In a move to address the grievances of Nigerian youths, President Bola Tinubu, the other day, announced that his administration would convene a 30-day National Youth Conference. This was contained in the President’s nationwide broadcast to celebrate Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary. The president also pointed out that the conference would serve as an avenue to address the myriad of problems facing the youths, as well as highlight opportunities to be exploited by young people in the country.
Apart from being a platform to address the diverse challenges and opportunities confronting our young people, who constitute more than 60 per cent of our population, the President said the confab will provoke meaningful dialogue and empower our young people to participate actively in nation-building. By ensuring that their voices are heard in shaping the policies that impact their lives, the government is creating a pathway for a brighter tomorrow for the youths.
At the confab, young people nationwide will collaboratively develop solutions to education, employment, innovation, security and social justice. President Tinubu stressed that the modalities of the confab and selection of delegates would be designed in close consultation with our young people through their representatives. He equally promised that the aspirations of young people would form the kernel of the conference’s deliberations, while assuring that the government would implement the recommendations.
Although some people have criticized the confab, it is good for the government to dialogue with all Nigerian youths. We believe that the confab will give the youths the opportunity to share their frustrations and grievances with the President. It is also coming at a time the youths are disenchanted with the political system in the country. The problems facing Nigerian youths include unemployment, economic hardship and lack of faith in the country. Nigerian youths had protested twice in 2024 alone over bad governance, food crisis and other issues.
Sadly, Nigerians are still grappling with some of the issues that led to the protests. The participation of Nigerian youths in the nation’s politics is dismal. The monetization of the democratic process has alienated Nigerian youths from politics. Our politics since independence has been dominated by the rich. Some of the youths are used as political thugs and at times messengers to those in power and their wives.
The political space has been dominated by the aged. Although the youths are said to be the leaders of tomorrow, it is a different ball game in Nigeria. For the youth conference to be effective, the government should involve Nigerian youths from all parts of the country. This should not be a conference for All Progressives Congress (APC) youths and acolytes of the administration.
The government should avoid crowding the conference with political loyalists and thugs who do not have the interests of the youths at heart. The conference must find a way to address the Japa syndrome, which is robbing the country of its most vibrant population and millennials. An African Polling Institute survey from 2022 found that 69 per cent of Nigerians aged 18-35 would relocate given the opportunity – despite a slight fall from 2021. In 2019 the figure was just 39 per cent. This does not bode well for the development of Nigeria.
The youth conference would be counterproductive if its essence is to gather some youths and give them mere handouts. One of the greatest challenges facing Nigerian youths today is unemployment. About 53.40 per cent of youths are unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics figures released in 2022. The high percentage of unemployed people has given rise to rising crimes and other forms of criminalities.
The conference should include teaching skills to participants. The government must consider implementing the decisions arrived at the conference. Beyond the conference, it should also take it as a priority to create skill acquisition centers in every local government area to prepare the youths to be self-reliant. The United Nations defines a youth as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. The youth conference must be strictly for the youths and not older opportunists. We also hope that the youth confab will not end up as another jamboree. Its report should not be kept in the archives like previous conferences.