The International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 of every year to raise awareness about the challenges faced by young people around the world and promote their potential. The United Nations, according to reports, designated the International Youth Day as an opportunity to highlight various themes and topics that are relevant to young people. They include education, employment, mental health, human rights, civic engagement, and social inclusion. These topics are important for discussion as youngsters make up a significant demographic group whose health, mindset and education can help shape the future of our planet.
Historically, the IYD dates back to 1999 when the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers responsible for youth that August 12 be declared the IYD. Since then, the day has been used to raise awareness about the challenges faced by youth and ways of overcoming them, as well as to highlight the achievements of young people. The first IYD was celebrated on August 12, 2000.
However, as the global community, on Saturday , celebrated this auspicious occasion with seminars, workshops and campaigns directed towards the youth, the crucial point that calls for concern is that in Nigeria, our leaders act as if they are unmindful of the fact that for nation to move forward politically and socio-economically, its leadership must demonstrate passion for talents, actively encourage capable individuals, honour those who excel in their profession, and encourage their citizens so that they can go peacefully about their business; whether it is trade, agriculture or others.
To shed more light, Nigeria is facing many problems that are disrupting its progress. Some of them are corruption, insecurity, unemployment, and lack of energy. Of these problems, the most pernicious of all them is youth unemployment.
Although Nigerians have in the recent past seen some job creation initiatives from the Federal Government with initiatives under the social investment programme, such as the N-Power, there are still growing concerns and frustrations among youth. It’s evident that youth unemployment is rapidly on the increase and may not end suddenly unless something drastic and dramatic is done by the government.
To corroborate the alarming rate of youth unemployment is the 2023 general elections where jobless youths flooded political campaign grounds. This is an avoidable tragedy.
As I sympathise with these youths whose shoulders rest on the crushing effects of the fallen standard of education in the country, which has rendered many unemployable, I must confess also that instant gratification and other negative influences have rendered some youths lazy and morally bankrupt.
However, these unruly behaviours do not by any means exonerate the government of the blame for the frustration and agonising moments the youths are passing through. The lack of political will to tackle the challenge from its roots, and creatively look for constructive channels to fight the enemy called unemployment contributed to the ever-increasing number of both the unemployed and underemployed.
To explain, if the government has done anything substantial in this direction, Nigerians will not have to look very far to see the impact. And my concern is not what the Federal Government intends to do or is capable of doing; rather, my concern is about what it is presently doing, and if it’s in the best interest of the Nigerian youth.
One needs to take a look at the danger of such wicked neglect. First, aside from the fact that youth unemployment has put us in a position of appearing before the world as a people that lack a plan for their future leaders, the situation makes the world to conclude that our government is unmindful that youth unemployment comes with challenges that cut across, regions, religions, and tribes. Undoubtedly, this had, in the past, led to the proliferation of ethnic militias as well as youth restiveness.
Notably, this threat has become even more pronounced; not just in the oil-rich Niger Delta with a chunk of the proponents spearheaded by professionally-trained ex-militants currently without any job, but also in the North where the almajiris are on the increase by the day.
The alarming rate is also being felt in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other major commercial cities in the country where the number of unemployed youths that have fallen into urban-poor bracket is presently higher than other demographic classifications.
Very instructive also, our leaders may be ‘winning political positions’ but their inability to turn these victories into a better life for youths through job creation and other social programmes is beginning to generate questions about their integrity.
Thankfully, with the electioneering over, it will be highly rewarding to remind these leaders of valuable options waiting to be accessed in controlling this appalling situation, and the impending danger of their failure.
This piece holds the opinion that the government must do something to help the youth come out of this challenge. It is in the interest of the government and the nation at large to create jobs for the youth as a formidable way of curbing crime and reducing insecurity in the country. It should be done not merely for political considerations but from the standpoint of national development and democratic sustenance.
To get started, it will augur well if the Federal Government overhauls agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Presidential Amnesty Office to be more responsive in job creation and youth capacity building.
In the same token, getting both the nation’s academic curricula and the National Youths Service Corps scheme to accommodate entrepreneurship and skill development with the likes of the Industrial Training Fund and National Directorate of Employment equipped to handle youth skill training with startup funds made available is also another means of overcoming this challenge.
Another method of solving youth unemployment is by creating a productive collaboration between the government, private organisations and civil society groups.
It is important to know that, “For Nigeria to be all that it can be, the youth of Nigeria must be all they can be.” The future of Nigeria depends on what it does today with its dynamic youth population. This demographic advantage must be turned into a first-rate and well-trained workforce for Nigeria, the region, and the world. We should prioritise investments in the youth by upskilling them for the jobs of the future, not the jobs of the past. We, as a country, should move away from so-called youth empowerment to youth investment. We should open up the social and political space to youth to air their views and become a positive force for national development. By ensuring all these are done, we would have created wealth for the young ones.
The youth, on their part, must recognise that the future is full of promises as it is fraught with uncertainties. They must know that the industrial society is giving way to a knowledge-based society. They must, therefore, learn to be part of the knowledge-based world.
