The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has reiterated his desire to fight corruption, which he described as a killer of enterprise and professionalism.
Obi said he would reorder and reorientate Nigeria, and urged Nigerians to hold him responsible if he failed.
“I’ll fight corruption. Corruption kills enterprise and professionalism. We have to work to bring Nigeria out of the brink. I’ll change this country. Hold me responsible if I fail. Nigeria is a giant and we must remain a giant,” he added.
The presidential candidate, also declined an award given to him by the organiser, saying he would only accept such an award after he had completed his tenure as the next President of Nigeria.
“When I finish as a president, I’ll come for the award. I am not going away. I am going to work with you. I am going to reject the award. I’ll only accept when I have finished. The election will determine whether there will be a Nigeria or not. We need a good driver to drive Nigeria,” he said.
A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, challenged the youth to rise as future leaders and make Nigeria better.
Onaiyekan said Nigerian youths should not wait for old age to assume positions of leadership to change the status quo, lamenting that the present crop of leaders had not lived up to expectations.
The cleric, who spoke in Enugu at an event tagged, “Shaping the Future Conference,” organised by a youth-focused organisation, Boys Champions, also lamented that political leaders shunned their responsibilities once they were elected into office.
According to him, leaders should be servants and not be served by the people that gave them power, pointing out that unless servant leadership was restored, Nigeria would continue to roll aimlessly.
Addressing the youth, he said, “We have had leaders in Nigeria but they are not leading us. Don’t wait till you are 40 or 50 years before you become a leader or aspire to lead. Once we vote for leaders, we relax as if we have abdicated our dignity and responsibility. Are the leaders in Nigeria lording it over us or are they the servant leaders? If we don’t retrieve servant leadership, we’ll continue to roll around.”
Also speaking, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev Godfrey Onah, urged the youth not to remain lukewarm and watch things rot.
Onah said, “The older logs are occupying the place. The youth are not leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders of today. The youth are controlling the machine of this country. Youths wait for opportunities instead of rising to the occasion,” he lamented.
In his address, the Founder and Director of the organisation, Noel Alumona, described the youths as change agents Nigeria needs to move forward. He also urged them not to give up on Nigeria but rise to reorder the state of affairs. (PUNCH)
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