Watching the NBA All-Star Halftime show that headlined three Nigerian youths – Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema, I realized that talent is indeed the currency we can all use to live the life we envisioned for ourselves. I also realized that though Nigeria is blessed with many natural resources, the youths are her greatest assets. From the NBA All-Star winning team captain – Giannis Antetokounmpo to the hottest soccer star on the planet Victor Osimhen, Nigerians are on fire for good. Osimhen’s form has been integral in Napoli’s remarkable season and the team looks likely to become the Italian champion, leading Serie A by 18 points. During the weekend, the Nigeria international scored in Napoli’s 2-0 league win against Sassuolo for his 100th career goal, getting to the 100 goals mark quicker than either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

So the question begging for an answer is – why are Nigerian youths excelling globally, yet their nation Nigeria is little or nothing to write about? The answer lies in leadership – Africa’s albatross. It has been said repeatedly that everything rises and falls based on the quality of leaders leading a people. Every day we see the example everywhere from Russia to Ukraine and from South Africa to Nigeria. On Saturday, February 25, 2023, Nigerians will be stepping out to elect new leaders with the hope to get it right this time. Because the last eight years have been plagued by the ineptitude of the current leadership at all levels from the executive to the judiciary and from national to local government. The prayer of well-meaning Nigerians is that there will be a generational and paradigm shift from the politicians of the past who institutionalized corruption as well as ethnic and religious bigotry as represented by the candidates of the two most powerful political parties – Atiku Abubakar of PDP, and Bola Tinubu of APC, to a new dawn of accountability and transparency. 

Among the other presidential candidates, the candidate with the experience and precedence to turn Nigeria in a direction where the youths can excel on all fronts from Sports to Art and Science is indeed Peter Obi. Obi is arguably the only candidate that voters across Nigeria can say is not corrupt or has not gotten himself entangled in all that has made Nigeria one of the greatest underachieving nations of all time. The ball is in the court of Nigerians come Saturday, February 25, 2023. We must rise above ethnicity and religion to vote for men and women who can make Nigeria the nation that can help put Africa and indeed the Black race on the map for innovation and greatness. The youths as represented by Burna Boy, Tems, and Victor Osimhen have shown that they can become the best of the best globally. The right leadership will make this emergence of Nigerian youths as world-class leaders in their chosen endeavor to be sustainable, thereby creating a nation and continent where peace, prosperity, and progress are enjoyed by all.

Ata Ukuta – Editor, Towncryyers