Harnessing Potentials Of Rivers Youths For Dev’t

Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveal that youth  consists of about 50 percent of the total population of Nigeria. The same is true of most States of the Federation including Rivers State, the nation’s hub of oil and gas activities.
The implication is that for a seamless, hitch-free acceleration of economic growth, there is need to harness the potential of youths.
The Innovative projects & tech disruptions championed by the Nigerian youth in virtually every sector of the economy and others are eloquent testimony and testimonials of the ingenuity, skills, brilliance, resourcefulness and resilience of the youths in the State.
The youth play significant roles in the building and development of every society, the myriad of socio-economic and political challenges notwithstanding.
Youths are the evolvers of economic, social, political and cultural transformation and the drivers of change.
According to the 2019 National Youth Policy, youths were classified as people between 15 to 29 years.
The youths no doubt are talented, innovative, self-reliant, hardworking, resilient, progressive and have the capacity to drive positive change.
Going by available statistics on the numerical strength of youth population in Rivers State, It is pertinent to state that the youths represent the enormous potential the State has against the depreciating population of some states in Nigeria.
If a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is measured by its output divided by its population, then we must continue to encourage youths in the State by engaging them meaningfully and productively.
The government should not rest on its oars in investing in the youths’ education, healthcare, housing, security and other basic amenities to create an enabling environment that will stimulate productivity in youths of the State.
We need to cultivate a taste for Made-in-Rivers shoes or sandals. Most people discriminate against goods made in the State. They associate quality with Western made goods and high prices. But where the enabling environment and funding is provided, entrepreneurs in the State can favourably and effectively compete in terms of innovations, designs, ideas and ingenuity in any local market in the country.
As a State, there is need to think out of the box on the way forward for our teeming and enterprising youths. When a government constructively, deliberately, relentlessly and adequately empowers the youths to engineer innovation and assume leadership positions, then the State is on the fast lane of progression in all ramification. There should be a deliberate and intentional commitment to foster a generation of youth that are thoroughly bred and equipped for sustainable success and development.
The State government under Chief Nyesom Wike has reiterated its determination to diversify the economy and broaden the internally generated income capacity of the State. This effort has paid off tremendously through the response of tax payers to the government’s clarion call which is premised on a friendly tax regime. The gesture has enabled the State to ensure a paradigm shift from the predominant oil economy into a diversified economy where tax payment plays an invaluable role.
However, a well educated working class of youths would represent the highest potential of income earning from tax. Government should therefore make reasonable efforts to employ more youths to fill existing vacancies in the State Public Service, and non civil/public service sector.
Financial institutions, multinational and oil companies operating in the state should work out modalities on how to effectively empower youth entrepreneurs. When the youths are beneficiaries of such investments, the State will inevitably and ultimately reap the dividends as the youth pay tax, employ labour and broaden the economic capacity of the State.
Some youths are readily available for use to cause restiveness. It is crystal clear that the youth constitute the majority of the perpetrators of crime and criminality in the State. Most cases of robbery, banditry, cultism, prostitution, gangsterism, militancy etc. in the State, are associated with youths between the age bracket of 18 – 35 years. This is appalling.
However, it is necessary to state that most of the youths conscripted to carry out nefarious or negative activities if gainfully employed and qualitatively educated would not be vulnerable to the antics of mischief-makers and be ready tools or agents of destruction and restiveness.
Youths in the State should not be used to violently midwife change by desperate politicians but should be engaged in formal political processes and let their view count in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s policies to make a long term difference.
It is not saying a new thing that inclusive participation in politics is essentially and fundamentally democratic and political right and is a sine qua non in entrenching a stable and peaceful society. Youths, therefore, should make reasonable efforts to know their rights and should be relevantly empowered with knowledge and capital to participate meaningfully in political processes, elections and decision making.
It was reported that as of December 2020, Nigeria had more than 154 million internet users. This dominating internet presence has produced a generation of tech-entrepreneural youths whose innovations and small scale internet related business, phone repairs help to improve lives of people.
In response to the increasing need for literacy in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the 21st century, the state government established an ICT Centre, part of its responsibility is for development of manpower in ICT and several youths from and in the State have benefitted from the phased free training.
To enhance its commitment to technology development, the State government should identify and negotiate with youth tech entrepreneurs to create the supportive environment needed for improved ICT knowledge acquisition. Youths should not only be trained, they should be given starter packs after training. Also more funding should be made available to them to motivate more youths to opt for tech entrepreneurship as to divert their attention from crime and criminal tendencies.
The increasing unemployment rate, though not peculiar to the state, affecting many youths can be addressed by creating the enabling environment through adequate funding and incentive for youths to go into mechanised farming. A booming agricultural sector will midwife a significant reduction on the unemployment rate in the state and translate to reduction of the crime rate that youths are mostly associated with.
The entertainment and recreation sectors can serve as windows to strengthen the State’s economy. The demography of the two sectors reveal that youths are more involved.
Potentials come to limelight when the youth are surrounded by people and policies that value them by recognising their contributions and respecting their rights. Their involvement in governance will increase effectiveness and contribute to their development.
According to Lao Russell, the philosopher.and educationist, “in vain we build the city if we don’t first build the man”. Rivers youths are endowed with potentials. Let’s develop the potential and build a Rivers State of our fathers’ dream.

By: Igbiki Benibo