Tinubu hails youths' creative zeal as Obi links social unrest to neglect

• LP charges youths to gear up for leadership positions
• Our leaders deny us opportunities they had, youths lament

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, celebrated Nigeria’s youths, extolling their creative zeal to drive digital adoption, trends and innovation in the country and beyond.

“Within the nation’s youths lie the excellent spirit and pearl of transformation to digitally innovate Nigeria to prosperity and global acclaim,” President Tinubu said on International Youth Day, which is celebrated every August 12.

The President stated that it is in furtherance of harnessing the creative talents of the youths that his administration re-launched the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. According to him, the facility is a N110 billion fund dedicated to empowering the youth in priority sectors to drive sustainable economic growth and development.

The Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) programme, the 3Million Technical Talents Scheme, the Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA), and the National Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP) are also some of the programmes to empower the nation’s young people and create millions of IT and technical jobs that will make them globally competitive.

Notwithstanding the government’s initiatives, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has said low investment in Nigerian youths over the years has led to recurring social crises in some parts of the country. Obi said the government must empower the youth through investment in critical sectors like education and healthcare to foster development and reduce poverty.

The former Anambra State governor said: “For a predominantly youthful nation, investing in our youths remains critical to overcoming many of the societal challenges we face today in trying to position the nation on the path of true development. Most of the raging issues like insecurity, banditry, violent agitations, and uprisings in many parts of the country are obvious results of youth neglect over the years.”

The Labour Party has however challenged youths to gear up to take leadership roles in Nigeria and beyond. Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, who remarked Abuja while addressing the LP youth wing, insisted that Nigerian youths have failed to take up leadership positions in Nigeria, unlike their counterparts all over the world. He urged Nigerian leaders to make policies to be able to harness the energy and potential of the Nigerian youths.

Nigerian youths have also called on the government to address the country’s pressing youth development challenges. According to them, the current generation of leaders largely lacked various opportunities when they were young, but they have not given the current generation that kind of opportunity.

They spoke on Monday at an International Youth Day event hosted by the Network of Youth for Sustainable Initiative (NGYouthSDGs), in partnership with Oxfam in Nigeria, under the theme “From Awareness to Action: Empowering Youth in Nigeria for the SDGs” in Abuja.

Programme Manager, Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation, Joseph Ibrahim, observed that there is a disconnect in the relationship between the government and young people. According to him, many leaders see the youth as having nothing to offer, stressing the need for them to give young people a chance as they had 40 to 50 years ago.

He said: “It’s unfortunate because, in this country, we’ve had a head of state that was 28 years old, but that seemed to be nearly very impossible at the moment, and that is because we have a generation that had various opportunities when they were young, and unfortunately they have not given the current generation that kind of opportunity.”

Communication Officer, Oxfam in Nigeria, Maxwell Osarenkhoe, noted that citizens are too focused on the Federal Government and have neglected the importance of holding leaders at the grassroots accountable. He urged the government to ensure that the National Youth Policy, which is currently under review speaks to specific issues, and has tangible steps for implementation.