Making dance or club music is not all about creating nude concepts---Spane5

Victor Nwasogwa popularly known as Spane5 is the brain behind “Mixline Studio’’. The Music producer cum singer is one of the numerous visionary and talented Nigerian youths who have not been reluctant to exploring their abilities and interests even as undergraduates. His home studio- Mixline, has been of great help  to many up-coming musicians in Nsukka, seeing that their aspirations of venturing into music become realities.  In this interview, he told our correspondent ( CAMPUSLIFE correspondent, The Nation Newspaper) how his journey to becoming a Music Producer started and the change he intends bringing into the music industry.

May we meet you?

My name is Nwasogwa, Victor also known as Spane5, a  400-level student of metallurgical and materials engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). I am a music producer. And have been producing for two years now, majoring in mixing. I have been combining it with my academics perfectly and I like it.

Do you sing also?

Yeah, I do sing, but I am in more of production majoring in mixing. I have singles, so many of them but just two officially released- “Sweet While” and “Serenade”. I am a tenor singer in the Catholic student Choir, UNN. Presently I am working on my digital album to be released before the year runs out.

How and when did the dream to become a music producer started?

The passion started when I was in SS1. That was in 
Federal Government Collage, Ugwolawo in Kogi state. I gained interest in the piano in the church, started teaching myself. With time I started getting help from people who know more than me and it was making sense. I really loved the keyboard very much. From there I moved on to getting myself a guitar and I joined the music class in my secondary school. I was so lucky to have a very nice music teacher, we knew him as Mr. Jang. He really helped me with materials for learning the guitar. Today I think I am even better with the guitar than the keyboard. So when I left secondary school in 2010, I was introduced to a music making software- “FL Studio”. That was how it all started. I started producing and was just surprised at the software: how I can just convert things I played manually with keyboard and piano to digital format. From then I was like, so I can really do things with the computer with not necessarily having the piano by my side. So I started working. Then I got admission the same year into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). From then I kept on pursuing. I stayed in the hostel, and then I had a studio in my father’s house. Around my second year, I started purchasing my own instruments, the equipment I use in my place now.

How were you able to procure those equipment?

 It wasn’t really easy, because then I had to save my pocket money, had to go on my old cloths for a long time so that I can save money to buy some of these equipment. And today I thank God things are moving fine at least I realised all my efforts from what I have now in my place.

Does your being a music producer in any affect your studies?

Yes. It affects my studies, but not so bad. It’s a kind of negligible. Not that it’s actually distracting me, no. But then, I know that if I can put all the efforts am putting into production into my academics it would have made a very big difference. But one fact remains that my academics is something I am kind of dragged to do, but music is something am dragging, something I am liking, it’s something I can do from morning to night and won’t feel hungry, wouldn’t even know that am doing work. But academics is something I will do for just like an hour and I feel like men! I am putting much effort. But then it takes my academics time small, especially now that the influx of people in my home studio is much. But then by God’s grace am putting everything together, and my grade point is okay while am still making it in my music. It is all about time management.

In other words you still take your academics serious?

Yes. Like during my exams, I hibernate my studio through the exam period, clear my papers then I continue again.

May we know your achievements so far, as a beat engineer?

Well I thank God things have really been moving fine. Like I have met so many people, my social life has really improved. For instance, if I need help now, I have so many people I can call on. My mixings and beats have made it to different music sites in Nigeria. I also create tutorial videos on singing and mixing for my Blog.  It is really- really projecting my name. I thank God.

What are your major challenges as a music producer?

My major challenge is separating my music, business, and personal life. Progress in music has a lot to do with fame, and fame brings with it lots of responsibilities. These are my major challenges.

Have you been able to produce beat for any notable figure in the music industry?

I have done a lot of jobs that will really take me to places. When it comes to singles, I have worked with Eclipse; he is also a graduate of UNN. And his record label really approved of my work. We (Spane5 and Eclipse) have many songs we have worked on that are yet to be released. But the last released song we did was “Holy Water’’. I have other student artists I have been working with in UNN, people like IHL, Fiziedeen, Kennybal, Mikyeva etc. but Mikyeva is the only gospel artist I have worked with.

