The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, has urged youths to take advantage of government policies and programmes to build a desirable future.

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Olawande made the call on Thursday at the inauguration of a book titled, “No More Future: Why Waiting Is Over, What to Build Instead,” authored by a young Nigerian, Christopher Olusa, at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

He said the era of waiting for the government to “fix things before building, waiting for the right connections before starting, and waiting for permission to become what they already have the capacity to be” was over.

Represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Dotun Omoleye, the minister said the country’s greatest asset was not what exists under the soil, but what is inside young people.

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He said the country did not have a shortage of potential, but sometimes lacked the collective courage in young people to stop waiting and start constructing.

According to him, the book is a call for that courage, adding that “government’s investment in young people is a call to that courage and I believe that this generation is finally ready to answer it.”

He said, “To young people in this room, and to the many more who will read this book: the Renewed Hope Agenda has opened a door that did not exist for the generation before you.

“What you do with that open door is the story that has not yet been written. Christopher has given you a framework. The Ministry of Youth Development will continue to give you platforms, capital, and training, but the actual building of your future remains yours to do,” he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Ifeoluwa Ehindero, said the title of the book challenged the mindset of waiting that had held many people back.

The lawmaker said rather than waiting, young Nigerians should deliberately build the future they wished to have.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria