From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A non-governmental organisation (NGO) Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI) under a project called “YouthGovTracka” on Friday urged the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, to bring back the Ministry of Youth and Culture to the state.
The NGO also asked Mr. Governor to consider the appointment of a young person of 35 years of age and below to man the ministry to reflect its mandate.
The immediate past governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, had in June 2019 issued an executive order, and transferred the mandates of that ministry to the expanded Ministry of Human Services and Social Development (MHSSD) as a department under it.
Youth Focal Person in Kaduna State, Joy Gadani and two others in a communique issued at the end of a partnership visit to the director of youths, MHSSD by members of “YouthGivTravha” noted that the campaign manifesto of Governor Sani promised to prioritise young people as the largest demographic in Kaduna State.
“From sports to education, skills development, and health, our programmes will build and support the ability of young people to thrive”, the communique quoted Uba Sani as saying in one of his recent public engagements.
Some of the concerns raised in the communique include zero budgetary allocation for the Kaduna Start-up Entrepreneurship Programme (KADSTEP); counterpart funding in the 2024 budget despite being captured as one of the items on the manifesto.
Zero implementation framework of the National Youth Policy, low awareness on the existence of the policy, absence of youth staff at the youth department of MHSSD, suspension of Sir Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship since 2023 despite N172.9bn funds votes for it in 2024. Budget.
To this end, the group urged Mr. Governor to prioritise education and empowerment of young people as key to converting that population from the dependency stage into becoming sustainable assets.
“Establish a youth ministry, with a young person of 35 years of age and below as the commissioner among others.
To this group, investing in the youth population is not just a strategic decision; but an imperative for shaping a brighter future for generations to come.