Femi Gbajabiamila, Outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, had urged lawmakers to act quickly as youths in the country have lost faith in Nigeria and are securing their futures in other countries of the world.
He spoke on Wednesday, June 7 at a valedictory session organized for the 9th National Assembly in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila, who would start work next week as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, said the executive and legislative arms of the government must act fast or there will be continuous exodus of bright youths to Europe.
Addressing his colleagues, Gbajabiamila said, “Honourable colleagues, despite the considerable investments we have made to improve our public infrastructure and the numerous reforms we have enacted to change how we administer the government, our country faces many significant challenges.
“These challenges have caused many of our fellow citizens to wonder if the promise of democracy will ever become real in their lives. Too many of our young people have lost faith entirely and are choosing in droves to seek their fortunes and their futures in other lands.
“We are losing some of our best and brightest, and if we don’t act now, the consequences of this loss will shortly become painfully evident.”
“How do we ensure a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides opportunities for all who work hard to succeed through their labour and ingenuity?
“How do we protect our people from the marauders and insurgents, the petty criminals and assorted villains who wish to harm them, whether for profit or in service of other agendas?
“How do we restore faith in our young people so that so many of them no longer feel like the only way to achieve their best aspirations is to chase their fortunes in far away, often hostile lands?
“These are the critical questions all of us in government must answer or risk the unforgiving judgment of history. With each new day, we have an opportunity to make the hard choices and take the necessary actions to guarantee our nation’s future. With each new day, we have less time to act and a more outstanding obligation to act quickly.”