Oh! You don’t work with gospel artists?

No (laughs). Is not like I don’t work with gospel artist; it’s just that 90 percent of the artists who come around to record with me are more of dance hall, hard core secular jams. But lately I did a song for my choir; it was produced by one of our choristers in my studio, Mixline, that’s the name of my studio. Recorded and mixed there. And we are hoping to do an album soon. So it is not like I don’t do gospel.

What would you like to change in the Nigeria’s music industry?

Well-well-well, I want to bring in dynamism! I would like to expand the industry. One problem we Nigerians have is that: one person does a song, the song hits and everybody begins to make the same kind of song, same pattern, same movement, the same flow, and same lyrics. But I want to bring in something: I want to make Nigerians understand that innovation really pays.

So can you drop some words for persons that may want to become beat makers?

My advice to them is to grab every wisdom that you can grab at any point in time. So many people like music but the problem is that not everyone is ready to sacrifice for music. It requires you to read many things, thing that you don’t even understand. Like me I didn’t really come out for any training, but I taught myself. How? By reading; I attended a lot of conferences; I joined the choir; I  stream tutorial videos on singing and mixing on YouTube; I spent sleepless nights doing the same thing, trying and trying and learning. My advice is that if you want to get there, go get the skill.

How has your family accepted your going into music?         

Initially my parents were not cool with it, thinking it is going to affect my education. But their reasoning changed as they saw that my grades were still maintained even till my 300-level. Today my Dad is way proud of my skills and strongly believes in me and  my music as much as he believes in my Engineering which I am not planning to practice if things work out well (rolls eyes).

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

By the next five years (smiles), I hope to be in a big place, I would have gone international by the next five years. Because in two years time I will be graduating from here (UNN), take one year to go settle down, another year to go viral in Nigeria and the next year I am hoping to go international: be heard in other countries.

What message do you hope to pass to the public through music?

The simple message I really want to pass to the world through my music is: be yourself, be innovative, do something different that is good, and it will always pay off.

I guess you have a role model?

Of course! But I have many of them. People like Noah40, Gotye, Don Jazzy, Justin Bieber  etc. are men that their works inspire me a lot.

Most Nigerian hip hop music have been referred to as being lewd and lacking in content. What is your take on this?

Musicians should know that making dance music or club music is not all about creating nude or sensual concepts in your songs, or through your lyrics. There are other things we can always say that will make people want to dance when they listen to your song. Let’s be more creative. Let’s try and sit down and think of something different. In other words positive innovations will always take us there. And again, we should try to promote our societal values through our music.

Thanks for giving us your time and for letting us into your world.

(Laughs) The pleasure is mine!
Follow on twitter @spane5alive

Living in public schools' hostels: an experience or a nightmare?

'Oh! My God! But this was not what we bargained for!' That was the exclamation of a student on entering a hostel’s toilet in one of the Nigerian public varsities. Of course he wasn’t a fresher, but what must have made him to lament? A nightmare?  Gross hostel condition one may be quick to answer. But was this what he bargained for?  This is the  question begging for an answer.

Upon gaining admission to study in a higher institution of learning, a prospective student, couldn’t help but imagine how life in the campus would be. He fantasizes about a lot of things as regards campus activities, ranging from the academic to the social activities. He also gives some moments of his thought to how life in school hostel would actually be, haven heard a lot about campus life.

As a fresher, he couldn’t but be preoccupied by the imagination of the multifarious characters he is to encounter, most especially those he would be made to live with in the same room as roommates, by the students affair department. The thoughts of the wonderful time it would be to be assigned the same room with the good, the fear of the possibility of living with the bad, and the risk in being with the ugly occupies his thought. Nonetheless, he can’t still wait to experience the university life. But would the realities of the hostel life and its environment be fair to this student?

