Buhari to Nigerian youths: Brace up for leadership

President Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerian youths not to lose hope but to gear up to take up the mantle of leadership of the country some day. “With all certainty, someday you will have to take up the mantle of leadership in this country, and you should be prepared for huge responsibilities,” President Buhari said.

Buhari, who spoke when he received the All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leaders from the six geo-political zones at the Presidential villa, Abuja, yesterday, advised the younger generation to keep a broader view of the country as one entity, urging them to continuously de-emphasise ethnic and religious backgrounds in nation-building.

“Whether we like it or not, we will someday hand over to Nigerian youths. And you have to brace up for leadership. Some interest groups will come up with ethnic, religious issues, but you have to look at the broader picture.“We had a civil war that consumed over two million Nigerians and we learnt our lessons. Nigeria is one country and no one should take our firmness for granted,” he said.

President Buhari said he took interest in politics after a clean bill on his integrity by those who detained him after the 1985 military coup and who thoroughly checked his record as governor of the Northeast, Minister of Petroleum and Head of State and found nothing incriminating.

“After I was released and nothing was found on me, I took interest in politics. This is what pushed me into partisan politics – to serve with integrity. So, I decided to try leadership as a civilian, after taking off the military uniform,’’ he added.

On his second tenure, the President assured that he would be more firm, focused and relentless in delivering results, especially in securing the country, stimulating the economy to work for all and fighting corruption.“I am currently serving my last term in office. I swore by the constitution to defend the country, and I will do the needful for the country,” he said.

In his remarks, National Youth Leader of the APC, Comrade Sadiq Shuaibu Abubakar, congratulated the President for winning the presidential elections in 2019, assuring him that the youths would continue to support his policies and vision of greatness for the country.Abubakar urged the President to get more youths involved in governance so they could learn from his “treasured wisdom”.