By ABIODUN LAWAL

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says adults and societal leaders owe it to the youth to provide truthful, transparent, transformational, and selfless leadership.

Obasanjo spoke in Abeokuta on Saturday at the grand reunion and maiden lecture series of the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS), United Kingdom Alumni Association, Nigerian chapter.

The former president delivered a lecture titled, “The Challenges of Youth in a Fractured World.”

Obasanjo, represented by the Deputy Director, Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute, Prof. Samuel Daramola, defined youth as a period between childhood and adulthood marked by vitality, idealism, hope, expectation, dreams, and a touch of adventure and naivety.

He observed that today’s leaders once passed through these phase marked by fancy, energy, beauty and fantasy, but now the youth face numerous challenges in a fractured world.

“Some of us were youth immediately after the Second World War; I was. Most of you were youth at the height of the Cold War.

“The world was not perfect but there was some order, respect for international law, rules and regulations.

“There were threats but no impunity. They talked of balance of terror in those days with reasonable stability, predictability, peace and common security with shared responsibility and prosperity among the leading nations of the world.

“The developing nations could breathe reasonably freely. The super powers negotiated and consulted among themselves. Today, the youth face herculean challenges which they must not be left to handle alone,” he said.

Obasanjo called on leaders to prioritise the future by investing in it, rather than depleting resources meant for generations to come.

He stressed that the youth must be incorporated into all aspects of the family, private and public lives.

Obasanjo, the association’s grand patron, encouraged youths to develop a tough and resilient character, essential for self-reliance and breakthrough in a fractured world.

“Youth are not leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders today. Let them be part and parcel of leadership today in preparation for tomorrow,” he said.

Earlier, the President of the Association, Maj.-Gen. Oluwaseun Oshinowo (Rtd) explained that association was inaugurated eight years ago, saying that part of this year’s meeting was to discuss critical issues that would move the nation forward.

“Our main aim is to tell the world that we are here and we are available for whatever they want us to do when it comes to strategic level discussion and debate,” he said.

Oshinowo underscored the importance of youth to national development.

In his goodwill messages, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama, said the event was an important gathering for reflection, reconnection and renewal for those who had passed through one of the finest institutions of strategic learning in the world.

Maitama, represented by a Director in the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Mrs Abosede Awolola, said that RCDS occupied a special place in the architecture of global leadership formation.

“The administration of President Bola Tinubu is committed to a foreign policy that is citizen-focused, economically driven, and globally respected,” he said.

The Special Guest, Gov. Dapo Abiodun, represented by his Special Adviser on Security, Olusola Subair, said breakdown of family values remained a threat to national development.

Abiodun urged every stakeholders to play their part in reshaping the minds of the youths to more productive ventures.

NAN reports that RCDS was established in 1927 in the United Kingdom. (NAN)