Getting close to some schools hostels, one gets greeted by a bushy environment, awful odour exuding from the gutters and sewage facilities, defaced look of the buildings among other unimpressive situations. Coming into the allocated room and discovering the number of students allocated to the same room, makes one unhappy. As a room a bit bigger than a normal sized room may be assigned  5 to 7 students. And this is common with boys’ hostels.

Most university hostels lack the basic amenities necessary for the survival of the students living in them, making it highly non conducive for a successful academic pursuit. Poor power and water supply has become a tradition that most riots and students protests are commonly associated with them, except in few cases that they are provoked by other factors. In most schools, students living in the hostels buy every drop of water they make use of. While power supply is even more unreliable than areas outside the campus. These nevertheless, are not the only ill conditions obtainable in the hostels as the list is near endless and the entries, appalling.

Those that attended the public tertiary institutions in Nigeria after the early 90s, and lived in the hostels, would be in a better position to testify to its rotten state of bathrooms and rest rooms. The deplorable state of the toilets and bathrooms is now  stale news to the general public and most people has taken it to be synonymous with student’s hostels. While the poor management of these facilities by the school authorities and students affair departments makes it to deteriorate from one state of decadence to a more horrendous one. Most of these facilities are hardly renovated even after serving for more than thirty effective years. Regrettably, their capacities are far under the population of the students making use of them. This expedites their decay that leads to an unhygienic environment, and thus a threat to the health of the students.

This is indeed a travesty of what is obtainable in the public tertiary institutions before the 90s. Some of those people that attended these institutions those days have bemoaned on the level of decadence in the hostels facilities these days. They have decried the poor maintenance of the hostel facilities, and have compared the miserable state to that of the good old days. During matriculation ceremonies: one of the occasions that takes parents and guardians close to their wards’ hostels, the despicable sights welcomes them, and shocking enough is the number of persons per room. Those of them that are educated reminisced their experience those days, and compared it to the nightmares of the present generation. Those day there was constant water supply, functional and affordable refectories, neat and sufficient number of bathrooms and toilets, just two or three students in one room, conducive reading rooms among others. These were their nostalgia.

Notwithstanding, most students still prefer living in the hostel to staying off campus. This is consequent on the live-in experience it affords them. These experience ranges from learning how to live with people of different characters and philosophies diplomatically, to how to manage limited resources. One other reason worthy of mention that attracts students to school hostels, is that it provides them with an environment of study consciousness. Thus being in an environment where one always sees his fellow students go in and out of reading rooms and library or studying in the room, makes him equally study conscious. And even the most unserious student would be moved. In other words, it brings about encouragement and motivational effect on a student. In addition to these, school hostels are more affordable, and provide security for students, except in schools where campus security is weak.

Therefore, the national university commission and other tertiary institutions regulatory boards should henceforth include adequate students’ accommodation facilities as one of the basic requirement to be licensed or remain licensed. Every institution should have an accommodation for at least 80% of her students. And also have provision for expanding the capacity with growth in students’ population. Though it is not compulsory that students should live in the public school hostels, a comfortable and conducive option should be provided for the interested ones.

The nature of the environment in which one if nurtured contribute a great deal to his behavior. Three to six years study duration is enough time to inculcate indelible attitude into ones character. And the hostel provide this attitudes in multifarious forms, depending on the standard it is kept. A ghetto-like hostel has a high tendency of producing graduates of poor manners, uncultured members of the society, rugged and belligerent citizens. Such hostels are more or less of the standard of a penitentiary of the least quality. But a five star hostel neat, uncongested, conducive secured and supplied with necessary social amenities creates an enabling environment for improved academic performance. This produces graduates of high diplomatic sense, patriotic citizens and orderly individuals.

