By Francis Ewherido

Last weekend, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, reminded the nation of a ticking time bomb, which we are not giving enough attention. Gowon said: “If we do not rise to bring our youths into the path of rectitude, then their future will appear gloomy…”

Cult clash

Two weeks ago, my mother-in-law told me that parents were relocating their daughters from a particular village in Delta State. Cultists (youths of between 12 and 20 years) have taken over the village and are impregnating helpless young girls, who are surrendering to the cultists’ advances for fear of attack on them and their families. In Ughelli, my birthplace, also Delta State, cult groups (youths) have taken over.

The story is the same in some other towns in Delta State, Rivers State, parts of the South East and some areas in Lagos. Every day, newspapers carry reports of cult-related violence or killings. Nigeria seems to grapple with one youths-related problem after the other. Many of the Boko Haram fighters bombing, raping, killing and maiming in the North East are youths. Not long ago, Niger Delta youths waged a battle for resource control that soon degenerated into robbery, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

The amnesty programme has stemmed the tide, but the region has not come out of it. Kidnapping for ransom is still rampart in Delta State, Bayelsa State and Rivers State. Other South-South States also have pockets of the problem. The South East youths soon borrowed kidnapping for ransom, but the frequency has reduced. Now some Igbo youths want a sovereign State of Biafra. In all these, I see frustration, ignorance, greed or/and idle minds that have been converted to the devil’s workshop.

Governments at all levels need to come up with programmes to tame this monster before it gets out of hand. Elections are over and it is time for serious business. Instead of destabilizing local government councils and removing the chairmen or councilors for political gains, as is currently the case all over Nigeria and especially in the South-South, state governments should partner with the local councils, which are closest to the people. Councils should build capacity and become hubs of youth development and see to it that federal and state governments’ programmes for youths in their areas are well implemented.

Some local government areas across Nigeria are not functioning. Reports say all the officials do is to gather when the monthly allocation comes, share the money and disappear until the next allocation. Each local government needs to come up with programmes to address the peculiar challenges of youths in its area. While such programmes need to capture the mass, they should also be structured in a way that the youths have a say in what they want to do.

You do not teach somebody, who has a flair for making clothes, farming all in a bid to engage all the youths. He will probably never hit his full potentials; he will also not be as fulfilled as if he were doing what he really loved.

Youths have seemingly unlimited energy to burn and we must find a way to channel this boundless energy to good use. The number of unemployed youths is probably more than the official figures. I narrated my experience during the electioneering campaigns in an earlier article, Elections side attractions. In every town and village we went to for campaigns, there was an army of idle and unemployed youths.

A major source of concern is the orientation of the youths. Many of them want to be rich, which is normal. But they see wealth as a skyscraper that sprung up overnight, not a building where you lay one block at a time. There are too many people around them who became rich overnight through politics, bunkering, kidnapping, 419 and other illegal means. There is an urgent need for a reorientation to change this paradigm.

I also add my voice to that of those who suggest that the youths, who are involved in theft and illegal refining of crude oil, should be encouraged to come forth, just as government did during the amnesty programme, trained properly, organized into groups and helped to set up modular refineries. They might just hold the key to self sufficiency in petroleum products refining. I am sure government can work out a solution which ultimately will provide self-fulfilling employment to many of these youths, curb crime and reduce environmental degradation.

The educational system needs a makeover. When the 6-3-3-4 system of education was introduced, we were told that it would enable those who exit after JS3 and SS3 to be equipped with relevant skills to fend for themselves. This has not been the case. Many university graduates today are also ill-equipped to carry out any economic activity on their own, contrary to the expectation that Nigerian universities will produce graduates who can be self starters, be self-employed and employ other youths.

Many of these graduates are so badly baked that they are not even employable. Some are also so poor in character that you wonder who found them “worthy in character and learning.” The Nigerian educational system is simply in shambles and needs retuning.

It all starts from the cradle, so parents need to take more responsibility. People should give birth to the number of children they can adequately cater for within their limited time and resources. We should also inculcate good morals in our children even when we fall short. Unfortunately, people can scarcely inculcate values which they do not have. Even when some parents make efforts, children are more likely to copy what they see than what they hear.

Finally, religious organizations and other bodies, involved in the molding of children and youths, need to come up with new and better strategies. Our ultimate goal should be to save the repentant Matthew, the tax collector. As for Judas Iscariot, who has chosen the path of destruction, well… God bless Nigeria.