Youth urged to shun materialism

Nigerian youth were on Thursday urged to be responsible and disciplined, to make a positive impact on the nation.

The call was made by Chamberlain Usoh, who represented John Momoh, the chief executive of Channels Television, at the 6th Global Change Forum (GCF), held at Ojo Town Hall, Lagos.

The event organised by GCF, a non-profit group, and tagged ‘Changing your world from within’, is an annual gathering of youth across the country aimed at making them more responsible and purposeful.

Though the event started behind schedule, due to a change of venue, the initial frustration soon wore off the faces of the audience as they aptly listened to the motivational speakers; occasional shouts and applause also greeted the sections they found inspiring.

‘Great persons are disciplined persons’

“All great men conquer themselves before conquering others. All great leaders know that they cannot lead others until they are able to lead themselves,” Mr. Usoh said, explaining the importance of discipline.

He also advised them to be determined in their pursuit of success, and be courageous when confronted with failures and disappointment, as this shows the strength of their character.

“Your strength of character comes from how you handle your failures; even if you fail, just get up, dust up, and move on,” he said. “When troubles come, and yes they will, make sure you don’t quit. The greatest mistake anyone can make is to be afraid of making mistakes.”

Beyond the material

Another speaker, Olakunle Soriyan, executive officer of the STN group, told the youth to aspire for greatness, rather than materialism, identifying the pursuit of the latter as a cause of under-development in Africa.

“Don’t seek convenience and comfort; rise above the limits of materialism,” he said. “Somebody is thinking ‘one day, I will sit in a plane’, another person is thinking ‘one day, I will make my own plane’. Embrace values that can develop this nation and make us competitive in the global economy.”

He also advised the youth to challenge established theories, adding that they should shun all forms of mediocrity. “Question the theories in physics; challenge what you are taught in biology. Those who ask why and commit to the questioning are the inventors of tomorrow,” he said. “Don’t seek to pass the tests of locality, seek to pass the tests of universality.”

What was learnt

Ikechukwu Nwankwo, a student at the forum, said he has learned not to envy people with material wealth and to dream big and work hard towards achieving same.

“Life is beyond accumulating wealth,” he said. “Just because I see a person in flashy cars does not mean he has achieved much; as a person, I need to look beyond my own space and achieve global praise. The little I have achieved is not enough, I can do more. It does not stop at buying a car; it stops in achieving other things than cars.”

Isaac Oladipupo, the convener of the forum, told NEXT that the idea was inspired eight years ago by a strong desire in him to change things around him positively; adding that the change needed in Nigeria should be from each individual. However, he said an inspirational forum was necessary to change the mentality of the youth and bring about a transformed world.

He said “The transformation of Nigeria is a collective effort; it can’t be achieved in isolation. The key to National transformation is personal transformation. The main purpose is change - we want a change, we need a change.”