However, if the government and the school authorities are incapable of providing these shelter needs of the students, then the private sector should be allowed to participate. While strict measures should be put in place to ensure that they give the best of services to students, and at a rate affordable to all and sundry

In conclusion, an ideal school hostel provides an avenue for improved experience on interpersonal relationship; a platform for exchange of ideas and innovations; an environment for productive brainstorming among students and excellent academic performance. It is a brooding nest for future quintessential of different professions, and should be made capable for that responsibility. The sorry sights and miserable situations that constitutes the nightmares in most school halls should be brought to an end. The clamour for the adoption of global best practices should also be extended to the management of our hostels. The government and elites should make the hostels to be like a place they would like their own children to live in. Thus, the glory of public schools hostels which serves as a shelter for future leaders and scholars must be restored so that it could once more provide a worthwhile experience.
Kingsley Amatanweze,
 What was your hostel experience like? What would you like to say about public schools' hostels? Make it known in the comment box below:
 

The Black Child

The Black Child

O child of endless potentials,

Farther than the horizon.

Let the iron-cap covering you thoughts,

Fly away like a hopeless hawk.

Into the lifeless desert shall hover it,

 Until the earth stands still.

 For inevitable, Is your arrival.

Hearing your cries the forests mourn,

 Your humiliation causes the sun to shed tears.

Upon your extinction the dawn would retire,

And history would sustain severe injuries,

Oozing smells than the shrew,

Wound that can never heal in your absence.

Memories would taste bitter.

And the eyes would forever swim,

In a gloomy pool of blood.

But your nurture is priceless,

More invaluable than an ocean of cowries.

Your smiles radiates hope,

 Even to the rusty glasses.

Looks so promising,

Flaunts your visionary eyes,

The gateway to boundless possibilities,

Yearning for justice and peace.

Yet, your innocence exudes superlative fragrance,

 Eagerly savoured by the heavenly bodies.

In your absence,

human race looks gloomy,

And assumes an incomplete story.

 Because you are invaluable to her,

More than the bride is to the groom.

 More than darkness is to the dusk.

Than the light is to the eyes,

More are you,

To the surface of the earth.

Yes, that's how you are!

The stereotype is already shedding,

 Like the yellow dead leaves,

Departs from the branches of the Iroko.

And the world will briskly exclaim,

With a voice stronger,

Than the words of a wooden gong,

 That; You are a human eminently,

A terrific creature.

Yes, that's what you are.

One day, surely one day,

The world will assemble,

Chanting to your feats,

Like the gathering at the village square.

There your light will sparkle alfresco,

With the stars guarding your feet,

Shining vehemently;

Like black,

Like to end,

The mortality of man.

So rise, O black child!

For your fate is brill.

Don’t rest on the dump of neglect,

Like did the diffident broken calabash.

For within is your power to explore.

The nature stands strong behind you,

Than the pillars of an endlessly tall mansion.

Your future dazzles,

Than the noon sun frying the earth,

On a day of doom.

And decoding the blinding rays,

 Humanity would reaffirm:

That’s a black child,

A child of bodacious destiny.

Yes, that’s who you are.

Amatanweze Tochukwu Kingsley 

What other lines do you have for the black child? Leave it in the comment box below:

Youth Empowerment and Development: The way forward for Nigeria

The youth, as it is fondly said, are the leaders and hope of tomorrow. And this  is an undeniable fact since they are the pillar upon which a nations future is built . This group of young people with great potentials will be great assets to any nation if their energies and creativity are tapped and utilised (Ahmed: 2013).  So investing in them and bringing them to participating in the activities of our society will hold a bright future for us. The call to empower and develop Nigerian youths is not a new clamour; it has become stale rather, though it has continued to make headlines because of how cardinal the topic is to the sustainable development and prosperity of any nation.

Again, the most active group in any nation are young people and they comprise a larger percentage of the labour force. Any nation that taps into this extra-ordinary potential will definitely be making a tangible and feasible plan that will eventually ensure her well-being in the present and also in the future. However prosperity in this concept does not only mean economic boom, rather it cuts across every indicators of well-being such as good health, social stability, security, absence of corruption, human and infrastructural development among others.

According to Ahmed Razak, youth empowerment is mostly ill-defined and wrongly perceived in Nigeria by parents, the youth themselves and the government. He said: ‘’parents as major stakeholders often perceive youth empowerment as sole responsibility of the government. The youth themselves neglect self development and empowerment, wholly depending on  white-collar jobs; while the government sees youth empowerment as an avenue to initiate policies and programmes although the programmes make little impact on their lives because they are soon hijacked by corrupt government officials for self-aggrandisement.’’

