Youth Parliament  Commemorates Youth Day, Calls for Inclusion

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

The Nigerian Youth Parliament has commemorated the 2023 International Youth Day with a series of activities that ended with a conference last Saturday.

As part of its activities to commemorate Youth Day, it organised a Video Challenge competition that brought together over 200 video entries of young people on the #Nigeria They Want.

It also organised a conference with the theme: ‘Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development: Unlocking Potential, Driving Changes’, that brought together over 20 experienced and resourceful panelists, keynote speakers and special guests.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee of Youths in Parliament, Hon Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala, who was the keynote speaker, charged young people to take up the responsibility of grassroots mobilisation and awareness.

 He said: “Young people have to identify their electoral wards and units as those are the entry points of politics and all the inclusion we are advocating.

 “Platforms like Nigerian Youth Parliament also have to take responsibility of sensitisation and creating awareness in their community and to all young people on the duties of the legislative arms of government which will bridge the understanding gap of the arm.”

The panelists also noted the emerging trends of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology which have taken over a lot of soft and hard-skill jobs from humans that required to be considered by the stakeholders.

They further urged stakeholders to look at the possibilities of reviewing the technical schools and upgrading the curriculum to meet current realities.

According to them, “Emphasis on the need to constantly build the capacity of teachers in basic education is very important, and it is very important to ensure that green skills are considered as technical skills that will both empower and contribute to the existing efforts to climate change.”

On his part, the Special Guest of Honour, Seyi Tinubu, presented cheques to the winners of the #NigeriaWeWant Video Challenge competition after announcing the winners at the conference.

The highlight of the programme was the presentation of prizes to David Ikani, who came first, and was rewarded with N1 million; Imam Malik, who took second place won N650,000, and the third person, Emmanuel Uzoamaka, won a sum of N600, 000.

In her closing remarks, the Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament, Rt. Hon Azeezat Yishawu, appreciated all the partners that supported the programme, especially the International Alert, EU, Leap Africa, Nigeria Youth Futures Fund, Nigerian-German Centre for Migration and Development, PeacefulSky Travels and Tours, Bridge Sygerny, and all the special guests, panelist and participants who attend the programme.

Yishawu also pledged commitment that the Nigerian Youth Parliament would work on the recommendation of the conference and ensure that all the recommendations are adopted as the resolution of the parliament and further forwarded to the concerned MDAs and stakeholders.