Nigerian governments at both national and subnational levels must begin to factor in the input of youths when designing their programmes and policies.
The Special Adviser to Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, on Youth Empowerment Programmes, Dr. Nelson Omenugha, gave the view in a chat with newsmen in Abuja.
Omenugha, a youth advocate, believes Nigeria’s economic woes and the country’s overarching security situation cannot be divorced from the obvious exclusion of youths from the nation’s scheme of things in the recent past.
Acknowledging the potential of youths to engender a turnaround in the country’s unsavoury situation, Omenugha noted that change must begin with governments tapping into the potential of young people, not just in governance but also in all aspects of society.
According to him, deliberate attempts to exclude young people from the nation’s scheme of things will not bode well for the country because the country’s future largely depends on today’s youth.
He said the Anambra Government, under the leadership of Governor Soludo, has identified the youths’ capacity and is intentional about its policies on youth development, empowerment, and inclusion.
“I want to suggest that the Federal and State Governments should be intentional about youth inclusion.
“That is the only way to get them involved and get them out of crime and more involved in governance. We need to be conscious of the young people and what they can contribute and begin to explore their potential for the development of the country,” he said.
Omenugha noted that the Soludo administration emphasized the youths at the grassroots to catch them young.
He said that for the governor and the government of Anambra state, the youths are the bridge to the state’s future, and the governor is committed to human capital development, with a special focus on the young people.
“We are intentional about youth development and providing opportunities that will make them globally competitive, as captured in the people’s manifestoes.
“The Anambra example, where the governor is upscaling the population of young people in governance, giving them the opportunity at the governance table and in deciding how their future in the state will be, needs to be emulated.
“The One Youth Two Skills initiative designed to equip every Anambra youth with at least two skills, has also proven a model for other governments to emulate.
“Last year, over 5,000 young people were trained for a minimum of four months, which is a departure from what used to happen in the name of youths’ training. The training was community-based, with the master trainers going down to the communities to train the youths
“After the training, the government gave them financial support to enable them to stand their businesses, based on their comparative advantage capabilities.
“The posting of the master trainers to the communities also ensured equitable opportunities for all the youths irrespective of their localities and we are also ensuring that no one is left behind, including those with special needs,” he said.
Omenugha said another distinguishing attribute of Soludo’s youth empowerment initiatives is that the government has been able to compare notes with sister states and the federal government.
This, he noted, ensures steady improvement and upscaling of the state government’s initiatives for greater impact.
