POTENTIAL WORLD CHANGERS (PWC)

It is a known fact that the world stand still in the society of the boneless youths whose passions, energy, creativity, dynamism, radicalism and future have been bottled and mortgaged for a morsel of immediate gratification through the poverty of the mind. Great number of youths by themselves have become prisoners of ignorance; who have become too lazy to open their books, too busy to think, too noisy to listen and too weak to act on their dreams; who cannot see beyond the pleasures of the immediate environment. 

In such a society, nothing works because the powerhouse is lacked. Nothing changes because youths have neglected their primary roles
as the wheels of the industry, as the drivers of transformation,

as the vehicles of revolutions and as the apostles of change. In such a society, youth relinquish the driver’s seat of their future to the government of the day, throw their power of self-determination to the air and finally, allow the government’s failures and passivity to make them cowards of life. 

Nigeria is ours, Africa is ours, and we must show the world that we’re not cowards, timid and fearful. We must show to the world that we’re capable of driving this nation of Nigeria and continent of Africa to the highest top of development. History shows that men who have dared and achieved great achievements in spite of unbearable challenges of the time have move the world, often before reaching the prime of life. Alexander the Great, who ascended the throne at 20, had conquered the whole known world before dying at 33. Julius Caesar captured 800 cities, conquered 300 nations, and defeated 3,000,000 men became a great orator and one of the greatest statesmen known, and still was a young man. George Washington was appointed adjutant- general at age 19 and won his first battle as a colonel at 22. Lafayete was made general of the whole French army at 20. Galileo was but 18 when he saw the principle of the pendulum in the swinging lamp in the cathedral at Pisa. Martin Luther was but 29 when he nailed his famous thesis to the door of the bishop and defiled the pope. Charles the Twelfth was only 19 when he gained the battle of Narva; Napoleon Bonaparte was only 27 when, on the plains of Italy defeated one after another, the veteran marshals of Austria. 

The revolutionary document which conveyed the sentiments that secured the independence of America from British political domination, of which, many historians have been refereed as “one of the best-known statement in the English language” containing “the most potent and consequential words in America history” was drafted by Thomas Jefferson at age 32. The statement is called “The Declaration of Independence which stated that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, had regarded themselves as independent states and no longer a part of the British Empire. Wow! This is audacious! 

Standing boldly on the floor of the parliamentary house with the matchless eloquence of a seasoned orator, Anthony Enahoro, at 30 only, stood in the midst of elder statesmen and fellow patriots, armed with the courage that only the young can muster, looked at British colonial government in their faces and moved the motion for the Independence of Nigeria for the first time in 1953. What a gut! He shut his eyes at the inducements and threats of the colonial masters and fought for the freedom of his countrymen. 

At age 12, Mark Zuckerberg wrote his first computer program. By 20, he founded Facebook with his friends in 2004 making him the youngest billionaire. At the same age of 25, Larry page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998. At 22, Thomas Edision had developed his first invention and later invented light bulb making him world renowned inventor. At 13, Bill Gates wrote his first computer program and by the age 19, founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975. Before age 28, Chinua Achebe, an acclaimed father of African literature, had written and published Things Falls Apart – and the book became world class and has been translated into more than 50 foreign languages according to The Washington Post. Michael Dell founded Dell Cooperation and became the president at age 19. At age 17, Nicholas Montilla sold his iPhone app called Summly to Yahoo for US $30 million making him one of the youngest self-made millionaires ever.

Therefore, from the forgoing list of world changers, no matter your circumstances, background, colour, race, educational status, rejections, disappointments, obstacles, or financial failure experienced, you can become a world changer if you can dream, dare and take personal responsibility. What could be more powerful than a youth with a mission, a hunger for knowledge, a consuming passion for change and victory or death brand of determination. The sky is your limit. 

#Potential World Changers blog (PWC) is a platform for the youths who regards himself or herself a potential world changer to draw out from the well of relevant information of great leaders and to rob minds with same kind to stir and generate inspiration and motivation to propel us for the great day of enthronement of ‘realization of destiny’. Through personal and communal responsibility, we can harnessed and maximized our talent by leveraging the resource-power of knowledge, of time invested in one unwavering vision, driven by dogged courage and stubborn belief in the possibility of our youthful dreams. It was on this note that Ibrahim Lincoln stated “I will study and prepare myself, and then maybe my chance will come” and Fredrick Douglas observed that “Knowledge makes one unfit to be a slave to poverty and limiting environment. It makes you a creator instead of a creature or a victim of circumstance.”  And don’t forget that our future is shaped by the books we read and the association we keep as youths. 

See you all at the top most top!