Let me go straight to the point. No long introduction. No sugar-coating.
My message is for you — the youth. The 18-year-old in SS3. The 21-year-old in university. The 25-year-old figuring life out after graduation. The 28-year-old who feels “behind”.
You’ve probably heard versions of this message a thousand times: “Be serious. Be responsible. Think about your future.” You might be tired of hearing it. But hear me out one more time. Because this one is coming from a youth like you. Not from some 70-year-old grandpa in a suit. From someone who also faces the same distractions, the same peer pressure, the same “let me enjoy life” thoughts.
So read this like a letter from your elder brother or sister. And let it wake up that desire in you — the desire to make real impact in your generation. Not “someday”. Starting now.
My Belief: Children Lead Tomorrow. Youths Must Rule Today.
I believe this with everything in me:
Children are the leaders of tomorrow.
Youths should begin ruling today.
Let me explain the difference.
“Ruling” doesn’t mean becoming president or governor at 22. It means using your talent, skills, energy, and brain to make good impact in society right now. Solving problems. Creating value. Leading in your small corner. Influencing people positively. Building something.
Children can afford to wait. Their time is literally tomorrow. They’re still growing, learning ABC, playing. Nobody expects a 7-year-old to start a company.
But you? You’re not a child anymore. You’re a young adult. Your body is strong. Your mind is sharp. Your time is not “tomorrow”. Your time is now
But here’s the error most young people make:
They still think the saying “Children are leaders of tomorrow” applies to them. So they relax. They procrastinate. They say, “I’ll get serious after I graduate. After I get married. After I get a job. After I turn 30.”
That’s like a footballer saying, “I’ll start training after the World Cup.” By then, the game is over.
The Cost of “I’ll Start Tomorrow”
Because of this “tomorrow mindset”, look at what many young people are doing with their most valuable years:
1. Clubbing and Partying Every Weekend
Nothing wrong with fun. But when every weekend is about alcohol, loud music, and waking up with regrets, you’re not living — you’re escaping. Years pass and you have memories of hangovers, but no skill, no savings, no growth.
2. Time-Wasting Relationships
“Sex-based relationships that lead to nowhere.” You know what I mean. Relationships built only on attraction, drama, and pressure. No growth. No vision. Just emotional ups and downs that drain your energy and focus. At 35, you’ll ask, “What did I even gain from all those years?”
3. Cultism, Fraternities, Fights
Some youths join groups that promise “protection” or “brotherhood” but deliver blood, fear, and a ruined future. One fight, one mistake, and your name is in the police station instead of on a scholarship list.
4. Smoking, Drugs, Self-Destruction
“I’m young, let me enjoy.” Yes, enjoy. But drugs don’t enjoy with you. They destroy you slowly. By 30, your health is gone. Your dreams are gone. And all those “friends” who smoked with you? They disappear when you need help.
The mindset behind all this is the same: “Why should a young chap like me worry about life issues? Let me enjoy myself. Tomorrow is when I’ll do what I’m meant to do.”
Listen to me carefully: Tomorrow never comes for people who waste today.
Two Reasons Why “Now” is the Only Time That Matters
You might ask, “Why must it be now? Why can’t I relax a bit and start later?”
Let me give you 2 reasons that will shake you:
Reason 1: It Is Meant to Be NOW, Not Tomorrow
Children are meant to rule tomorrow. That’s why they’re called “leaders of tomorrow”. They still have 10-15 years to prepare.
But you are a youth. You’re a young adult. Your preparation time is over. Your execution time has started.
Think of it like this: In a relay race, the child is the one waiting at the next station. The youth is the one holding the baton right now, running. If you drop the baton because you’re “resting”, the whole team loses.
Young children can fold their arms and relax. Their race hasn’t started. But your race started the day you became a young adult. Every day you waste is a day you can never recover.
Old people envy you for this. I’ve sat with 60-year-old men who told me, “If I could be 20 again, I would do everything differently. I would read more. I would start my business earlier. I would avoid bad friends.”
They’d trade money, cars, even houses just to get their youth back for one year. And you have that treasure right now, for free. Don’t waste it.
Reason 2: You Still Have All the Instruments in Your Hands
“Instruments” = advantages. And youths have more advantages than anyone else. Let me show you:
1. Time to Fail and Recover
Want to be an entrepreneur? The best time to start is now. At 22, you can start a business, fail, lose ₦50,000, learn, and start again. No wife complaining. No children’s school fees to pay. No mortgage.
But try that at 42 with 4 children in school. If you quit your job to “venture into the unknown”, it’s not courage — it’s irresponsibility. The risk is too high. So many older people have great business ideas but can’t take the risk because they have too much to lose.
You have less to lose and more time to recover. Use it.
2. Energy and Stamina
You can read for 6 hours straight. You can code till 2am. You can travel, hustle, learn new skills, and still wake up early for class. That energy fades with age. Use it now to learn, build, and grow.
3. Flexibility to Move
Want to travel abroad for a degree? It’s easier for a 20-year-old single youth to get a visa, adapt, and survive than for a 40-year-old mother of 4. You have fewer responsibilities tying you down. Use that mobility.
