A retired Nigerian Army general, Brigadier General G. Alabi Isama (rtd), has called on Nigerian youths to rise above raw potential and embrace integrity-driven leadership, warning that corruption and moral compromise pose greater threats to the nation than lack of resources.
Isama delivered the message during a lecture titled “From Potential to Power: Nurturing Youths for Transformative Leadership” at the Leadership Summit organized by the Postgraduate Students’ Association of the University of Ilorin on Wednesday.
“Every youth is born with potential, but not every potential becomes power. Power is the capacity to influence positive change, and that journey requires vision, discipline and integrity,” he said.
He noted that while Nigerian youths have excelled in academics, technology, entrepreneurship, sports, and the creative industry, poor guidance and negative role models have led some toward fraud, violence, drug abuse, and political thuggery.
Isama blamed the country’s leadership crisis on corruption, stressing that years of public resource abuse and weak accountability structures have fueled insecurity, unemployment, poor infrastructure, and declining public trust. He cautioned youths against emulating corrupt leaders, urging them to prioritize service, justice, and integrity over wealth and power.
The retired general identified key values for transformative leadership, including education, critical thinking, courage, discipline, and service to humanity. He emphasized that leadership is about impact, not position, and encouraged students to reject corruption at the campus level to prevent its spread nationally.
Beyond moral guidance, Isama proposed structural reforms in politics, education, security, and the economy, including the abolition of godfatherism, introduction of grassroots policing, and resource control for states.
“Nigeria’s future will not change by chance; it will change by choice. When your potential is guided by values, it becomes power – the power to transform Nigeria and leave a legacy of hope,” he concluded.
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