Development is defined by the Longman Contemporary English Dictionary as “the gradual growth of something, so that it becomes bigger and more advanced.” Similarly, Webster’s Lexicon Dictionary says it means “to cause, to grow or expand.” Merging the definitions, development could be seen as the growth of a place, idea or something in a step-by-step manner such that it increases in quantity and quality. It also includes positive moral and character formation of the people. Wholesome development is only achieved through the combined contribution of the people. It is the business of everyone to play a prominent role in the development of the place. The popular saying, “two heads are better than one” carries a lot of meaning in achieving the development of a place.

     Secondary school students as an integral part of Nigeria’s population have a key role to play in Nigeria’s development. They are the future leaders and as such the hub on which future economic, social and political development is anchored. On the other hand, secondary school education affords a preparatory ground for positive contributions to national development through imbuing the students with the knowledge and skills to attain their lofty but realistic dreams of becoming Nigeria’s future scientists, lawyers, doctors, business owners and most importantly, future leaders. Nigeria should not neglect her secondary school students who constitute over 90% of its youth and the roles they would play in nation building.

     Archer84, a young Pakistani in his contribution on “What is the Role of Students in Developing a Country?” made a delightful argument that we should not “underestimate a student today so that she would not let you be underestimated in future.” In their capacity, students have a moral obligation to work hard to achieve their ambition and become a great source of pride to the nation. They should be focused towards utilizing opportunities available to them and not abuse them instead. This is because the role of secondary school students in Nigeria in contributing to national development is enormous and people expect them to impact positively on the society.

     The role of secondary school students begins at school. In order to become the type of citizens that can lead the nation, they are expected to be disciplined and to pay attention to their studies. Secondary schools provide the conducive and right environment for grooming positive attitudes in the students to affect their lives. A country without civilized students can never progress. So, secondary school students who receive adequate and proper training in school will grow to become useful and valuable citizens who will contribute immensely to the development of the country, exhibiting good and quality character traits, shunning violence, cultism, crimes and other dreadful vices.

     Secondary school students are the hope of the country and should therefore lead the way in correcting certain anomalies in the system. Since the elites seemed to have failed, the country’s focus is being redirected to this group and catching them young would be a great strategy just like Japan refocused attention on her students after World War II after she lost most of her adults and intelligentsia and today boasts of the world’s best technocrats. Therefore, to whom much is given, much is expected. The students hence have a major role to play in order to live up to the expectations of our people. As the bastion of hope, they do no indulge in barbaric activities like hooliganism, rioting that leads to damaging public properly. A disciplined, focused and ambitious student community will enhance the image and status of our country by winning laurels, evolving creative innovations, reducing branding cost while an ill-groomed student community will only bring bad name and spell disgrace and disaster to the country. It is therefore binding on secondary school students to assist government to fight the anti-social elements like drug addiction, kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and so on. With their co-operation, crime and criminal activities will be greatly minimized.

     Believably too, secondary school students can make a very big difference in the political logjam of the country by assisting to educate and enlighten the masses on the need for honest voting and credible elections. Also they should resolve to refuse recruitment by politicians as thugs to rig elections, manipulate and disrupt credible voting processes in order to ensure a stable and sustainable democracy. This again is a sure sign of development in the right direction. After all, development is not only about building roads, dams and the provision of infrastructure; it is also about good governance and stability. In essence, the role of secondary school students in development should go beyond the ordinary perception of ensuring that measures are put in place to raise living standards but that their lifestyle reflects and exemplifies honestly, forthrightness, reliability and dependability. In so doing, they impact positively on the lives of others around them, not only in words but also in deeds. A good name is better than gold.

     Secondary school students should perceive themselves as future handlers of the nation. Their role should be geared towards building blocks for the nation. As such, they should be law abiding and responsible citizens and every ready to sacrifice freely for the country in order to foster love and unity. Failure on the part of the secondary school students may cause long-term problems for the country and jeopardize her interest. They should endeavour to do the right thing so that they would not let the country down.

     Again secondary school students are a serious force to reckon with in nation building and human capital development in Nigeria. No country can stand the test of time without visible impact from the youths of this segment of learning. They form a critical link between primary and tertiary education and indeed, the labour market. It provides manpower for both the private and public sectors thereby playing a key role in the social, economic and political enhancement of the country. Secondary education is an important intermediary and its beneficiaries play enviable roles in learning, skills and human capital development.

     In conclusion, the ultimate role of secondary school students in Nigeria’s development should include refocusing mindset to development-oriented programmes. They should aim to achieve greater heights so as to become the beacon of light for others to emulate and learn from the beginning the lessons of self-help, self-reliance and self-sacrifice. Also, Nigerian secondary school students should believe in themselves and aim for the skies in order to achieve great strides in national development. This and only such confidence can take us to the “Promised Land” of economic, social and moral development.

Ugoeze Uchegbu – Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School (1st Prize – SSS Category)