BY JAPHET ALAKAM, BOOK REVIEW

Youths they say are leaders of tomorrow and if the saying is real, there is every need for the youths to be adequately prepared so that they will be able to fit into that role.

But in the world today, the situation of the youths are very pathetic as the various governments who are supposed to take care of them have no plans for them to take over especially in Nigeria and other third world countries.

The 360 Degrees Youths- 21st Century Approach to Total Youths' Development by Bisi Falade; Sparkle& Gold Nigeria Company, Lagos, Nigeria;2011;PP, 166 Publications, PP.226, 2011.

The question that worries the mind of many is this, since the government has no good programme for equipping the youths towards taking their position, how can they do it?it then behoves on the youths to take their destiny in their hands by preparing themselves to face the challenges of the 21st century.

And it was on the realisation of this that Bisi Falade, a dynamic young man who just passed through the test of the youths and survived came out with the book titled The 360 Degrees Youths- 21st Century Approach to Total Youths’ Development.

The well researched 166 pages book with a colourful cover published in 2011 by Sparkle and Gold Nigeria Company, Lagos, Nigeria is one of the latest addition of literature that attempts to look at the problems of the youths in the 21st century and the probable solutions they will adopt in order to survive in the highly competitive world.

The book opens with the problem of the 21st century which the author termed a century of compliance. According to him, in an age bored with many challenges, the need to raise and equip the youths to align with the happenings of the age so that they will be versatile and globally inclined in their orientation counts.

So the book points out the notable features of the 21st century which includes techno drive world of opportunities, how to redirect young people’s energy from vices and use it profitably, the challenges before the 21st century youths and the global focus in it.

Chapter 2 talks about the making of the 360 Degrees youths, the qualities it takes to make it, why the youths are in a sorry state and things they will do to come out of it. And in chapter 3, the author enjoins the youths to explore the world of multiple intelligence and strive to be their own boss instead of working for others.

In a world of high rate of unemployment, there is need for the youths to acquire the necessary skills that will make them marketable. Here ,Falade highlights the required skills and advice the youths to make use of Information Communication Technology so that they will attain the Vision 20:2020.

In a competitive world like Nigeria, one of the major skills employers look for in a would be employee is the ability to possess problem solving skills and the author addressed the different process of problem solving and the strategies to be adopted. He also enjoined parents to bequeath the necessary skills to their children.

The author also explores the implications of relying on paid jobs and suggests that the youths will be prepared to shift their attention from working for people to working for themselves thereby becoming what he termed entrepreneuring youths.

The youths can not achieve all these if there are no models to look up hence the book points out few individuals who distinguished themselves in their chosen areas as role models and adviced the youths to draw inspiration from them as against the negative vices they imbibe from the world now. He went on to proffer tips for choosing role models since most of the people the youths had looked up to for years are not really worth it.

The book also identified the problem of leadership and because the youths are leaders of tomorrow, the author dwells extensively on leadership, the meaning, the qualities of an effective leader which the youths will emulate and recommended that the youths should be made to undergo youth leadership training programmes so that they will be introduced to the rudiments and principles of leadership.

Finally, the need to equip and empower the youths with the necessary tools that will make them to be competitive locally and internationally in the 21st century is discussed. And on it , Falade suggested that youths should go for professional examinations, be proficient in speaking and writing of multiple international languages, must be ICT compliant, acquire additional qualifications, specialised knowledge to their goals and others.

Written in simple language for easy readership, but not without some typographical errors and wrong use of tenses. But that notwithstanding the book is a blue print from someone who is interested in the development of the youths as it addressed pertinent issues that affects the youths and proffered solutions too. So I recommend it to the youths and to many who are still struggling to make it.