Is Jonathan Good For Nigerian Youth?

What has Mr President done for Nigerian youth since he assumed the mantle of national leadership? How committed is he to tackling the many challenges facing our youth? Such questions are popping up regularly.

SENATOR AKINLABI OLASUNKANM

Whence, providing insights into such issues is a positive contribution to issue based campaign ahead of the presidential contest.

The first challenge facing our youth is unemployment. What is Mr President’s approach and policies in this respect? Here the administration’s approach is four fold. First was the adoption of a comprehensive youth employment policy which entails a conglomeration of programmes and policies designed to generate jobs and transform the youth into employers of labour.

This policy was reinforced with the approval of a new National Employment Programme which entail employment clauses in government contracts, a programme of massive public work programme and collaboration with state governments in the implementation of job generating projects and programmes. A sum of fifty billion naira has been budgeted for this programme in the 2011 budget.

The second approach has to do with the introduction of nationwide clusters of youth development centres and skill acquisition programmes nationwide. Such centres, many of which are already training our youth in skill and vocational programmes, are designed to make the youth employers rather than job seekers.

Part of this programme is the introduction of National Entrepreneurship Centres in the nation’s tertiary institutions and the enhancement and harmonisation of the apprenticeship programme of the National Directorate of Employment and National Poverty Eradication Programme.

The Third approach is the introduction of a new National Secondary Education Curriculum which places emphasises on technical and vocational skills for Nigerian students. Here, the students are exposed to vocational skills early in their educational lives. The expectation is that more students will be guided to embrace trade skills so that more and more will be self-employed and employers of labour. The new curriculum has already being launched by the Federal Government.

For graduates of tertiary institutions, the administration is expanding a programme of Agro-Entrepreneurs currently operating under the National Youth Service Corps. Thousands of graduates have benefitted from the programme.

The programmme which entails a take-off capital for trained corps members is to be expanded to cover most serving corps members in addition to an on-going programme to link fresh graduates with seed capital providing institutions. A combination of entrepreneurship and vocational training backed up with linkage with take-off capital will address the problem of graduate unemployment in the country.

The fourth approach is the direct engagement of the Organised Private Sector as a key partner in taming the joblessness crisis. The on-going implementation of the report of the Dangote led Committee on Job Creation in this respect is already yielding positive outcomes. Despite the worldwide challenges, several business outfits in Nigeria are already announcing job creation plans with incentives form the Federal Government.

I must add here that a very holistic approach is involved in the employment policy of the administration. A coordinated investment in infrastructural revival is on~going with expected booming effects in economic activities which in turn will enhance small scale job creation nationwide. Here, the administration is investing heavily in the power sector and railway regeneration alongside series of revival funds for such sectors of the economy as textile, transport, entertainment. All these no doubts have the potential to sustain existing jobs while creating new ones nationally.

The administration’s approach to tackling youth joblessness is thus divided into short term, medium and long term phases, an approach that conform with best practices allover the world.

Beyond a well-coordinated agenda on job creation and engagement which are already under implementation, the administration is also focussing on expanding access to education for Nigerian youth. First was the introduction of more than one hundred and fifty almajiri schools to specifically take our youth off the streets especially in the Northern part of the country. The project has already taken off.

This was followed with the establishment of nine new universities to expand available university spaces for qualified youth. This is in addition to the upgrading of some polytechnics into federal universities of technology. The new universities were then accompanied with a programme of revitalisation of existing universities through injection of billions of naira. All these are ongoing nationwide.

We are also aware that more private universities are been licenced so that efforts of the government to expand university spaces can be complemented by public spirited Nigerians. President Jonathan is equally approaching the youth sector from a very strong policy background.

Hence, he has spearheaded the introduction and on-going implementation of National Youth Mainstreaming Policy which makes youth concerns a major consideration in government policies and programmes. He is pushing for the enactment into law of a new National Youth Policy which was midwifed under his watch. The youth law is to make implementation of the new youth policy a must for all stakeholders.

Equally on the table was the establishment of a National Youth Development Fund to provide seed capital for youth entrepreneurs nationwide. And of course, the Nigerian Youth Parliament was an initiative he actively encouraged as a platform for leadership and political training of Nigerian youth.

I must note that the Nigerian youth in their own National Youth Manifesto Workshop held in Kaduna recently attested to the many giants strides of the administration in the youth sector. This was after a National Youth Summit attended by Mr President and where he was endorsed as the choice of Nigerian youth for next month presidential contest.

Eventually, the Kaduna workshop attended by over two hundred youth development experts and activists crafted a National Youth Manifesto which has been presented to Mr President. Let me note that the contents of the Youth Manifesto conform to on-going policies and programmes of Mr President for the empowerment, engagement and development of Nigerian youth.

In this era of politicking, we must set the records straight and it is my privilege to state without equivocation that Dr GoodluckEbeleJonathan has so far been the most youth friendly president the nation has ever produced. Both in term of existing policies and proposed programmes, the records of the administration is unrivalled. Hence, continuity from enlightened self and public interests is the best path for Nigerian youth.

*Senator Olasunkanml is Minister of Youth Development.

File: Youth
March 24, 2011