From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
A retired military officer, Brigadier General Alabi Isama (Rtd), has called on Nigerian youths to reject corruption and embrace integrity-driven leadership, warning that the country’s future depends largely on the values young people choose to uphold today.
Isama made the call while delivering a lecture titled “From Potential to Power: Nurturing Youths for Transformative Leadership” at a leadership summit organised by the Postgraduate Students’ Association of the University of Ilorin on Tuesday.
He told the students that while every young person is born with potential, not all potentials are translated into power, stressing that true power lies in the ability to influence positive change in society.
“Potential is the hidden ability within you, but power is the capacity to transform your environment. The journey from potential to power requires vision, discipline, integrity and purposeful leadership,” he said.
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Describing Nigeria as a nation blessed with energetic, creative and intelligent youths, Isama noted that young Nigerians have continued to excel in academics, technology, entrepreneurship, sports and the arts. However, he warned that talent without direction often ends in waste.
“When youths are not properly guided, their energy can be misused for violence, fraud, drug abuse and political thuggery. Potential without values becomes a liability, not an asset,” he stated.
He urged elders and leaders to deliberately create opportunities and assign responsibilities to young people, noting that leadership grooming must start early if Nigeria is to escape its cycle of underdevelopment.
Drawing from religious teachings, Isama, reminded the audience that national renewal begins with individual responsibility. Quoting the Qur’an, he said, “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves,” adding that no amount of policy reforms can succeed without moral transformation.
The Retired General identified corruption as one of Nigeria’s biggest obstacles, accusing past and present leaders of prioritising personal and family interests over national development.
“Corruption did not build Nigeria; it only damaged it. It has given us poor infrastructure, unemployment, insecurity and loss of public trust. When young people see corrupt leaders celebrated, they begin to believe dishonesty is the only path to success. That mindset is dangerous,” he warned.
According to him, copying corrupt practices will only reproduce failure and deepen the nation’s problems. “If the next generation behaves like the last, then Nigeria’s future will be worse than its present,” he added.
He stressed that transformative leadership demands courage to stand for justice even when it is unpopular. “True leadership is not about position; it is about impact. Great leaders are those who refuse to normalise wrongdoing and are brave enough to be different,” he said, citing Qur’an 4:135 on standing firmly for justice.
Isama challenged students to see themselves as leaders already, not leaders-in-waiting. “The educated youths of today are leaders now. What you do with integrity, honesty and discipline on campus will define the Nigeria of tomorrow,” he said.
He listed key values required to nurture transformative leaders, including integrity, education and skills development, critical thinking, service to humanity, courage and discipline. He noted that leadership must be rooted in service, not exploitation.
“Success without integrity is failure in disguise. Knowledge without character is dangerous. You must have the courage to reject bribery, exam malpractice and every form of dishonesty,” he told the audience.
On governance and national restructuring, Isama advocated wide-ranging reforms, including the introduction of independent candidacy, the abolition of godfatherism and severance benefits for political office holders, and stronger checks and balances in public spending.
He also called for free education up to university level, the scrapping of JAMB and nepotism in admissions, the creation of state, local government and school police, and reforms in the oil sector to allow states greater control over resources.
“Nigeria’s oil industry was designed around international interests. We must outgrow that system. Resource control and secure land tenure are critical to economic development,” he said.
Addressing the students directly, Isama urged them not to inherit the failures of a corrupt system but to challenge it with integrity, vision and service.
“You are not too young to lead and not too small to make a difference. When your potential is guided by values, it becomes power – the power to transform Nigeria and leave a legacy of hope,” he concluded.
He reminded the youths that Nigeria’s future would not change by chance but by deliberate choices, adding, “The future is not inherited; it is created, and that responsibility lies in your hands.”
