But in these current times, a lack of trust in the ability of young people and women in Nigeria has been doing major damage. As discussed among some of my fellow returnees, when placed in senior level positions, our abilities are initially questioned due to our young age despite our vast experiences. Where a newly hired young woman has been given the position as Director, and her staff may have expected a 50+ woman with grand children to hold the position, there Nigeria’s obsession with respectability politics begins to rear its ugly head. As Nigerians, we must start to take a deeper look into how we treat one another in the realms of the politics of respect and basic recognition. We must start to trust the abilities and capabilities of the youth and our women more for this great nation to progress.

Source: The Guardian January 19, 2018 04:07 UTC