Every day, when I read the news, or browse my social media feed; there are worrying reports of some delinquents who are making the waves for the wrong reasons; a situation which sends shivers down my spine.
Sometimes, I am tempted to give up. But then I remind myself that bad news travels faster than good news, I am rejuvenated with hope.
Each day, more and more young people are defying the odds and accomplishing mind-shattering feats – feats people of my generation could only dream and fantasize about. So my hope is restored.
If I lose hope in the youth, I will be making the same mistakes generations before mine made, assuming the generations after them would ruin the world.
Yes, we are in hard and trying times. The world has evolved so much so that it is a brighter shadow of what it used to be. Now there are greater opportunities than there existed before, you just need to capitalize on them.
The burden of making this world a better place lies on all of us, not just the youth. Just as Michael Jackson said in his popular song, ‘Man in the Mirror’: “I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change”.
I have met so many amazingly talented young people and I am blown away by the depth of their thinking and the strength of their resolve to make the world a better place.
What I can do, is to have faith in the youth and give them the opportunities I did not have in my day. It sounds like lip-service, but in truth and in deed, I constantly give opportunities to young people.
For instance, I gave the opportunity to a student director to produce the music video of my trending Gospel song ‘Hallelujah’. I unreservedly, trusted him with almost GH¢50,000 to produce the video, running the risk of getting a poorly produced video. However, he exceeded my expectations.
In a similar case, I gave an opportunity to Abochi, to feature on the song and he executed to perfection.
It would sound absurd to suggest that a majority of my management team is made up of very young people, but the reality of the matter is, a majority of my team are very young and vibrant people. It has been a decision I have never regretted taking because the energy the team provides drives me to aspire to be better than I already am.
There is no greater feeling than seeing someone you mentored succeeding.
I believe in the youth of Ghana, I hope you believe in yourselves!
‪#‎ItsOkToBeYoung‬ ‪#‎ItsOKToInspire‬