Youth empowerment should not be misunderstood for giving out motorcycles, tricycles and taxis to young boys as some state government has always portrayed in their youth empowerment programmes. Though these vehicles may empower the youths financially, but the concept of youth empowerment and development is not limited to that as it has a lot to do with capacity building and participation.

This paper therefore aims to x-ray the different youth empowerment and development strategies and their benefits to Nigeria’s future. There is no need to say that the future of Nigeria will definitely be in shambles if the youths are not supported, empowered and developed. If the nation fails to invest in the youth so that they would be able to take up the challenges facing the different facets of the economy, then she must be warming up to entertaining a gloomy future.

According to the former secretary general of the United Nations, Koffi Annan, the progress of any nation lies a great deal with the youth: If they are empowered, they tend to work out a sustainable development but if otherwise, the future of the nation will be in ruins. He said: ‘’young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered they can be the agents for development and peace. If however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies’’

 Strategies for Empowering and Developing Nigerian Youths and their benefits

Youth empowerment and development is a diverse concept that touches different facets of life. This is because the empowerment strategies is affected by so many factors like education, policy making and politics, sports, capacity building, health-care, gender equality, job creation and so on. Nigerian nation should review these factors as some of their approaches to developing and empowering her young people.

Education

Education is an indispensible tool in any programme for youth empowerment. Diogenes Leartius averred that: “the foundation of every state is the education of its youth.’’  Sound education undoubtedly is the bedrock of any developed nation. (Amatanweze: 2012). Through education, the youths acquire knowledge and get exposure. This makes them to be civilized and equally enlightened. It brings with it the wind of change as different skills and knowledge are imparted through it. Nigeria’s education system should therefore be repositioned to make it capable of carrying out these responsibilities. The standard should be stepped up in other to bring it at par with what is obtainable in the developed world. The tertiary education given in Nigerian schools should be able to produce graduates that are job creators and not mere job seekers. It should be able to make the youths independent of government jobs upon graduation and should therefore be equipped with necessary facilities and our curriculum restructured to enable the students prepare themselves  for the life after school. Entrepreneurship and vocational training should be made to form a part of our education curriculum, while the National Youth Service corps is to be restructured to be a compulsory one year of entrepreneurship training and skill acquisition (Ahmed:  2013).

The 26 percent of the annual budget of a nation stipulated to be given to the education sector by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), is yet to be met by the Nigerian government. As of now she can only achieve 8.5percent which is a far cry to the agreed percentage.  This poses a great threat to the education sector, the major sector that is saddled with the responsibility of promoting skills and capacity building of the youths. However, the recent dismal performance of secondary students in external examinations is a presage that the sector is going from bat to worst and needs drastic urgent attention.

Policy Making

Another way of getting the youths empowered is by creating a place for them in the policy making of the nation. This unarguably, enables them assist and contribute their own quota especially in those policies that affects the youths. If this platform is provided, there will be no need for demonstrations, riots, breaking of law and order in order to get government’s attention, as early dialogue with the youth will rather help to iron-out things. Their ingenuity and ideas from their young creative minds can also save the nation from their national plights. Just like Pearl S. Buch said: “the young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.’’

Many Nigerian youths have actually proven their mettle in idea generation and innovations. Many more have achieved wonderful feats in technological inventions that even the whole world is amazed at their achievements. This therefore shows that young ones always have something to offer in the policy making of the society and should be given the chance to do so. Ban Ki-moon admonished: “let us acknowledge and celebrate what the youths can do to build a safer, more just world. Let us strengthen our efforts to include young people in policies, programmes and decision-making processes that benefit their futures and ours.’’

