The trending 'lazy Nigerian youths' comment by President Muhammadu Buhari continues to generate reactions across the country, as a group Council of Concerned Youth of Nigeria, COCYON has berated him for his remarks.
In a press statement released in Akure by Pastor Olumide Akinrilola, the group's National Coordinator, which was made available to SUNSHINE HERALD, it condemned the president for the "unremarkable remarks".
COCYON said President Buhari is not in touch with present realities in the county, because he has refused to involve the youths in the country who are more educated and hardworking than some members of his cabinet.
"We wish to inform our president in case he is not aware that some of our youths in Nigeria are more educated, brilliant, and hardworking than some of his cabinet members under his administration.
"The president couldn't have known that we are educated and hardworking when he never deem it fit to consider Nigerian youths for any reasonable political appointment where we can utilise our full potentials and be more productive to our father's land with policies that will affect Nigerians positively.
"Our president might have forgotten that 90% of those working with him are old enough to be our grandparents. As such, they can only render service to Nigerians as they are no longer productive in a digital contemporary society due to old age syndrome which cannot be ruled out from the law of nature.
"The president must understand that there is difference between production and service. Majority of those working with him are rendering service and no longer productive. Hence there is much talks, shifting of blame and unnecessary complacency than taking necessary actions to solve Nigeria's problem," part of the statement read.
Akinrilola also said the youths are available to help the government with its many challenges if he is ready to call upon them as the "engine room of Nigeria".
"Our youths are ready to offer help to this current administration in the areas of health, economy, education, infrastructures, with good policies where common Nigerian walking on the street will feel the impact of government."
It will be recalled that President Buhari had last week while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Summit in London inferred that Nigerian youths are lazy.
"And then the economy. We have a very young population and our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million.
"The 60 per cent of the population is below the age of 30. A lot of them have not been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil producing country and therefore they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare and education free," Buhari said.
