Youth empowerment and development: The missing link

President Muhammadu Buhari on September 21, 2016 in his address at the US/Africa business forum on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly in New York said, “Apart from our domestic market of 170 million, the largest in Africa, we are also the main gateway to a combined West African consumer market that is about […]

President Muhammadu Buhari on September 21, 2016 in his address at the US/Africa business forum on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly in New York said, “Apart from our domestic market of 170 million, the largest in Africa, we are also the main gateway to a combined West African consumer market that is about as large as ours. With a median age of 19, and with 70% of the population below that age of 35, Nigeria’s greatest potential lies in the talent and energy of her youth.”

In other words, 119,000,000 Nigerians are below the age of 35 and 85 million Nigerians are below the age of 19; the median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups, that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older. It is a single index that summaries the age distribution of a population.

This fact implies that in the next 5 to 10 years, a large percentage of young Nigerians will seek more jobs compared to what we have now. With the current high unemployment rate and one of the lowest human capital indexes in the world, the future looks dim for young Nigerians and Nigeria as a nation.

According to National Bureau of Statistics on August 31, 2016, through the Statistician General of the Federation, unemployment in Nigeria has risen from 12.1% in the first quarter of this year to 13.3% as at the end of second quarter. In the report, the bureau said the number of people that were unemployed or underemployed in Nigeria is 26.06 million people at the end of July, 2016.

Nigeria’s population has been on the increase for at least the last 5 decades due to very high birthrates, quadrupling its population during this time. According to the 2012 World Population Prospects, the total population was 159,708,000 in 2010, which has risen to over 170,000,000 in 2016 compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 44%, 53.2% between 15 and 65 years while 2.7% was 65 years old. It shows that out of 90,440,000 employable Nigerians between 15 and 65 years, 26.06 million are currently unemployed, one third of the employable population. In other words, one out of three employable Nigerian is unemployed.

Contrary to the above data, Nigerians have shown their resourcefulness and high productivity in all spheres of life in various parts of the globe that they can hold their heads high if provided with the right environment and tools to be the best and compete with the best.

If government and other stake-holders do not have a robust strategy backed with quick action, the next 5 to 10 years will be much tougher than what we are currently experiencing in the country; unprecedented unemployment rate, insecurity, dilapidated infrastructures, inflation, low life expectancy, economic downturn, amongst other negative consequences await us a nation.

In addendum, if parents are not informed in order to guide their wards right to navigate the challenges and maximize the opportunities of the coming years, many young people will be frustrated and a lot of families will be affected.

While I utterly agree with President Buhari that our greatest potential lies in the talent and energy of our young ones, if the proper framework and enabling environment are not intentionally created for them to blossom, turn raw talents into flourishing talents and sheer energy into positive energy, our greatest potentials may soon become our greatest tragedies. In the next 5 years, there will be more opportunities in entertainment, sport, education and digital space for young Nigerians because of our demography.

For individuals, businesses, organizations as well as government to seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges coming in the next 5 to 10 years, they must fully understand the personal development triangle. The personal development triangle contains three key components, this include:

KNOWLEDGE: The right knowledge is the foundation of all successes. To have an edge as a nation over other nations we must know the truth; the truth about massive success, sustainable development, and real happiness. It is high time we put premium on reading as a nation and build a culture of voracious reading by our young ones. It is a truism that information leads to transformation, insights propel foresight and input determines output.

The government must set their priorities right and invest in qualitative education, research and development, teacher’s training, and conducive learning environment for our young minds to be truly educated. Education is light, but half-baked education is disastrous. Researches have shown that the required education anyone really needs to succeed in life is high school certificate.

SKILLS: Skill is the ongoing application of knowledge through training, experience and practice. It is imperative for Nigeria to become a highly skillful nation. Government must invest in world class technical schools to produce world class carpenters, welders, tailors, plumbers, technologists, painters, foremen and other technical skills that can compete favorably in the global market. A skillful nation is a productive nation. In addition, government must introduce leadership and entrepreneurship studies at Junior Secondary level.

ATTITUDE: Attitude is the way someone thinks and feels that determine the way he behaves. Simply put, attitude equals thought plus emotion. Attitude is everything. More than anything else, as a nation we must develop the attitude of faith, hope, commitment, focus, determination, patience, humility, love, generosity, persistence and gratitude in the minds of our young ones. To achieve this, emotional intelligence must be part of our senior secondary school curriculum. 

May God bless Nigeria.

Sesan Kareem wrote this piece from Lagos.