Adequate Health-Care

To ensure the securing of a bright future for Nigeria through youth empowerment and development, health issues especially those that has direct link with youthful life must be effectively addressed. Health problems like HIV/AIDS, STDs and others must be tackled vehemently using every possible approach. The campaign against these scourges must be stepped up to forestall the loss of vibrant members of the society-the youths, to the menace. When the youths are protected against these deadly diseases, it enables them to pull their resources into worthwhile ventures.  Again, unwanted pregnancy is another problem that can mar the future of the youths especially the female ones. In the light of this, young girls should be sensitized on the consequences of premarital sex and how to manage peer pressure.

Worthy of mention in this discussion is challenge posed to youth development by drug and substances abuse. The youths are the most hit by this menace and it is becoming prevalent day by day.  Available data in Nigeria reveals that young people between the ages of 11-35 years constitute the high-risk group to drug abuse, (Okorodudu: 2013). Therefore measures employed in stemming this vice should be reviewed in other to make it more effective.

Skill Acquisition and Job Creation

One cannot do justice to a topic on youth development without mentioning skill acquisition. This is a tremendous strategy that is capable of working marvellous in taking the youths off the streets. It helps them to be self employed after garnering knowledge and skills for different crafts and technology. They eventually become change agents as they will be relevant in the bid for industrialization of the nation. This also gets them busy as they are empowered to create jobs for themselves and for other young people and thus staying away from crime. Mohammed Abdullahi in his CIPMN 2012 Second place winning Essay called on youths to embrace skill acquisition as a way to curb joblessness. He said: “individuals should strive, and encourage others, to acquire the necessary business acumen needed to chart a pathway to economic buoyancy. The acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in carpentry, tailoring, painting, plumbing, etc., should be embraced.’’ The youths therefore must not be hell bent on getting white collar jobs.

The Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) programme initiated by the federal government is a welcome development that will help the youths competent and efficient in their respective chosen career. This program if continued will drastically reduce the rate of youth unemployment as they will be made employable and job creators as well. This therefore is a spectacular way of investing in the youths. YOUWIN programme which is aimed at expanding the pool of entrepreneurs by supporting youths with entrepreneurial talents to expand their existing  businesses or set up new ones so that they can employ other youths (Momodu:2013), is a strategic programme that shows commitment to the youths. If this programme is upgraded to be able to absorb more youths, then many Nigerian young people will be highly empowered.

Unemployment is evidently one of the pivotal challenges facing Nigerian youths. According to figures from the national Bureau of statistics, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is about is about 23.9 percent. This is highly above the world average of 14.2 percent (Momodu : 2013). It is no longer news that most industries in Nigeria have gone into moribund as the environment continues to be unfavourable to investments and industrial production. The unavailability of certain amenities that are the base of industrial production for example adequate power supply, has been a big set back to the nations industrialization drive and thus a bane for youth development.

The youth also have roles to play in this project as the contribution of every stakeholder is very crucial for its success. Ban Ki-moon in his remark to youths on 2010 Young Atlanticisit Summit said to them: “You have to take ownership of tomorrow. For that to be possible, you have to strengthen your capacity and widen your vision as a global citizen’’. The youths must show interest in their future and get themselves trained for self reliance so that they don’t depend on anybody for employment. They should rather complement the government’s effort for a better future. This is because no government all over the world can boost of providing employment for 100% of her citizens (Ahmed: 2013).

Youth-Led Media

A platform should be created whereby young ones can always air their views. This youth-led media should provide young people with the opportunity to always speak out on issues concerning the interest of youths and national development. Initiatives like Campus Life pages by the Nation Newspaper and Campus Square pages by the Sun Newspaper are commendable examples that have offered voices to Nigerian students to constructively criticize situations in their campuses and also in the nation at large.

Young people should be given audience as they are in a better position to point out their needs. Therefore providing an avenue for their opinion will make work easier for the leaders as their problems will easily be recognized and remedied. The youth themselves should see that they do not abuse the recent improvement on communication technology such as social networking and the internet. They should make meaningful utilization of the innovation to empower themselves and contribute to the growth of the nation.

