Addressing the needs of youths
The advice by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on African leaders to sit up to their responsibilities and stave off the anger of the youths is one that needs to be taken seriously. Obasanjo, who observed that the youths are restless, unhappy, bitter, angry, unemployed and dissatisfied, stated that they cannot wait for a long-promised future. “They want action now. If we fail to deliver, we will be in trouble,” he warned.
The former leader stated this at an event in Kisumu, Kenya. This is the second time the former president would be raising such alarm in recent times. He had earlier noted that Nigeria was axiomatically sitting on the keg of gun powder on account of youth restiveness, unemployment, corruption in the oil sector and neglect of agriculture accounting for hunger in the land.
Obasanjo said this on the heels of the #Endbadgovernance nationwide protests by the youths over hunger and hardship in the country. He lamented the rising youth unemployment, which he insisted, must be tackled before it gets out of hand.
“Our youths are restive. And they are restive because they have no skill. They have no empowerment. They have no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. And my prayer is that we will do the right thing before it’s too late,” he stated. From August 1-10, the youths embarked on protests that escalated in some parts of the country, resulting to violence and looting. In some states in the North, the protesting youths were spotted flying Russian flags.
As a follow-up, the organisers of the protest have issued a notice for another exercise, raising a17-point ultimatum to the Federal Government. Part of the demands is the scrapping of the 1999 Constitution, replacing it with a people-made constitution, and the restructuring of Nigeria to accommodate its diversity. Others include the immediate and unconditional release of protesters detained in the previous outing, the unfreezing of their assets, and compensation for the distress and hardships endured during peaceful demonstrations. The movement also called for the removal and prosecution of government officials accused of suppressing protests and violating human rights.
Obasanjo has urged the Federal Government to listen to the youths and not treat their concerns with levity, adding that what the youths were seeking through their nationwide protests were legitimate. He said there could be dire consequences if their demands were not met as soon as possible.
The alert by the former president is instructive and deserves attention. Nigeria’s population is estimated to be over 200 million. Nearly 70 per cent of the figure is estimated to be under the age of 30. This can serve as demographic advantage for economic development. It can equally be challenging, if the youth population is not well deployed. The government should bear in mind that the future of any country depends on its youth population.
Treating the youths with levity has been the bane of Nigeria’s development. This accounts for the rising insecurity in the land, manifested in insurgency and terrorism in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, intermittent farmers/herders clashes in the North-Central, kidnapping and ethnic nationalism in the South-West and South-East and militancy in the South-South. Certainly, the youths are unleashing their anger on the nation that has for long abandoned them.
With the downturn in the economy, the number of idle and unemployed youths has been on the rise. Their future looks bleak and uncertain. What Obasanjo said is therefore an advice that should be heeded. There is need for the authorities to listen to the vibes in the country. Let the government invest in the youths.
The issues identified by the organisers of the October protests should also be addressed. The ultimatum from the youths should be seen as a wake-up call on the government to sit up. There is no time to waste. Government at all levels should cut the rising cost of governance and reduce frivolities among government officials. Prolonged disillusionment and frustration among the youths can trigger violence and political instability, as they become easy targets of manipulation by mischievous minds.
The education system should be tailored to meet the demands of the labour market. Many Nigerian youths graduate from secondary schools and universities with qualifications that do not align with the demands of the industry. There is need to refocus the curriculum from theoretical knowledge to practical skills for self-employment. The energy of the youths must be harnessed for the development of the country.
