Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has urged Nigerian youths to channel their frustration over the country’s challenges into constructive thinking and practical solutions, warning that sustained anger without action could create an even more resentful future generation.
El-Rufai made the remarks while reflecting on his frequent interactions with young Nigerians on social media, particularly Facebook, where he said he is often the target of criticism and verbal attacks. According to the former governor, many young people question his record in public office and challenge what they perceive as belated concern about Nigeria’s long-standing problems.
“On Facebook, I get abused all the time by young people who say, ‘What did you do when you were in office? Is it today you discovered that Nigeria has gone bad?’ and so on,” El-Rufai said, recounting the tone of online engagements.
He acknowledged that the frustration expressed by young Nigerians is rooted in real economic and social difficulties, including unemployment, rising living costs, insecurity and weak institutions. El-Rufai said the anger felt by many youths is understandable given the circumstances, but cautioned that anger alone cannot produce meaningful or lasting change.
Describing today’s youths as an “angry generation,” the former governor said while their feelings may be justified, emotional outrage without innovation and leadership would fail to address Nigeria’s structural problems. He argued that sustainable progress requires deliberate thinking, planning and the courage to build workable systems.
“You are an angry generation and maybe you have the right to be. But anger doesn’t solve the problem,” El-Rufai said. “It is constructive thinking and solutions that will solve the problem. You can be as angry with me as you like, but in 20 years I will be dead. Then you will be in your forties, and if you don’t solve the problem, your children will be angry at you.”
El-Rufai’s comments point to what he described as a cycle of blame that risks repeating itself if each generation focuses more on resentment than on reform. He warned that without a conscious shift toward solution-driven engagement, today’s youths could inherit power and responsibility without having prepared the groundwork for meaningful change.
The former governor stressed that Nigeria’s future depends largely on the willingness of young people to move from criticism to action. He encouraged youths to participate actively in leadership, governance, innovation and civic responsibility, rather than limiting their engagement to social media outrage.
According to El-Rufai, the task before young Nigerians is not only to identify what is wrong with the country, but to design systems that can endure beyond individual leaders or administrations. He said this includes building strong institutions, demanding accountability through lawful means, and developing ideas that can translate into policy, enterprise and social impact.
His remarks come at a time when youth dissatisfaction remains high across Nigeria, driven by economic hardship, limited opportunities and a sense of exclusion from decision-making. Young Nigerians have increasingly used digital platforms to express anger toward political leaders, past and present, whom they blame for the country’s current state.
El-Rufai’s message, however, suggests that while criticism is necessary in a democracy, it must be accompanied by responsibility and long-term thinking. He argued that the burden of nation-building ultimately shifts with time, and that today’s youths will soon be accountable for the state of the country they inherit.
By urging constructive engagement over perpetual anger, the former governor positioned his message as both a warning and a challenge: that Nigeria’s problems will not be solved by outrage alone, but by a generation willing to turn frustration into ideas, leadership and action capable of shaping a better future.
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