Youths as Necessary Change Agents for Development

At the Development Specs Academy roundtable on national issues  in Abuja last Wednesday, experts canvassed youths’ non-violent interventions in polity for socio-economic development, Sunday Aborisade reports 

Speakers drawn from the academia, civil society communities and faith-based organisations, last Wednesday in Abuja, unanimously challenged the Nigerian youths to brace up for the great task of redeeming the country’s social, political and economic woes.

They spoke on various topics including, the state of the nation, the presidential aspirants, national productivity and value of the naira. Other issues discussed were the youth crises, INEC and 2023 elections, and understanding the wider economy.

The speakers bared their minds at the one-day roundtable on national issues, organised by the Development Specs Academy, under the leadership of a former director in the Federal Ministry of Information, Dr. Okey Ikechukwu.

Some of the speakers on the occasion included former Secretary of the Catholic Secretariat in Nigeria, Rev.Fr. George Ehusani; Processor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos, Prof Jim Unah, and social commentator-cum-journalist, Dr. Amaechi Anakwue.

They also, included a lawyer, who is also a professor of History at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo; Dr. Amara Albert, Dr. Hyeladi Haruna and former spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Brigadier Sani Usman (retd.), among others.

They addressed participants, drawn from civil society communities, youth-based organisations, youths in politics, social media influencers and promoters of youths activities and events, among others.
The experts lamented the current social, economic and political woes bedeviling the country and encouraged the youths to embrace a non-violent expression of interests on national issues.

They frowned at the  embarrassing, free fall of the naira against the US dollars and blamed the development on misplaced priorities by Nigerians and the managers of the country’s economy.

The speakers, who noted  that productivity remains the major driver of national currency, opined that increased productivity, change in consumption pattern of Nigerians and improvement in national security would create an enabling environment for a reversal of the current state of the nation.

They therefore urged the  youths to make informed non-violent interventions in the polity with clear goals of development and sustainable social order.

The resource persons equally appealed to Nigerians to desist from fake news by taking the advantage of the fact that information could easily be verified to investigate the source of any news item. 
They described as dangerous, fake recorded audio messages, distorted video clips in circulation, which they argued, usually instigates fake news.

They also called for active participation but informed and conflict-sensitive commentary on national issues via social media platforms, just as they charged the government to be proactive in tackling the security challenges.
The speakers especially urged the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to ensure the release of all those kidnapped on the March 24th train bombings in particular and others in captivity across Nigeria.

The former Army spokesperson, Usman, in his submission, specifically described as unacceptable, the inability of the Nigerian government to ensure the release of its citizens still being held in captivity by terrorist from 2014 till date.

He said, “Government should intensify efforts to ensure that all those in captivities are not left behind, it should make it a priority, to release the Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu, the March 29 Kaduna kidnap victims and others.
” Government should be proactive in information dissemination about what it is doing concerning those in captivity in various parts of the country.”

He called on the government to be serious in the area of public perception management,  crisis and strategic communication and be more proactive in the information dissemination by carrying Nigerians along.

Ehusani, in his submission, said the fall of the naira against the world currencies would continue except there was a deliberate move to increase productivity, adding that there must be a change in Nigerian’s consumption pattern to shore up the value of the nation’s national currency and keep it up in lasting manner. 

He said,  “The CBN has made several interventions in this regard, including, among others, the Anchor Borrowers Program, which created and capacitated several farmers cooperative and enhanced there access to loans. 
“It has created millions of jobs, taken many youths off the crime path and rescued many local economies. 

Only economy-reflating activities, such as the foregoing, in addition to consuming what we produce and producing what we consume, offers the nation the prospect of bringing up the value of the National Currency and keeping it up.”

In their various responses to questions, fears and concerns raised by the participants, on the type of some characters aspiring to lead Nigeria at the state and federal levels, the speakers noted that aspirants to various political offices have every right  to their aspirations in a democracy. 

They argued that one of them would ultimately emerge but that determining the actual candidate of the various parties is a matter beyond the control of the average citizen. 

They lamented the cost of forms for contesting various political offices and described them as “being too high, elitist, exclusivist and seems designed to ensure that only individuals and group with heavy war chests can contest for political office.”

Ikechukwu, the convener, specifically said, ” This is wrong. The proposed solutions include outright reduction in the cost of forms, by over 95 per cent and return of the balance to the aspirants, except for those of them who may wish to donate such excess to the individual parties concerned.”

Speaking on youth crises, Ogbogbo said fake news, unverified and correct statements taken out of context, are one of the greatest ills the society is facing at the moment.

He said, “This is with regards to the deliberate mischief of iconoclasts, as well as the malevolent machinations of those who distort, misquote of misrepresent audio and video content in order tarnish the image of am individual, or organisation.”

On the youths participation in politics, Ogbogbo said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had made tremendous progress in the management of elections. 

He said, “The introduction of Bivas had increased the credibility of the the electoral process and electoral outcome tremendously. The only suggestion here is that INEC should increase its public enlightenment and political education programs”
The fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice added that information about some of the positive strides of the organisation were yet to fully penetrate the society and the political parties.

The roundtable rose with a firm resolve to continue driving objective national discourse, informed commentary on national issues, commitment to Chatham House Rules, rejection of hearsay as knowledge and the determination to  keep all discussions rancour-free.

Concerning fake news, distortions of original media content and the general disregard for verification of sundry media output, the roundtable noted that organisations like the Central Bank of Nigeria, the INEC and several other had been victims of near image damage.
In the final analysis, the roundtable advocated a new approach to national conversations, socio-political education and citized engagement.

The forum also  frowned at the continued closure of the Nigerian public universities, noting that the country could have a looming crisis if they were not reopened forthwith.
It submitted that the security situation in the country could be made worse if the able-bodied and highly energetic youths are continuously kept idle outside their schools.

It therefore advised the Federal Government team negotiating with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities to conclude their works and accede to the lecturers’ requests.
The undergraduates in the nation’s public universities were also urged to embark on intellectual protest to support their striking lecturers to end the ongoing industrial action.

The forum noted that youths face challenges at the levels of capacity, opportunities and wrong role models. 
It therefore, proposed solutions including the reopening of universities for their continuing education, promotion of vocational skills and innovative entrepreneurship and values reorientation.
The experts believe that the development would  create the tight mindset that can function successfully in a 21st Century world.