Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has revealed that the Nigerian system has so much degenerated to the extent that Nigerian youths now view internet fraudster popularly known as ”Yahoo Yahoo” boys as their role models.
The Minister who is currently facing investigation and trial in several courts cases over alleged financial frauds she committed while serving as a Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration made this shocking revelation while delivering a lecture at a recent virtual event which that was also attended by her former boss, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Diezani said: “The ones that have swag, the Yahoo Yahoo boys as my son would say; these in short, are the role models they are looking at. These are the ones that reinforce negative societal norms and values.
This is a travesty of an unfolding tragedy for us. Why have I spent time talking about fatherless homes and the impact it has on our children? The truth of the matter is that an irresponsible boy tends to become an irresponsible man and it is therefore a vicious cycle. If you plant yam, you cannot harvest plantain.”
During her speech, she talked about the need for youth to work hard as there are no shortcuts to progress.
She said: ”There are no shortcuts to working your way up the ladder of life. Progressing in life, in work and relationships, marital or otherwise, is always dependent on consistent effort and hard work.
“As we create more responsible young men, we will generate more responsible fathers which will in turn engender a more sustainable society and build a greater nation of successful Ijaw men and women.”
