A Place For Youth In National Development

Youths in any society are known to be the leaders of tomorrow; therefore, their role in sustainable national development cannot be over-emphasized. Over the years, there has been a gradual increase in global awareness about the role of the youths in sustainable development. For instance, the United Nations, in 1985, drew the attention of the world to the important role of the youths in the world, by declaring that year an International Youth Year for Development and Peace.

Ten years later, the United Nations went further to strengthen its commitment to the youths by adopting the World Program of Action for Youth (WP A Y) in order to address more effectively, the problems of youths with a view to increase opportunities for their participation in the society.

It should be noted, that the World Program of Action for Youths (WP A Y) is intended to encourage government to be more responsive to the aspirations of the youths for a better world.

In this bid, the State and local government, and other authorities set up to integrate the youths into the process of national development should provide jobs for the teeming millions of unemployed youths as a challenge facing all modem government.

Presently, statistics from the United Nations indicates, that the situation is sure to worsen as more youths enter the labour markets.

Nigeria with a youth population close to eighty million, has about eighty per cent of  these youths unemployed, with about ten percent under-employed. The estimated ten percent in employment are burdened and depressed with near total dependence on relatives and family members.

Meanwhile, more graduates are entering the labour market, to join thousands still searching for non-existing jobs.

Professor Chukwuma Soludo, a one time Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria while in office declared, “that these Nigerian youths are largely unemployable due to lack of requisite skills needed in the competitive global employment market …” adding that, “the educational system needs a review and total reform to link schooling with the job market”. Unfortunately, the less attention given to integrating the youths into national development has also degenerated to a decline of access to higher education due to combination of poverty, dwindling academic attainment and other avoidable reasons, while delay in graduation is on the increase resulting from incessant strikes by stakeholders within the academic community, and in most cases, insensitivity of government towards the welfare of lecturers.

The cumulative effect of loosening graduate unemployment and high rate of out-of-school youths is a major breakdown in transition chain from youth to adulthood. These inadequacies attributable to stakeholders in the academic sector, including government operatives is seen as factors of disconnection from the mainstream of the society, leading to heightened youths crime; ranging from  drug abuse, debasement of moral values and a general sense of unpatriotism among the youth population.

The consequence of a continuous non-proper integration of youths in the process of national development is deeply negative, because the attainment of the many lofty goals of a functional government depends on close collaboration with the citizenry. The disconnections of the youth, who are the most virile segment of the population from the mainstream of the society, is a major impediment.

It is therefore pertinent to state that the attainment of the Federal Government’s Vision 2020 can only be achieved if President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is totally committed to tackle youth unemployment through a presidential inter-ministerial initiative.

As at today, several agencies in their peculiar ways implement policies on employment generation. For instance, the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) has a programme on youth employment; the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) serves as the main employment generation body, but the evaluation of its programme in the areas of youth employment confirmed that a nationwide action plan is still needed.

Youths are agents of change and are essential to sustainability of any national development efforts.

Unfortunately, while most countries of the world have made progress in the implementation of international recommendations for youth development, and are reaping the benefits of such implementation, Nigerian youths presently have had to grapple with the effects of poor economic growth and unprecedented rise in unemployment, in addition to the huge challenge of finding a place in the political and socio-economic development of the nation.

It is therefore a clarion call for us all to stand up in defence of our youths by helping them develop normally to face squarely future challenges as leaders of tomorrow.

Fuayefika,a public analyst, writes from Port Harcourt.

Tonye Fuayefika