A development expert, Dr Mbee Daniel, has urged governments at all levels to give priority attention to the empowerment of youth to enable them fit into the productive economy.
Dr Daniel gave the charge while speaking with The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.
The expert, who is a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, said the prevalence of crime in the society today was as a result of the disengagement of youth from productive activities, which resulted in boredom.
He pointed out that if the functional capacities of Nigerian youth were boosted through specialised training, it would help in ridding the society of crime.
He decried a situation where most of the youth that constituted the active productive age were left to wallow in inactivity, noting that this was a bad omen for the future economic growth of the country.
He called for the introduction of special youth employment programmes and policies by the three tiers of government to properly engage the youth in profitable ventures.
Dr Daniel also called for the reintroduction of the school-to-land programme, where youths would be encouraged to be actively involved in agricultural activities through the provision of the right incentives to carry out large scale farming.
This, he said, would enhance food sufficiency and also earn the youth good income to cater for their living.
He also urged interventionist agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to make youth empowerment a critical part of their development policies.

Taneh Beemene