“Dream youth are youth of purpose. You want to work “anywhere” that pays well. I’m sure that’s the answer I will get if I ask many of you where you want to work. That answer is what you get from a person who does not know his purpose in life. This is about the worst thing that can happen to any human being”
These were some of the thrilling words of Miss Ngonzi Nwozor, the editor of Campuslife and guest speaker, last Thursday at the orientation programme of the faculty of Business and Communication Studies Students Association, (FABCOMSSA) The Polytechnic Ibadan. Nigeria
In her lecture themed “ The Youths’ Roles Towards Evolving Our Dream Nigeria”, Miss Nwozor described the Nigerian youth with the present realities as failure if the social stakeholders like parents, leaders including the pastors and imams do not take measures to ascertain that the young people in this country get their purpose in life clear with sturdy pursuits. She put a challenge to the leaders and attributed the blame to them, “if what we have as the “Nigerian Factor” today is the best they could bequeath to us… compared to their own time, the future indeed is bleak, if we have young people that are already failures”
She therefore charged the students that despite the bleak future with the failures of most youth, there is still good news that something can be done from now on. The students must see themselves as ambassadors with enormous responsibilities on their part to the humanity and for the betterment of our dear Nigeria.
To share this vision and the viability of “Dream Nigeria”, the speaker referred the students to Friedrich Nietzsche’s book, “The Will to Power” to understand the true essence of life and its purpose. She made it clear that a purposeless life is a meaningless life. Only a purposeful life makes meaning out of life by living to make people happy without being self-centered and exploitative at the disadvantage of people around you. The students were advised against a pursuit of best comfort at whatever cost to others. Living to make impact or to leave glory and greatness in the wake of the youth is an honourable life that can make a Dream Nigeria a reality. No one outside the boundary of this country will embrace this life of purpose on our behalf; the onus lies with the youth.
Miss Nwozor advised the students to be renewed as postulated by the great German Friedrich Nietzsche, ‘each of you must be renewed in his thinking. To be renewed means to be restored, to be reaffirmed, to regain or restore the physical or mental vigour of an essence.’ However, becoming a renewed youth, she said “the object of renewal must make him/herself available for the act of renewal to take place. The students were urged to make themselves available to be refined for the renewal so that the objectivity will not be defeated. This is because, “renewal cannot be delegated”.
Elucidating the roles of the renewed youth, she divided the roles into two broad parts first - personal roles that relate to spiritual responsibility with God, self and the immediate family; the second is the community roles that relate to the community service, neighbourhood, or institution and nation.
The speaker explained the personal roles “ our personal responsibility to God is primary, first and foremost while self role deals with the understanding and evaluation of individual SHAPE and SWOT. You must know your place, your gifting and your purpose. You must evaluate your SHAPE (spiritual gift, Heart/Passion, Abilities, Personalities and Experience) and SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) and align these to God’s perspective. Put in all that is needed to acquire the necessary training and education to sharpen them. You also need discipline integrity, diligence and sincerity.”
The speaker never failed to remind the thrilled audience to learn and practice financial prudence, conduct self-examination and never for any reason be idle. She prodded them to find something to do now and have faith in God for best guidance.
Miss Ngozi Nwozor concluded by charging the youth to believe that our dream Nigeria is real and can come to life, if we share the vision and defy its impossibility like the big Dream of Martin Luther King that gives birth to President Barack Hussein Obama;’s wind of change in the United State of America.
“ We talk about a dream Nigeria because of you. Most people over 30 (age) are diehard cynics who are convinced that Nigeria is a write off. Funny, these are the first people who do everything to undermine constituted authorities and leadership. If it is not about the immediate gratification they would get, they won’t support anything (good).
“ I don’t share such people’s belief. I want to believe you are not like that. If you were, you would not have invited me, knowing what I stand for through my writings. I have a dream that every Nigerian who has seen the inside of a higher institution will understand his or her purpose and give its realization everything it takes. I have a dream that we will no longer separate our service to God from our service to this nation. I have a dream that we will bring the essence of Nigeria to life by living out our purposes Both are intertwine.
The chairman of the occasion, the dean of the faculty, Mr. Femi Aramide, represented by the HOD of Marketing, Mr. Akin Alagbe, congratulated the newly admitted students of the faculty and enjoined them to know the children of whom they were that they should work hard for excellence and never forget their primary objectives in the institution
In his welcome speech, the FABCOMSSA president, Comrade Alimi Muyideen thanked the faculty officers and the departmental heads for their continuous support to the association. He also thanked the guest speaker, Miss Ngozi Nwozor, the editor of Campuslife for honouring their invitation to motivate and inspire the students to actions for the betterment of The Polytechnic Ibadan community and Nigeria as a whole. .
Reacting to the lecture, in the interviews conducted with the participants, the students expressed their feelings about lecture. .
Adeleke Adefowope, HNDI a student of music technology department, “the presentation of Miss Nwozer really thrilled me and from now on I am in the renewed process for a purposeful life”
Yussuff Sakiru, is an HNDI student of Marketing department, “the lecture was full of inspiring messages that Nigerian undergraduates must pay attention to and act them out for betterment of our nation”
Hamzat Sukurat is an HNDII student of Mass Communication, “the lecturer is heavy and quite inspiring, to the speaker, I doff my that”
Tijani Sarafat Foyeke is HNDII student of secretariat Administration, “what a motivating lecture with an apt presenter, today has a special date in my memory”
Kiki Abidemi is an NDII student of public Administration “the lecturer is very good and inspiring. I like the way the speaker delivered the message”
Mary Dennis, Miss Olori Hall and NDII student of public Administration department, “the lecture is full of dreams and lesson for the future”
The president of the faculty, comrade Alim also had this to say, “my orientation was changed by the powerful lecturer and made me realized that one’s achievements is not mainly on property acquisition or a number of certificates gotten but the significant impacts one is able to make in the life of others”
Other Student’s leaders in attendance included the SUG president com Salau Ibrahim, Union’s treasurer comrade Adekoya Suliat, Miss Poly, Departmental presidents and their executives.
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