it appears. You are optimistic but you are also anxious. You have seen others toil long and hard for economic security in vain, decades of labour without fruit. Some of your friends may have discussed emigrating with you – legally or illegally, and some may have lost their young lives crossing the Mediterranean in search of a future overseas where their talents are recognized and rewarded. You may even know a few in Libya, unsuspecting victims to the ugly acts of slave trade. A combination of these factors has left you disillusioned and disconnected. You don’t believe in politics. There is no use in getting involved. You have seldom experienced good governance, so you think, “What’s the point?” But despite the gloom, there actually is indeed a point. My generation and the ones before may have failed you, and the infrastructure for success glaringly absent – a persistent darkness in place of electricity, a stifling business environment that discourages enterprise and innovation, debilitating bureaucracy, inaccessible public officials who remain oblivious to your needs, an outdated education system in urgent need of reform– and the list goes on, but, if there’s anyone with the power to transform our continent and reshape our economic and social trajectory, it is YOU. There is formidable power in your intellect and creativity, your talent and ingenuity are rare, and your resolve and determination against all odds, can drive great change. But most importantly, the greatest force is in your numbers. Together, all 600 million of you that are under 30 years old, have the potential to be the most influential bloc on this continent. The indescribable influence that you can collectively wield, I hope that you soon fully understand and hopefully, deploy. Today, I’d like to discuss the inescapable reality of politics with you. It has been a busy week of traveling from Lagos to Boston, to Los Angeles, and in a few hours to New York, to receive BCIU’s inaugural Dwight Eisenhower Entrepreneurship Award, but I thought to take time out this evening to share a few thoughts with you. I have been inspired to share this with you after listening to my former professor at Harvard, Prof Michael Porter, whose session during our leadership council meeting of the Harvard Kennedy School Center of Public Leadership, was insightful, powerful, and very thought provoking. His well-articulated argument emphasized that as a people we cannot afford to remain passive about politics. Though his reference region was America, there are strong parallels with our own situation in Africa. The main root cause of our continent’s underlying failure to pull the majority of its citizens from the unyielding clutches of poverty is poor leadership, so then why do we continue to tell ourselves that politics exists in a realm outside our own realities? Why do we refuse to engage in the political process of identifying and supporting visionary candidates, instead we remain at the mercy of political leadership committed to putting private interest ahead of public interest. Leaders who are beholden to the ideology that political parties come before citizens. Leaders who are private gain-seeking actors. What we desperately need is a continent-wide awakening. We must grow to become active citizens who are committed to getting involved. The system is not self-correcting, there are no market forces at play to ensure that it corrects itself. It will require human actors – me and you – to identify and dismantle the structural impediments that fuel the status quo of bad leadership. We must address this issue both systemically and systematically. Our democracy has become very disconnected from being democratic, we must bring power back to the people. We must reform the rules of our electoral processes to inject more transparency. We must transform politics from being an industry for a few interests, to being about the people and addressing the public needs. We must change the oligopoly nature of our politics today to being one for the majority. The barriers to entry are high in politics, and very often, our best brains and talent are discouraged from running for office. We must dismantle these systems that keep away talented, individuals from joining the race. We must open the door for generations knocking after us. We must take advantage of our demographic dividend, millions of young people who are ready to make a change. We must welcome this new generation of new ideas and we must democratize access to opportunity for all. We must get more women involved in the process because when you empower women you empower communities. Structural reforms mean that no one individual can make this change alone, but with our collective voices and the realization that this is our time and that no one but us can save our continent, we can achieve change. We can no longer outsource politics or governance to people we do not trust. We must understand the inextricable link between governance, economic growth and national security. To pretend that politics does not influence the entirety of our lives harms us more than it benefits us. We must change the rules of the game. We must put up a coordinated front to reorient our values and bring power back to the people. Our leaders must be the best amongst us - those with the most transformative ideas and the capacity to deliver. . It should be the best amongst us leading us in government, in the military, in our judiciary and of course the corporate sector. We must instill accountability in our processes, but also hold ourselves accountable. We must play our own role in identifying and empowering those amongst us best placed to make this difference. To abscond from this duty is to be negligent of our responsibility to our continent. It won’t be easy, but nothing good comes easy. A famous man once said you should learn to categorize all your problems in three sections: Easy, Impossible and HARD but doable. When it’s easy, you should give it to someone else to handle. When it’s impossible, you shouldn’t bother with it. But when it’s hard but doable, you should go straight to work to make it happen. My fellow Africans, I appeal to you that though this task seems hard, it is entirely doable and we must begin this journey. Let us rise to this challenge and begin to elect leaders who we trust in and are confident will help us realize the social and economic hopes of our continent. TOE