Boni Haruna and youth development

As Minister of Youth Development, Haruna is to promote and plan positive youth development, including executing federal government’s youth development programmes and projects.The big question is: Can the former governor accomplish the task and replicate the remarkable achievement in youth development he had when he was governor of Adamawa State? During his tenure as governor […]

As Minister of Youth Development, Haruna is to promote and plan positive youth development, including executing federal government’s youth development programmes and projects.
The big question is: Can the former governor accomplish the task and replicate the remarkable achievement in youth development he had when he was governor of Adamawa State? During his tenure as governor and even afterwards, the strongest part of Haruna’s support have been the youths. This is mainly due to the programmes and projects he executed that changed the lives of many young people in Adamawa State.  
He understands the craft of governance, so he is expected to bring big and new ideas in implementing the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. He is expected  to “promote the physical, mental and socio-economic development of the Nigerian youth through the advancement and protection of their rights within the Nigerian state, the promotion of their welfare and provision of opportunities for their self actualization, and the introduction of policies and programmes entrenching such rights and responsibilities in all facets of public governance.’’
There is no doubt that youths in Nigeria are facing myriad of problems that cannot be solved in a short time, but the problems are not insurmountable. Boni Haruna is a person that understands and shares the Nigerian youth’s expectations from the government and the larger society. He will definitely bring a lot of changes in youth development, especially in the areas of education, sport, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and more importantly, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The Ministry of Youth Development is a special ministry; all other federal ministries need its input. It also needs support from other ministries.  The former governor is well-read and certainly understands inter-ministry synergy in the system of governance. He will collaborate with the Ministry of Education to recreate and rebuild the hitherto weak foundation for youth vocational and skill education. He will also bring new ideas and thinking into policy planning and effective management of the youth skill development.
Youth participation in agriculture is one of the key programmes of the Jonathan administration. Haruna, being the advocate of youth self-reliance, will also work on developing and redefining the implementation strategies for youth participation in agriculture in such a way that youths are made the central focus. This is because the agriculture sector is key to protecting the future of the Nigerian economy. And it is only by actively engaging the youth in the sector can this be achieved.
The NYSC is an important parastatal in the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. The former governor, being a man that understands the importance of the scheme, will give it all it requires to be relevant in the 21st century. Under his leadership, we will certainly see an NYSC that is structured to the current Nigerian and global realities.
As Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna will champion and marshal youth participation in the Nigerian economy and equip our youths with knowledge and skills to face emerging issues in the context of globalisation.
Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State, [email protected]