By Adebisi Akindayini – Being a young Nigerian in the UK was not something that I thought much about until recently. What was more of a focus for me was being young and enjoying my youth. It was not until I ran for Miss Nigeria UK 2014 that I realised that I myself was nearly lost.
Miss Nigeria UK 2014
I did not know nearly enough about my own culture, my own heritage nor my own country, Nigeria, and I feel like that is an issue many British-born young Nigerians have to this day.
In order to overcome this and ensure that our children in the Diaspora are not lost totally within British culture, the present administration of Nigeria must invest in young Nigerians in the UK that are doing well; who are impactful and are trying to make a change among young Nigerians in the Diaspora. Through this, a bridge will be created closing the chasm between Nigeria and the UK, as Nigerians in the UK will be getting support from Nigeria itself and showing this to the Nigerian youth in the Diaspora.
If taken on board, this will be the best of both worlds. My expectation of our President Buhari is that he remains the man of integrity that he has always been as that gives us hope that laws, rules and regulations can be upheld and maintained without speculation and consequently make Nigeria better for generations to come.
The government’s priority should be to focus on the youth as the future of Nigeria. We need to instil in them the importance of self-identity and heritage. Who best to show that example than the ones before us?
I strongly believe that the future of Nigeria lies in the hands of the youth and the foundations built today with them. As the current Miss Nigeria UK and the founder of Young Gifted Initiative (YGI), which is a platform designed to inspire, develop and educate our youth to value their self-worth and achieve greatness, I lay huge emphasis on the integral part the youth play in our future. Let this importance be spread throughout all of Nigeria!