4. Brain That Absorbs Fast
Science proves it: your brain learns fastest between ages 15-25. Languages, skills, tech, instruments — you pick them up faster now than you ever will again. This is your “golden learning window”. If you waste it on TikTok trends alone, you’ll regret it.
5. Freedom to Choose Your Path
Nobody is depending on you yet. No children crying for food. No elderly parents depending on your salary. You can choose a hard but rewarding path now, because the cost of choosing wrong is low. Later, the cost is high.
So tell me: with all these instruments in your hands, why would you wait?
The Lies Youths Believe That Keep Them Stuck
Before we talk solutions, let’s kill some lies:
Lie 1: “I’m too young to make impact”
Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook at 19. Bill Gates started Microsoft at 20. Chimamanda published her first novel at 25. Malala started speaking for girls’ education at 11. Age is not a barrier. Inaction is.
Lie 2: “I need money first before I start”
You don’t need capital to start learning. You don’t need money to start building skills, character, and relationships. Jeff Bezos started Amazon in a garage. Most big businesses started small. Start with what you have: your phone, your brain, your time.
Lie 3: “I’ll be serious after graduation”
That’s a trap. If you can’t manage 24 hours now, you won’t manage 40 hours a week later. Discipline is a muscle. Train it now with small things: waking up early, reading daily, avoiding distractions. By graduation, discipline will be your habit.
Lie 4: “Enjoyment is for youth, responsibility is for old age”
False. Responsible youths enjoy more. Why? Because they enjoy without guilt, without debt, without STDs, without police cases. Irresponsible enjoyment always comes with a bill. Responsible enjoyment comes with peace.
What “Ruling Now” Actually Looks Like
“Ruling now” doesn’t mean you must become CEO at 21. It means:
1. Rule Over Yourself First
Control your sleep. Control your phone use. Control your anger. Control your sexual urges. If you can’t rule your own habits, you can’t rule anything else. Self-mastery is the first leadership.
2. Rule in Your Skill/Talent
Are you good at design? Start designing logos for small businesses now. Good at writing? Start a blog. Good at speaking? Start a YouTube channel. Good at cooking? Sell snacks to students. Don’t wait for “perfect equipment”. Start with your phone and talent.
3. Rule in Your Community
Impact doesn’t have to be global. Teach 5 younger kids math for free. Organize a clean-up in your street. Start a book club in your hostel. Help an elderly neighbor with errands. Small consistent impact compounds.
4. Rule Your Mind with Knowledge
Read books. Take online courses. Learn skills that pay: coding, digital marketing, video editing, public speaking, trading, agriculture tech. Your brain is your biggest asset. Feed it daily. A youth with knowledge is dangerous to poverty.
The 5-Step “Rule Now” Action Plan for Every Youth
Enough talk. Here’s what to do starting today:
Step 1: Audit Your 24 Hours
For 3 days, write down everything you do hourly. Be honest. How many hours go to social media? Gossip? Useless arguments? Now ask: If I cut 2 hours of waste daily and use it for learning/skill, what will I become in 1 year? 730 hours of growth. That’s huge.
Step 2: Pick One Skill and Go Deep
Don’t chase 10 things. Pick ONE skill that solves problems and can make money. Video editing. Copywriting. Fashion design. Coding. Baking. Then learn it for 1 hour daily for 90 days. In 3 months, you’ll be better than 80% of people.
Step 3: Build in Public
Don’t hide your journey. Post your designs. Share what you’re learning. Teach others what you just learned. When you build in public, opportunities find you. Clients, mentors, collaborators.
Step 4: Choose Your Circle Wisely
Show me your 5 closest friends and I’ll show you your future. If all 5 only talk about parties, girls/boys, and blaming the government, you’ll end up like them. Find 2-3 friends who talk about goals, skills, books, businesses. Iron sharpens iron.
Step 5: Serve Before You Demand
Want to lead? Learn to serve first. Volunteer. Help without expecting pay. Solve small problems for free. Service builds character, skills, and reputation. Leaders are just servants who stayed consistent.
A Message to the Youth Who Feels “Behind”
Maybe you’re 27 and you feel you’ve wasted years. Maybe you dropped out. Maybe you made bad choices.
Hear this: You’re not late. You’re just early for your second chance.
Colonel Sanders started KFC at 65. Grandma Moses started painting at 78. Your story isn’t over because you wasted some years. The only time it’s truly over is when you refuse to start now.
Don’t compare your chapter 2 to someone else’s chapter 20. Run your race. Start now.
Youth is a season. Seasons don’t last forever. Winter will come. Responsibilities will come. Energy will reduce. But if you build well now, winter won’t kill you.
Children will lead tomorrow because youths like you ruled today. The world is waiting for your ideas, your energy, your solutions. Africa needs youths who build, not just complain. The world needs youths who create, not just consume.
So put your phone down for 1 hour today and learn something. Open that book. Start that small business. Message that mentor. Apologize to that friend. Delete that app that wastes your time.
Don’t wait for “tomorrow”. Tomorrow is a thief. It steals dreams. Your time is NOW. Rule now. Build now. Impact now.
Because 20 years from today, you’ll either be thanking your younger self for starting now… or cursing your younger self for wasting now.
The choice is yours, youth.
