This speaks volumes. It tells us that this generation is tilting dangerously toward the path of quick gratification. There’s a haste in their hearts, a restlessness they haven’t learned to tame. That haste is constantly fuelled by what they see around them, by how politicians flaunt wealth without shame, how celebrities display luxury as a badge of success, how one can become rich overnight by dancing naked on national TV in the name of entertainment, while society cheers.
Today, process and hard work have been demonized. The culture of patience, discipline, and gradual growth is disappearing. Our once-powerful apprenticeship system, the same model that built thriving economies in the East — is fast losing its essence. Young people no longer want to spend five years mastering a trade; they want to make it in five minutes.
Walk into carpentry shops, upholstery workshops, fabrication yards, or plumbing sites; you’ll hardly find young faces. The few that remain are already disheartened because society has made them believe that manual work equals failure, while shortcuts and showmanship are the new success stories.
We need to reorient our young people. We need deliberate programs that tell them, and show them, that hard work still pays, that decency is still attractive, and that every action carries a consequence.
We must rebuild their belief that greatness comes through process, not speed.
When a society pays a first-class graduate ₦100,000 but rewards a naked dancer on TV with ₦400 million, it’s clear that something is broken. We must fix this narrative, not by words alone, but by example and by building systems that honor diligence, learning, and integrity.
It’s time we tell our young people again: slow is not weak, process is not punishment, and true success is never rushed.
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