Youths are the work-force of any nation, country, or entity; they are the movers and shakers, the ones who really can make the change needed.

In Nigeria, youths make up for more than half (53%) of the total population of Africa’s largest country, and the issues faced by the significant workers of a nation definitely would be mitigators against social and economic growth of the nation.

Young people around the world are waking up to a growing list of new and harsh realities. Trapped in the shadow of a relentless pandemic, many are being robbed of the usual opportunities of youth and denied even the chance to socialise with friends and family.

Some are watching on helplessly as their dreams of entrepreneurship, employment and academic success edge further out of reach with every new headline. Others meanwhile are waking up to the horrors of conflict, afraid for their very lives.

The statistics are deeply concerning. An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report shows the global youth population rose from 1 Billion to 1.3 Billion between 1999 and 2019. The same period saw young people engaged in the labour force drop by 71 Million.

Our young people are facing many challenges. The best and only way to solve the problem of our society is to highlight and address some of the challenges facing the youths.

CHALLENGES FACING NIGERIAN YOUTHS👇

CORRUPTION🖋️
You know, when one thinks of Nigeria and her problems, the first thing that pops up in mind is the corrupt system she’s been practising over decades. The resulting upshots of being nurtured in such a system are the visible moral misconducts and activities being performed by young adults in the nations today, the involvement in scams, cybercrime institutionalized bribery, nepotism and so many more since they’ve been watching the elders do it, why not them too?

UNEMPLOYMENT🖋️
Youths in Nigeria are claimed to be more than half of the 200+ million in Nigeria. With reports from the National Bureau of Statistics the unemployment rate among the youth at 65%, this shows Nigeria still has a long way to go regarding employment and job creation for her ever-uprising numbers.

RECLINING STANDARD OF EDUCATION🖋️
In terms of education, Nigeria seems to be lacking in many ways, gaining entry into public schools these days even involve money, what’s more, the high cost and toils of getting admitted into universities, with all these to settle for the poor and traditional methods of black and white, the educational system of Nigeria have refused to move with the advancements technology has brought to educators and educationists.

INSECURITY🖋️
The issue of insecurity has been raving for a long time now, unnecessarily. Inhumane killings of people for no just cause mainly concentrated in the Northern parts of the country remains an issue affecting youths in such communities who are forced to live their own ‘Land of Opportunities’ to find greener pastures elsewhere especially in places like Lagos State, this, in turn, leads to over-population of major cities across the nation.

LEADERSHIP AND MENTORSHIP🖋️
Recently, the political atmosphere of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is changing. Relatively, young people now aspire to occupy different political positions, from Local Government leadership, States House of Assembly, the National Assembly to the supreme political position in Nigeria; the Presidency.

The reasons for this shift are not farfetched. Ask an average Nigerian youth on the street, you might hear things like ‘we are tired of all these old and corrupt babas ruling us’ or ‘our president is old enough to be my grandfather’ or ‘I was 5 years old when Buhari was the then Head of States’.

The tag, ‘NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN' trends. It is clear that the political orientation of the youths is changing, thus being called the leader of tomorrow is becoming outdated and the saying that ‘the future is now is becoming more of a reality.

There is a responsibility on the youth to take the centre stage and be at the forefront of leadership that will shape their future.

SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUES FACED BY NIGERIAN YOUTHS👇

Before solutions can be provided to solve any of these problems affecting Nigerian youths and helping to build a better path for the future of Nigerian youths, the following need to be put up.

📌Public Empowerment Programs like NPower, YouWin, YEDIall aimed towards developing youths through the provision of soft skills and coaching that aids them in life, business, and other aspects.
📌Better infrastructure for entrepreneurs and ambitionists.
📌A review of the educational sector, a look outside to see what’s new, what’s working and what can work for us.

All of these and more are the feasible solution that can be put into place to make this great nation greater.

Occupy Progressives in Lagos is putting together a YOUTH SUMMIT to chat a way forward with the following:

THEME: THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN PEOPLE-FOCUSED LEADERSHIP: A RECIPE FOR TE NEXT GENERATION LEADER (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a force to emulate).

Finally, it will be impossible to take even one step on the journey towards youth empowerment without the mentors, coaches, advocates and counsellors who dedicate their lives to young people’s development.