Promoting Youth Development

How do we liberate the energy of the human race and recruit everyone
into the critical army of nation builders? How do we convert the
teeming population of consumers to producers? It is by way of Youth
development.

Youth development will create in the youths minds ready and willing to
add value and create wealth. As a nation, it will change us from a
dependent nation to a developed nation. It will chart an alternative
route for us to national development and we will no longer depend
solely on crude oil for survival. That is why the future of any nation
depends on her investment in the youths. As a nation that anticipates
transformation, the development of the youth is an issue that must be
tackled urgently as it is the only gate way to democracy building and
national transformation.

To start the process of promoting youth development, my government
should begin with a total renewal of the minds of the youth by
instilling in them a sense of morality and discipline. Any effort of
the government to promote youth development without instilling in them
a sense of morality will be tantamount to building a good structure on
a faulty foundation. When the youths are morally sound, the inordinate
ambition to amass wealth which often results in violence will not be
paramount in their heart. This can be achieved by the introduction of
civic education based on ethics and integrity in the curriculum of our
institutions of learning. I must note here that the minds of Nigerian
youth have been so corrupted that honesty is no longer the best policy
but an act of foolishness. This may be due to the fact that we had few
leaders who have mirrored to us real integrity. That is why a
re-orientation of the youths become important.

In addition, government should create employment opportunities for the
teeming youths so as to stem the high level of insecurity, armed
robbery and kidnapping. Unemployment is actually the root of all
societal ills. It sets idleness in motion. And idleness is not a
disease of the hand, it is a disease of the heart. It triggers immoral
imaginations. That's why employment breeds every other vices. To curb
these excesses, Government should establish many small and medium
scale industries where youths can be gainfully employed. I must note
here that Nigeria has millions of youths who are exceedingly creative
and talented but has no place to explore their potentials. These
employments doesn’t have to be white collar jobs but an enabling
environment where educated youths can use their educational knowledge
and skills to produce new goods and make new inventions that will
improve the standard of living of this country. These will save the
country billions of Naira we spend annually on importation.
Moreover, government should provide skill acquisition centres in every
state of Nigeria. These centres will serve as an arena where youths
can learn skills in areas of their interests. The skills acquired will
make them self-reliant and responsible members of the society. After
this process, government should grant them loans to start a small
scale enterprise. Procedures should also be made for them to refund
the loan on installment basis. This will help to curtail the
increasing rate of poverty.

Also, the government of this country should provide sound education
for the youths. The focus of this education should not be to produce
graduates with head knowledge but to produce youths who have their
minds transformed to provide solutions to challenges they will
encounter on their journey to adulthood and the ones this nation is
experiencing. A system of education that encourages people to cram,
pass exams, get certificate after which they forget everything is
going to be detrimental to the overall development of this nation.
This is why the educational system of this country requires a total
over-hauling.

In conclusion, government should involve the youth in her
decision-making process. It should be noted that we are the leaders of
tomorrow and today’s decisions affect tomorrow’s opportunities. Hence,
our involvement in the decision making process of the country will
birth in us a sense of responsibility and commitment. The
consciousness that it is our future that is being decided upon will
compel us to make decisions and policies that will secure our future.
In essence, any form of development that excludes the participation of
the youths is going to have a short life span. And this is evident in
the Nigerian society. This further buttresses the indispensable role of the youths in
national development.

Isola Taiwo wrote African prospects  from College of Medical Sciences,
University of Maiduguri. 

What other things do you think should be done to encourage youth development? Tell us in the comment box below: