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OSCA WOVEN WORDS COMPETITION – BALOGUN AYOMIDE TOBILOBA

“Imagination gives birth to things unknown but the writer’s pen turns them into shapes and gives to them living breaths.”

ALSO READ: BOWEN WOVEN WORDS COMPETITION WAS A HUGE SUCCESS

The 2018 OSCA WOVEN WORDS COMPETITION was organized by My Woven Words and it was only for undergraduates of tertiary institutions in Osun State as approved by the ministry of education, Osun state. There were Terms and Conditions for contestants.

OSCA Woven Words Competition remains the “first-of-its-kind” and “one-of-its-kind” in Osun state, Nigeria. To avoid Conflicts of Interest, we reached out to a number of unbiased scholars in a university outside Osun State to assess the submitted manuscripts and select the best contestants. All the contestant got a certificate of participation and some of the submitted manuscripts were selected for online publication.

TOPIC: The Tenacity of Nigerian Youths in National Development and Leadership Roles.

National development is a constructive process of engaging all citizens in the political stability of a nation in a democratic way. Nigeria is not an exception in this regard. Nigerian youths can play a vital role in the development of the nation, if their capacity is channeled in the right direction.

Some people believe that the youths of a nation are the determinant of its success or failure. Recently, the Federal Government of Nigeria signed the “Not too young to Run” bill which was in response to the clamour for leadership roles by the youths. The bill was passed last year by the National Assembly, aimed at reducing the age qualification for any leadership position in Nigeria. In many areas of the world, young leaders have been able to achieve greatly. In the Republic of Congo, Kabila became the President at the age of 25. Austria has made history by electing the world’s youngest president who is 31 years old. However, that has not been the Nigerian experience.

Nigeria is endowed with young and talented youths, many of whom do not even know what power is all about. It is believed that youths in Nigeria cannot handle anything. Youths in this country are seen as political dogs and instruments for vote catching, amongst other things. Old politicians do not want youths to get near political post, let alone being a leader. They do not want fresh and new ideas. Politics has become hereditary. Fear is built into young aspiring minds.

However, youths can make a positive change in Nigeria easily with their dexterity, since they are aware of what is going on in the country. Nigeria has remained too static for long, and we still prefer to elect non-innovative leaders with the same weak agenda; but the fact remains that the change Nigeria needs is in the hands of the youths. For young people to have active participation in the development of Nigeria, they really need the encouragement of everybody, including their parents, the private sector and the entire society. It should not be assumed that, if youths are given the opportunity to play a good role in the development of the nation, they will not perform well. An association for youth awareness should be created, to encourage youths to participate in all areas of decision making.

Therefore, I would like to state, categorically, that our generation is not part of the destroyers of the national economy; we can bring about the desired change. I laugh when people describe youths as lazy; they hardly recognize the odds stacked against us. Just one right policy can change the lives of millions; and that area is yearning for our creativity, ideas, enthusiasm and passion. Our generation must identify her place of relevance in the socio-political re-engineering of our society; else, we will still remain static, while our individual potential will remain untapped.