Start Now, Contribute To National Devt, Rufai Oseni Charges UNN Students

Students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) have been advised to start in earnest in building themselves to contribute their quota to the development of Nigeria’s economy.

A broadcaster on the Arise News Channel, Rufai Oseni, gave the charge while speaking to UNN Mass Communication students during a career mentorship programme held virtually on Friday 20th January 2023.

Oseni, a renowned public speaker and thought leader in communication, while speaking at the programme titled: “innovate” told the students that they are the leaders of today and not tomorrow.

He advised the students to develop themselves career-wise and tap into abundant opportunities in the country rather than moving to Europe, Asia, and other developed countries that are already saturated.

The ace broadcaster also charged the students that as youths, they should be concerned about what is happening in the political landscape by exercising their civic rights, such as voting during the upcoming elections to elect good leaders to make the country better.

“You are the leaders of today. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you by telling you that you are the leaders of tomorrow. If every student in Nigeria should vote in the upcoming election, Nigeria will be a changed country. The problem is that you keep moving to Europe without developing your own country. Mind you that the West is already saturated. Nigeria might not be the best, but it is a country where there are lots of opportunities,” Oseni stated.

He further gave the students guidelines on what they can do to contribute to the economic development of the nation. He offered the following  tips:

Introspection: according to him, one ought to look inwardly to find out hidden potential.

“There are things God has deposited in every individual, it is left for the person in question to look inward to be able to detect these abilities.”

Articulation: this he said could be in form of trying to find solutions to problems.

“There are solutions to every problem. Never have the mindset that money is your problem. You should also not be afraid of failure because failure teaches what success cannot teach. Keep looking for possibilities. The question should be, how can you grab your own portion of the development? What can you offer?”

Another point he mentioned is “global collaboration.” Here, he stressed the need for collaborating with people of like minds.

“There is the need to be open to new ideas, there are things others know that you did not know. Look for people that have similar ideas. Collaborate with your fellow students and start something.”

The technology enthusiast when asked by the current president of the UNN Mass Communication Students Association, Geoffrey Aluu Ama (Kachi) if people shouldn’t worry that others may copy their ideas, Oseni said that keeping ideas from others is a poor man’s mindset.

“Ideas are great, but the problem is implementation. It is a poor man’s mindset to refuse to share ideas with others. Don’t think like a poor person. I don’t want this generation to get wasted. What I want to do is to help you start up something. If you don’t know how to articulate problems, time will pass you. Don’t believe that after school, you will start looking for a job. Let’s get to work” He added.

“You can start with a business, development proposal, writing articles, stories, etc.,” he stated.

He also offered to guide and support the students in making a good career and challenged them to make a proposal of what they want to do.