Peter Obi and The Role Of Youths In Shaping The Future Of Nigeria
The chaotic state of Nigeria today has often incited the question of whether there is a future for the large number of populations in Nigeria. Do Nigerian youths dare to dream lately? If they do, in what ways will they accomplish these dreams? This is a continuation of our article series – “Peter Obi and The Audacity of Hope.”
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It is a glaring fact that the weight of this tangled mass of problems is heavily weighed on the Nigerian youths which robs them of the opportunity to dream, hone their talents, and birth innovations as expected of them.
Youths are inarguably the spine of every society because of the impacts they make. They constitute the main human resources every society gearing towards development capitalizes on to attain its desired goals.
Evidence of the youth’s importance could be seen in the way developed countries across the world carry their youth along, and engage them in works that’ll prompt growth.
Before Nigeria was able to gain her independence, our heroes and forefathers who labored on end to see that the country is salvaged from colonialism were all in their prime-they were in their youth which aided them to pursue and claim our independence. However, in these contemporary times, youth engagement or participation is farfetched.
Youths, according to the African Youth Charter and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are those that fall within the range of 15 to 35 years. The United Nations Organization thus classified youths as those that are between 15 to 24 years old. The definition of who the youths are varies from perception to perception and society to society. However, it’s only certain that there’s a linkage between “youths” and development.
A society that fails to engage the labor of its youth will not clamber to the pinnacle of growth and development it envisions. Unfortunately, that has been the reality of Nigeria today.
For a country with the highest population (the majority being the youth) in Africa, Nigeria had failed to bring her youths closer to spearheading the big dreams all stashed away in their minds.
The adage ‘youths are leaders of today’ is in no way applicable in the country as the public and private offices littering the country are occupied by old men. In all, Nigeria practices gerontocracy – a system which had been in place from the earliest times.
A stride back to Nigerian history exposes the fact that from the olden days, youths were never among decision-makers in all various kingdoms that once existed in Nigeria, rather they were only called upon in times of war or construction purposes. It is a surprise that the past heroes of Nigeria worked in their prime. Well, from then till today, the youth have not been proactive in matters that concern the country.
“Your vote doesn’t count” is a common fallacy that brewed Nigerian youths into political agathists from 1999 until 2020. Nigerian youths did something that quaked the government through their fierce demands to end SARs that were known to have made the lives of youths a living hell.
These special police squads wasted people’s lives, detained others, and fake profiled youths, etc. However, the October protests in 2020 left in its wake, a clarion call for a change of government in Nigeria as the youth realized the power they have when fused as one.
The regional tussle for power, tribalism, and sentiments that had been in existence for ages were maximized by the politicians to remain in power. Thereby stripping the youths, of the oneness needed to hatch the plans for a New Nigeria. Today, however, Nigerian youths are out to fight for change, although there have been some stumbling blocks that barricade the youths from achieving their aims.
The Major Challenges Facing The Nigerian Youths
What obstacles do the young people in Nigeria face as they navigate their daily lives? These challenges encompass corruption, insecurity, unemployment, and energy shortages. Among these issues, youth unemployment looms as the most formidable and urgent concern.
This discussion also sheds light on crucial aspects such as the upbringing of young individuals, strategies to combat crime and juvenile delinquency, youth gang involvement, deficiencies in education, and the prevalent problem of youth unemployment in the Nigerian population.
1. Corruption and bad government.
One of the major things that halt Nigerian youths from driving the country towards the aspired progress is corruption and bad government. Sadly, these two blended things have become a culture in the country. The youths are born into this institutionalized corrupt government which rips them of their rights, and ability to engineer progress in the country.
The government as aforementioned is filled with old men that see the seat of power as their heritage, thus cockblocking youths from ascending into politics. Hence, the political apathy. The issue is thus worsened by the fact that these men don’t provide jobs that’ll engage the youths, rather they extort the funds that should be channeled towards job creation, etc.
2. Illiteracy
Many Nigerian youths are illiterate which leaves a devastating effect on the country. However, this problem was spurred by the high cost of education that has taken residence in all Nigerian schools, hence preventing people from envisioning attending schools.
In that same vein, the lack of infrastructure and poor funding of schools had led to the brewing of half-baked graduates. Nigerian schools are not exposed to various things in pari-passu with the digital era we’re in.
3. Poverty
The poverty level in the country has skyrocketed to an unbearable degree, shutting off people’s dreams of earning a living through legal means. The increase in population in the country is ensured by an increase in poverty. Currently, average Nigerians live below $1.
With this increment of hardship, youths are not only crippled from working towards the country’s growth but also, they embrace the thoughts of doing shady things to survive. Hence, the high rate of crime has bedeviled the country in recent times.
4. Disunity Among Youths
Being a country with different tribes, Nigerian youths are sentimental, tribalistic, religious, and regionally biased and these men in politics have wielded that as their tool to whip the minds of the youths away from their evils in power.
The youths tend to support anyone from their tribe, religion, or region during elections whether he or she is competent or not. Of course, this thought process will not facilitate the progress needed rather it’ll continuously leave the country in the shaky hands of old men.
For there to be a flat-out development in Nigeria, the youths should discard their sentiments and tangle together as one.
5. Underemployment and Unemployment.
About 80% of the country’s youth are unemployed or underemployed but yearly close to 1,000 students graduate from university across the country. With these hordes of people put out of jobs to earn a living, the poverty level exacerbates which in line brings about increased social vices.
Lately, we hear rampant cases of kidnapping, rape, bombing, etc. Those engaging in these cruel acts are the youths who had wandered the streets in search of jobs with no good results.
The Role Of Youths In Shaping The Future Of Nigeria
Despite the storm raging across the country, crumbling all sectors of the economy, there are still roles Nigerian youths could play to drive the country towards progress, as it should.
Nigerian youths should strive to be educated for it’s through knowledge and exposure will they know their rights, and stir their spirit of oneness and patriotism, handwork, and honesty. Through this, they can enlighten the aged ones in various communities on what they should do to facilitate development.
The youths should also kill the knowledge that ‘Politics is for the rich only and vote don’t count.’ This idea is what the old men in power fabricated to deter the youths from developing an interest in politics.
Thus, for there to be development, youths should cling to the knowledge that they are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also leaders of today, so they can fight and set a government that’ll help create that New Nigeria that all have dreamt about.
Peter Obi’s Efforts Towards Empowering The Youths.
Peter Obi assured Nigerians that if elected president he’ll create a new Nigeria “devoid of mass poverty.” He was able to gather the support of throngs of people because of the list of things he outlined he would do that resonated with the dreams and aspirations of the people. He’s seen as the hope towards achieving the new Nigeria everyone wants.
Obi assured that during his tenure as the president, he’ll invest hugely in education and ensure that unemployment is a thing of the past.
“With Obi and Datti, a new Nigeria is possible, and I dare to say that Nigerians can hold me responsible if we do not turn Nigeria around for good,” he said.
“Nigerian youths, young people in Nigeria don’t know where the next meal will come. We have a high level of youth unemployment, we would employ our youth, and we would make them productive. We have vast land in the north where our youth will be engaged, and they will be productive. Nigeria will feed itself; Nigeria will be a great nation again.”
Conclusion on The Role Of Youths In Shaping The Future Of Nigeria
For the Nigerian dream to be attained, all youths must avoid tribalism, regionalism, and religion that clouded their minds and unite their efforts towards fighting for that future that they desire.
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