NORTHERN YOUTHS, WHAT DO YOU WANT?

This week we discuss Northern Youths, What Do You Want? Bayero University, Kano (BUK)’s Centre for Gender Studies (CGS) in partnership with the Kukah Centre, Abuja convened a Conference on Matasan Arewa. Conference Rapporteur Umar Jibril Gwandu ( presents the proceedings and outcome of this important meeting: Over sixty percent of the Nigerian population is […]

This week we discuss Northern Youths, What Do You Want? Bayero University, Kano (BUK)’s Centre for Gender Studies (CGS) in partnership with the Kukah Centre, Abuja convened a Conference on Matasan Arewa. Conference Rapporteur Umar Jibril Gwandu ( presents the proceedings and outcome of this important meeting:

Over sixty percent of the Nigerian population is within the youth age bracket, and it is very evident especially in the northern part of the country where the youths are all over the place doing almost nothing. With the violence that followed the 2011 Nigerian elections, it is imperative to try to re-engage the youths to identify the major challenges and problems that confront them, especially in the north, across religious, economic and political divides.

CGS and Kukah Centre, supported by Ford Foundation, organised this Conference whose Hausa title was “Matasan Arewa, Me Ku Ke So?” A mainly Muslim audience, mostly made up of the politically-conscious Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSS) in the mainly Muslim city of Kano was generously complimented with the participation of youths from the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN).

To set the agenda for the youths to ginger them to be able to articulate ideas and say what they really want, the conference had paper presentations on Attitude, Drugs Abuse, Politics, Radicalisation and Entrepreneurship.

On youths’ attitude to life in general, the presenter (Bala Muhammad, Columnist on this page) opined that Northern Youths are generally victims of elite conspiracy. He argued that since the advent of the ‘private school’ in the North (as opposed to, say, the Community Schools in the South) Matasan Arewa, especially children of the poor, have been cheated out of quality education. He suggested the youths should shake their heads and demand that which would make them leaders of tomorrow, not the rabble of today.

On drugs abuse, Dr. Maikano Makama of BUK Sociology averred that youths are the most fragile and volatile group globally because any slight deficiency or influence in the process of their socialisation affects their personality development and results in abnormal behaviour – and that is exactly what drugs abuse is doing. Drugs and substance abuse has become a contemporary global social problem. Research has established very strong relationship between drugs and crime and violence. Very disturbingly, problem of drugs abuse is found most notably among youths of Arewa. As a result, drugs and substance abuse has become the major destroyer of youth usefulness.

On economic empowerment, Dr. Seth Akutson of Kaduna State University urged the youths to develop skills for entrepreneurship towards empowerment and financial freedom. He decried the financial indiscipline and resource mismanagement of the youths when given opportunities to establish small-scale business, and gave a personal example – a youth who won N10m on YouWin blew it on God-Knows-What, but led inspectors to someone else’s enterprise claiming it was his, before his cover was blown.

On radicalisation, Abdullahi Lamido of BUK’s International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance said the Philosophy of the Violent Extremist are summarised in “I have the right to live, others do not; I have the right to believe, others do not; I must enjoy all resources, others must not; in short, I have all rights, others have none.” He averred that the ethnic killer of the settler-indigene debacle is no different from the religious bigot who kills because others do not see God his way. He urged participants to rediscover tolerance as solution for peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship in a multi-religious society.

On youths and politics, CGS Centre Director Prof. Aisha Abdul-Isma’il stressed that politicians have taken youths for a ride and that youths must open their eyes to the realities of today. Due to the difference in their physiological makeup, men, women and youths manifest different policy preferences, hence the need to involve them in the policy process. She lamented the politics of ‘investment’ as practiced in Nigeria and nocturnal political and/or party meetings leading some to believe that politicians have sinister motives. She urged the youths to make judicious use of the Social Media in channeling grievances to policy makers as well as creating the much-needed awareness and mobilisation on issues bothering them.

Other important interventions included that of the Special Guest, Grand Imam of Kano, Emeritus Professor Muhammad Sani Zaharaddeen, who said he centres most of his Friday sermons on youths reform while decrying the critically sad condition bedevilling the Nigerian youths which he blamed on unemployment and drugs abuse. He further called for a revisit of JAMB criteria for university admission, 180 points, which has disenfranchised many youths from being admitted. He called on youths to study and imbibe the noble teachings of moral upbringing especially as discussed in the Glorious Qur’an Surah Luqman 34:12-19.

Other messages were from VC BUK; Bishop Kukah; Kano Zonal Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); and the Bishop of Kano.

In their responses, the youths, who worked in nine syndicate groups to discuss and synthesise “What They Want”, presented their demands to and on the nation, the governments and the politicians.

On Attitudinal Change, the youths want a continuation of societal reorientation at all levels, especially on sensitive areas of religion and ethnicity; that elders must be good role models; and that ‘Change Begins With Me’ should be clearly seen among the elders.

On Anti-Corruption, the youths said they want a national attitudinal change of zero tolerance for corruption; active involvement of the youths in policies towards fighting corruption; enactment of new laws and amending extant ones in fighting corruption; sanctioning corrupt politicians (by being banned from standing for office, for example); and reviewing primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions curricula to contain anti-corruption content.

On De-Radicalisation, the youths said there should be justice and equity in the country; conscious effort towards countering radical preachers; conscious monitoring and control of media use for radicalisation; creation of job opportunities to steer away idle youths from the phenomenon; and more sensitisation.

On Drugs Abuse, the youths said the family should be made the centre of the fight and that all efforts should be done to discourage breakdown of marriages; there should be active involvement of all stakeholders – parents, community and religious leaders, media, government; and extremely strict punishment for drugs and substances traffickers as obtained in many other countries.

On Education, the youths said they want a total review of policies on education; proper and effective guidance and counselling of students while still in school; practical encouragement and motivation; and honest and verifiable upgrade of public schools where the children of the poor attend.

On Employment and Empowerment, the youths said they want to see more conscious efforts towards job creation at all levels (especially for non-graduate youths who may not qualify for N-Power); more patronage of the goods and services produced and offered by the youths; more enabling environment and policies that will support the creativity of youths effort towards capacity building and empowerment; and a stop towards discrimination in employment in favour of the children of the elite.

On Security, the youths said they want more sensitisation on general security consciousness; enhanced community participation through neighborhood security systems; more intelligence in nipping in the bud potential settler-indigene, farmer-herder, communal and religious crises.

And finally, on Politics, the youths said they want the “Not Too Young To Run” Bill immediately be passed; the political arena should be gender and age sensitive; and, considering their share of the national population, they want and demand 70% representation.