BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
“Nigerian youths are disappointed, dissatisfied, frustrated, bitter, hungry, unemployed and unempowered. We are currently sitting on a ticking time bomb, partly because of the system we practice.
‘’If the incumbent leaders of this country do not shape up and satisfy the yearnings of the youths who are largely unemployed and unempowered with a huge sense of disappointment, dissatisfaction, bitterness, hunger and anger, then the future is indeed very bleak, without a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.
‘’Should we have the misfortune of pushing these young people to the point of crossing the Rubicon, the country will pay a very high cost because a chain of events will be unleashed, the end of which no one can predict’’.
The above lamentation cum alarm raised by Elder Statesman and former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, in his recently unveiled book, ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’, underscores the significant challenges and feelings of frustration experienced by a large segment of Nigeria’s youth population.
The 2019 National Youth Policy describes a youth in Nigeria as a citizen who is between the ages of 15 and 29 years. Before the 2019 policy, the description of a Nigerian youth was 18-35 years, even as the African Youth Charter recognises youths as people between the ages of 15-35. However, different age brackets have been used to determine who a youth is in Nigeria, depending on the context.
Youths constitute approximately 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, given that all those under the age of 30 years make up this percentage. This youth demographic represents a significant potential economic asset if properly harnessed, though it also presents challenges related to providing education, healthcare, housing, and employment for the large, growing number of young people.
Youths, by a long shot, are the most dynamic segment of any society. It serves as the engine of growth and development. In fact, they are a country’s fundamental pillar and backbone. Thus, a nation like Nigeria with a large youthful population stands to experience a number of benefits, which will impact various aspects of its economy, communities, and culture, if the energy and potential of its youths are properly channeled.
A population dominated by youths offers so many advantages to a country. It strengthens the labour market and provides a large workforce to fuel economic activities; engenders diversified ideas, new perspectives and creativity; leads to increase in consumer demands – a large youth population creates demands for goods and services tailored to their preferences, spurring market growth; influences greater adoption of digital platforms and innovations in various sectors, since youths are typically more technology inclined.
A country with a larger youth population will typically be constrained to focus more on education, with greater emphasis on educational reforms and reasonable budgetary allocation to the education sector; kills training and human capital development; a larger youth population can also lead to increased representation in political and decision-making processes, fostering more inclusive governance.
The above advantages, notwithstanding, a large youth population equally poses some challenges for the government, such as the need for adequate job creation, education, healthcare, and social services. Effective government policies and investments in these areas are crucial to harness the potential benefits while mitigating risks like unemployment and social unrest.
Nigerian youths currently face enormous challenges, chief among them being unemployment, a situation where people who are willing and able to work cannot find a job. A significant number of them are either unemployed or underemployed, a problem made worse by a mismatch between the education acquired and job market needs.
Other difficulties facing the Nigerian youth include the rising cost of living, adjudged as the most pressing problem confronting youths in the country today, as many of them are largely unable to afford the necessities of life; widespread poverty, particularly in rural areas, limits youth access to essential services and productive opportunities.
Linked to joblessness and the stress of daily life is the issue of drugs and alcohol abuse; mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety resulting from social pressures; lack of access to quality education due to poverty and poor infrastructure, hindering their skill development; prevalence of early pregnancy among the female youth population; and many more.
The struggle to live above these challenges daily puts Nigerian youths under a debilitating pressure, frustration, disillusionment, depression and in the worst case scenario, suicide.
Due to a lack of meaningful engagement, increasing sense of powerlessness and disillusionment, many of our youths have become miscreants – roaming the streets and causing problems both to families and society. Some have taken to unconventional and illegitimate means of survival, including touting – chasing vehicles on township roads and highways, ‘Yahoo Yahoo’, kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and other crimes.
A cross-section of these frustrated youths primarily cites the increasing cost of living, inability to find a job and general lack of economic opportunity as major sources of their frustration.
They express overwhelmingly negative views on the government’s performance in addressing the challenges facing them, insisting that governments are not doing enough.
In its efforts to mitigate these youth-related challenges, the federal government has initiated several policies and programs aimed at addressing the needs and aspirations of Nigerian youths. One of such initiatives is the introduction of student loans to ease the burden of educational expenses and ensure that no Nigerian youth is denied the opportunity to pursue their academic dreams based on financial constraints.
The Tinubu-led administration has also made significant strides in providing access to funds for young entrepreneurs through various schemes, such as the Consumer Credit Scheme, designed to support innovation and enterprise, among other programs. However, the accessibility of these financial initiatives to the average youth remains to be ascertained.
Despite the various efforts by the federal government to ameliorate the plights of Nigerian youths, there are still obvious gaps in its actions. There is an urgent need to frontally address the factors constantly limiting the government’s efforts to effectively implement the various youth initiatives, especially those working against youth empowerment in Nigeria.
These include instability in government policies, failed health facilities, unplanned strikes, the Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen menace, kidnapping, and lack of necessary infrastructure, such as electricity and so on.
Given that it is practically impossible to engage all the qualified youths seeking employment, the Delta State government, on its part, has initiated several youth programs focused on self-employment through skills training in areas like solar and inverter installation, web development, social media management, video editing, graphic design, welding technology, hair dressing and other entrepreneurship programs.
At the completion of the training, they are provided with the relevant tools and equipment, including financial support to start up their own business.
Rather than wait endlessly for white collar jobs, Nigerian youths should also help themselves by learning a skill or trade on their own, irrespective of the course they studied in school.
This way, they can be self-employed and be able to cater for themselves and their families.
