The majority of those who voted for Muhammadu Buhari in the March 28 presidential election were youths from all the regions of Nigeria, because they wanted change in the national administration of Nigeria since they were disappointed by the failures of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that misappropriated the billions of dollars from the oil boom the nation had for more than ten years under the former ruling party and left millions of Nigerian youths jobless when the oil boom should have provided jobs for them.
Nigerian youths are full of dreams and have shown their potentials in various ways from the street to the internet. But the National Orientation Agency failed in sociopolitical and socioeconomic mobilization of Nigerian youths. Thousands of youths rushed to participate in ventures that provided them platforms to prove their talents and skills such as UBA Foundation's Essay Competitions, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) and other similar programmes that offered more than the political economic programmes of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (You WiN!) of the PDP government. Former President Goodluck Jonathan spent more millions of dollars on winning the support of Niger Delta militants than on the welfare of Nigerian youths. He spent more billions of naira on his presidential campaign in three months than the N3 billion grant he gave for Project ACT Nollywood.
President Muhammadu Buhari is now the man on the hot seat of the Presidency and all eyes are on him to see him fulfill the promises of his presidential campaign and most especially the promises in the manifesto of his ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) as he even said in his 2015 New Year message to Nigerian youths:
As we welcome the year 2015, I have shared a message to Nigerians in general, but I find it crucial to send another message directly to Nigeria’s youth, who are the major stakeholders of this enterprise.
The year 2014 was a challenging one for most citizens of our dear country.
Yes, it is enough for you to despair. It is enough for you to wonder if your country cares about you and can protect you. But do not despair.
2015 has arrived at a time of great discomfort; but the beauty of the New Year is that we can look forward with renewed hope and the knowledge that things can and will change.
In Nigeria’s case, we can truly look forward to the change that the elections can, and will, bring. Our country will be secure again. Our country will prosper again.
I have faith that 2015 is the year we shall begin to write a new story – a story of our youth creating jobs and expanding the frontiers of innovation and creativity everywhere from Mavin Records to the Co-Creation Hub; a story of genuine investment in our children and students be they in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka or in the Delta State University, Abraka; a country that finally makes a permanent shift from our debilitating dependence on the free-falling price of crude oil.
I have unshakeable faith that 2015 will be the year of change.
Now some of you have asked me: what exactly does ‘change’ mean?
I have taken time to explain this at different opportunities, but on this special day, let me remind you in five short statements.
Change means:
- A country that you can be proud of at anytime and anywhere: where corruption is punished, where your leaders are disciplined and lead with vision and clarity; where the stories that emerge to the world from us are full of hope and progress.
- A Nigeria in which neither yourselves, nor your parents, families or friends will have to fear for your safety, or for theirs.
- A Nigeria where citizens get the basics that any country should provide: infrastructure that works, healthcare that is affordable, even free; respect for the environment and sustainable development, education that is competitive and outcome-oriented in a knowledge-economy.
- A country that provides jobs for its young people, reducing unemployment to the lowest of single digits and providing safety nets so that no one is left behind.
- A Nigeria where entrepreneurship thrives, enterprise flourishes and the government gets out of your way so that you can create value, build the economy and aggressively expand wealth.
Are these things truly possible? Of course. That is the essence and outcome of leadership, and that is what my party and I promise you as we get into 2015.Nigerian youths will hold him accountable for the failures and successes of the new ruling party, therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari must prove all his critics and detractors wrong by using the mandate of the electorate to restore the Nigerian Dream of our youths.
My dear friends, this New Year, more than ever before, I am hopeful about Nigeria.
Yes, you are disappointed and you are angry, as you are entitled to, but you must never give in to the temptation to feel so weighed down by those who have failed you that you lose your hope and your energy and your passion to see change. You must never give up on Nigeria.
Together, we can build a nation that is secure, prosperous and gives everyone a fair chance.
This is the promise that 2015 holds. That is the promise that change will bring. That is the promise that I bring to you.
Once again, I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.
Thank you and God bless Nigeria.”
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, aka Orikinla Osinachi, is a
prize winning Nigerian writer, most prolific African blogger and the
Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online, Nigerian Times, "Kisses 'n'
Roses, TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla with other blogs and author of Children
of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs, Diary of the Memory Keeper, The Prophet Lied, co-author of Naked Beauty, editor of The Language of True Love and Publisher/Editor
of NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES.His new book The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Dream is now in circulation worldwide.
He has written many articles, commentaries and news
reports published by Technorati, Blogcritics, Huliq, Yahoo Voices, Shvoong, Gather, Huffington Post,Face2Face Africa, Black Film Maker, Nigeria Films and Modern Ghana.
He is also the social media consultant for the Transform
Nigeria Network.
He was a project artist for the 
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