The Owa-Ale Adimula of Ikareland, Oba Adeleke Adegbite-Adedoyin, has challenged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to see limitations and obstacles as temporary barriers to their greatness.
The traditional ruler stated this on Friday in Ikare Akoko in Ondo State when he featured in the Entrepreneur Personality, a novel initiative of the NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs Victoria Ani.
The initiative features successful personalities who motivate corps members during the interactive sessions they have with them.
Adegbite-Adedoyin, who shared his background experiences with the 2021 Batch ‘B’ (Stream II) corps members, said that they needed to set achievable goals for themselves and work very hard towards actualising their dreams.
“ I want you to see your enlistment in this noble programme as a deliberate attempt by the government to prepare you for the challenges ahead.
“Many of you seated here will be dreaming to be like Dangote, Otedola, Adenuga and the likes but are you prepared and ready to make the kind of sacrifices these gurus are daily making to remain at the top,’’ the oba asked.
He said individuals who wished to be relevant in the society must not depend or rely solely on government to provide everything they needed, but engage in profitable ventures to be economically and financially independent.
“Think about your life and make up your mind to be great and successful because no one associates with failure.
“You possess attributes and characteristics just like successful people in the society,’’ he pointed out.
The traditional ruler said the education corps members had acquired placed them in a vantage position to make them an asset and not a liability.
“I engaged in washer man business in Ibadan, the one you have upgraded to dry cleaning today, waking up as early as I could to wash clothes and other fabrics just to save money for my education in the UK.
“During this trying period, I sacrificed a lots of comfort because I was confident that my tomorrow will surely be better,’’ he said.
He urged corps members to strive hard to be successful and put smiles on the face of their parents at the end of the service year.
The NYSC state coordinator was full of praises for the royal father for accepting to come and motivate the corps members despite his tight schedule.
Ani admonished the corps members to imbibe the spirit of humility that God has deposited in the traditional ruler who she also described as a legal icon.
She said that despite his rich credentials and the privileged position he occupied, the traditional ruler still believed that skills and vocations were the basics for economic prosperity and emancipation. (NAN)