Sports

Yet another beneficial strategy is sports. Most of the people involved in the game of sports are young people. Nigeria however is blessed with abundance of talented youths in different sports activities. Efforts should be made to see that these talents do not waste unutilized by developing young people in sports and creating a favourable environment for them to grow in the game and be able to feature even in the international levels. The government, private bodies an youths themselves should invest in the sports sector to see that talented young people are given the training needed to enable them win trophies and medals in competitions. This will offer a great number of the youth lucrative employment and also yield income for the nation. According to the United Nations, sports can contribute to economic and social development, improving health and personal growth for people of all ages and groups. The organisation added: “we underline that sports can foster peace and development and can contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding. …sports can play a role in achieving millennium development goals by contributing to education, health, development and peace in developing countries. ’’

Implications of not Empowering Nigerian Youths

If the youths are not empowered and developed, they will make a mess of the leadership positions when the elders eventually hands over the baton. It is because they have not been trained or given the chance to get close and see how things are been done. As a result they will lack exposure and knowledge and will be in bondage of naivety and ignorance. Giannini A.P said: “I leave everything to the young men. You’ve got to give youthful men authority and responsibility if you are going to build up an organisation. Otherwise you will always be the boss yourself and you won’t leave anything behind you.’’

If the youths are not empowered they find it difficult to get job as they cannot offer what is required of them in the labour market. This however leads to gross rate of unemployment and poverty. Since a hungry man they said is an angry man, they therefore become aggressive and social instability sets in.  This draws back development as the society is brought under the threat of insecurity caused by the insurgence by the jobless youths. They are left with no other option than to vent their grievances and disappointments on the general public.

The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) saga and the amnesty programme is a perfect example of the consequences of not empowering the youths. When their soil and water bodies got damaged by oil spillage, they got depowered as their only sources of livelihood was grossly destroyed. In order to survive, they took solace in weapon and attacked the progress of the oil industry and the nation’s economy was heavily threatened until they got empowered again with the amnesty programme by the federal government. Normalcy returned to the region, insecurity reduced drastically and oil production improved. This is because many of the militants were absorbed into the programme where they are been trained to be independent and useful to themselves and to the nation.

In order words, if the youths are not empowered and developed, they become unqualified job seekers, therefore increasing the rate of unemployment that eventually triggers off youth restiveness, increase in crime rate, and engagement in multifarious forms of social vices. According to Professor Festus Iyayi, “…high levels of youth unemployment pose dangers for the stability of the extant social order.’’ This will work towards hobbling the progress of Nigeria and her future prosperity will be a mirage. The youths have a lot of energy and potentials that if not helped to direct them into good use  becomes a threat to national peace and progress.

Conclusion

By and large, an empowered youth is a productive youth, competent and effective. He is not afraid of challenges rather; he is brave and always ready to deliver. Therefore youth development will equip Nigeria for both present and future challenges and will helps her survive adverse conditions successfully. And hence a bright future guaranteed for the Nigerian nation.

By Kingsley T.O. Amatanweze

References

1.      Ahmed, R. youth empowerment. Guardian newspaper. 04 July, 2013. Available at www.ngrguardiannesws.com/index.php/yuoth-speak/126204-youthempowerment accessed on 15 July 2013.

2.      Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy. Available at www.un.org/../dakar.doc accessed on 10 July 2013.

3.      Emejuo, J. Bureau of statistics: Nigeria’s Economy Records 6.99% Growth. This Day Live. 02 march, 2013. Available at www.thisdaylive.com/articles/bureau-of-satistics-nigeria-s-econoy-trecords-6-99-growth/140997/ accessed on the 12 July, 2013.

1.      Mohammed, A. Second Prize Winning Essay of the CIPMN Annual essay Competition 2012. Available at www.naijawriterscoach.com/second-prize-winning-essay-of-the-cipmn-annual-essay-competition-2012/ accessed on the 20 July, 2013.

2.      Momodu, S. Retooling Graduate Internship. This Day Live. 25 May, 2013. Available at www.thisadyive.com/articles/retooling-graduate-internship/148467/ accessed on 13 July, 2013.

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