Nigerian Youths Started A Movement That Shook Nigeria's Foundation - Aregbesola

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has commended Nigerian youths for starting a movement that "shook the foundation" of Nigeria.

He said this during a stakeholders' meeting on Internal Security and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, held in Lagos.

Aregbesola, in his statement titled, 'Lagos is the Destiny of Our Race', described the youths as "the pride and glory of any people".

He said that the manner with which the current generation wields their intelligence is "far more enterprising than previous generations".

He advised that the youths deployed their intelligence in a manner that is channeled to "positive modelling and gainful employment".

The minister added that the age of digitalisation has empowered the youths to bring about "positive social change".

Aregbesola said, “The youths are the pride and glory of any people. We must understand that youths are a unique demography. People under the age of 25 constitute 45 percent of global population, while they are 60 percent in Africa and the Middle East.

“Today’s youth are a peculiar breed. They are a new generation of the social media and the power of ideas and intellect. They appear more intelligent and far more enterprising than previous generations. The deployment of their intelligence is a different matter; which we must all seek to re-channel through positive modelling and gainful employment.

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“The digital revolution has increased young people’s capacity to bring about positive social change. Information and communications technology (ICT) gives them the tools to learn new skills, to share knowledge and to nourish human capacity.

“As information flows seamlessly around the planet, young people can more effectively act as catalyst for change – locally and globally.

“They must, therefore, be commended for the courage to start a movement that shook the foundation of this nation in a way that has never been done before. However, much as they are a great asset, they also can be a great risk – to themselves and to the society – if their energy is not positively channeled.”