Youth Neglect, Leadership Failure Responsible For Libya Slavery Saga- Olanipekun
Eminent lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Senior Advocate Of Nigeria (SAN) has blamed the reported slavery saga involving some Nigerian illegal migrants in Libya to leadership failure and wanton neglect of the youths in the country.
The senior lawyer spoke in Ikere Ekiti at the weekend when the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi commissioned the newly built Hall of Fame at the Palace of Ogoga, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado .
Olanipekun said the slavery in Libya and other countries will continue unabated if the government fails to identify and tackle the worrisome issue of youth’s unemployment.
According to him, “When I was in the university of Lagos in the 70’s, I had over six offers as a fresh graduate who had not attended the law school. But today, nobody sympathized or empathized with the youths, they were abandoned in their own fates.
“After graduation, no employment, nobody attends to them and they thought they have to take the tortuous, winding and dangerous routes to where the greener pasture is.
“And most of us who are successful are not helping matters, we are wicked. We don’t tell the government the truth. What is in Libya that our youths are going for? This is a shame on all of us.
“Libya has just been rescued from a major crisis , they have no human rights protection mechanism, no freedom, because they have always been in military dictatorship.
“The main reason why we are not faring better is that government is muzzling the private sector. They didn’t allow it to grow. A private body can only plan based on budgetary provision and policies of the federal government, that is why it is difficult to classify our economic system, it was so narrowed and monolithic in nature.
“But let me say this, if Nigeria fails to take care of its youths by creating tomorrow for them, we are inadvertently planting a revolution and threat for the future”, Olanipekun warned.
The museum , according to Ooni and Ogoga, will protect the historical heritage of the town and serve as a veritable ground for learning and research.
