The Chairman and Distinguished members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ejigbo LCDA Chapter, cherished colleagues from the media, invited ladies and Gentlemen; let me start by saying that I am very happy to be here and extremely grateful to the members of the NYCN, Ejigbo LCDA, for the honour of your invitation extended to me to deliver this lecture.
As you are aware, the issue of youth, especially Nigerian youth occupies a very soft spot in my heart, just as I am irrevocably committed to the all round emancipation of the youth. A friend of mine looked at me two days ago with raised eyebrows, when I politely told a State Governor that I will not be able to see him this morning as I was already committed to this lecture. As a UN Youth Ambassador for Peace (1988), I continue to dedicate my God-given financial and intellectual resources in mentoring and building youth models.
I am taking a broader view of this requested paper, YOUTH MIGRATION: MOVING DEVELOPMENT FORWARD, YOUTH ACADEMIC EMPOWERMENT PERSPECTIVE.
The population of Nigerian youth today is put at about 40 million out of the 160 million population figure. This clearly, is the most disenchanted, disillusioned, harassed and harangued segment of the population. They are touted as the leaders of tomorrow, yet, spirited efforts are being made either by acts of commission or omission to ensure that the dream of youth as leaders of tomorrow, remain but a dream.
Nigerian Youth in nation building:
I cannot hide my feelings. It is with regret that I note that the Nigerian nation has been most ungrateful, and most discouraging to Nigerian youths in general and the students in particular. The country owed its independence to the struggle, sweat and blood of the Nigerian students and youth. Herbert Macaulay formed the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1923 and the Lagos Youth Movement (LYM) W’s founded in 1934 by H. 0. Davies, Dr J. C. Vaughan, Dr Kofo Abayomi, Ernest Ikoli, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo, which later transformed into the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1936.
It was these youth and many others that mobilized, organized sacrificed for, and actualized the struggle for Nigeria’s independence attained on October 1, 1960.
PROBLEMS CONFRONTING NIGERIAN YOUTH TODAY
If the head stinks, the whole body is rotten. The problems confronting the youths today is not only in the area of academic (dis)empowerment, but also, and sadly so, in the area of overall development of the youth; educational, socio-cultural, economic, political and even spiritual.
Such inadequacies include, but not limited to, lack of access to quality education, lack of access to quality nutrition and health facilities, near total absence of role models ( and good examples), in fact, we should not waste our time. Let us just summarise the inadequacies burdening the youth as lack of access to good things of life that can ensure quality living and overall development of the human personality.
LIP SERVICE
Even the Nigerian nation statutorily pays lip service to the overall emancipation of the citizens, especially the youths. Permit me to quote copiously from the Chapter Two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 which is titled FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY:
13. It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.
14. (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice.
(2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that:
(a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority;
(b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
(4) The State shall foster a feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various people of the Federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties.
(5) The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.
16. (2) The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring:
(a) the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development;
(b) that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good;
(c) that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group; and
(d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.
17. (1) The State social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality and Justice.
(2) In furtherance of the social order-
(a) every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law;
(b) the sanctity of the human person shall be recognised and human dignity shall be maintained and enhanced;
(c) governmental actions shall be humane;
(d) exploitation of human or natural resources in any form whatsoever for reasons, other than the good of the community, shall be prevented; and
(e) the independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law, and easy accessibility thereto shall be secured and maintained.
(3) The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that-
(a) all citizens, without discrimination on any group whatsoever, have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment;
(b) conditions of work are just and humane, and that there are adequate facilities for leisure and for social, religious and cultural life;
(c) the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment are safeguarded and not endangered or abused;
(d) there are adequate medical and health facilities for all persons:
(e) there is equal pay for equal work without discrimination on account of sex, or on any other ground whatsoever;
(f) children, young persons and the age are protected against any exploitation whatsoever, and against moral and material neglect;
(g) provision is made for public assistance in deserving cases or other conditions of need; and
(h) the evolution and promotion of family life is encouraged.
18. (1) Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
(2) Government shall promote science and technology
(3) Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy; and to this end Government shall as and when practicable provide
(a) free, compulsory and universal primary education;
(b) free secondary education;
(c) free university education; and
(d) free adult literacy programme.
20. The State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wild life of Nigeria.
21. The State shall –
(a) protect, preserve and promote the Nigerian cultures which enhance human dignity and are consistent with the fundamental objectives as provided in this Chapter; and
(b) encourage development of technological and scientific studies which enhance cultural values.
From the above, you will agree with me that, though the 1999 constitution, emanated from a military Decree (Decree 24, 1999) and not withstanding that the constitution lied in its introductory paragraph that “we the people of Nigeria, having agreed ….” (there was no where or time that the people of Nigeria sat or met or by popular referendum agreed to live together or make a Constitution for themselves); yet the authors of the 1999 Constitution had excellent, brilliant and purposeful ideas, which regrettably have been observed in the breach by successive military and civilian administrations at all levels. Despite the “shall” and “shall” and shall” in the Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution, the citizens cannot enforce the provisions. Chapter Two, I am verily informed by the “learned” legal minds; is “not justiciable”. This means you cannot hold the occupiers of our public offices from the local government to the State and Federal Government accountable to those provisions! Even, as the National Assembly is said to be presently reviewing the Constitution, I am not aware that the Chapter Two is being addressed to make its provisions “justiciable”. You cannot get our leaders by the instrumentality of law, to abide by the principles and declarations of Nigeria Constitution! As one writer on the internet will say: “And there you have it!”
EFFECTS
The fallout of this organized and endemic disregard for the people especially the youth has resulted in the increasing involvement of the youth in human kidnapping and trafficking in human beings, prostitution, drug trafficking and usage, advanced fee fraud (popularly known as 419), examination malpractices, cultism, and other violent crimes. If you read the newspapers or monitor the electronic media nowadays, most of the people arrested for crimes are usually the youth with ages ranging between 20 and 40 years.
The Nigerian youth today have become useful tools in the filthy hands of many wealthy people especially the politicians, who engaged them as body guards and thugs to commit crimes and perpetrate violent attacks on real or perceived enemies.
Few of these youth, I have taken off the streets via little but effective empowerment. Many of them, I usually interact with in order to re-orientate them. I usually tell them to ask politicians and other people who used them to foment troubles one big question: “When a politician or “big man” asks you to go and fight, attack and foment trouble, one question you should ask them is: where are your children?” If they cannot bring their children to join you, don’t go”. Of course no Nigerian politician or “big man” will ask his children to join his thugs. Never!
The Nigerian youth today is academically retarded. The quality of education has fallen highly and retrogressively. As we sit here today, the justified strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), since July 2, 2013 over the failure of the Federal Government to implement the agreement it willingly entered into with the university lecturers in 2009, has entered its sixth week. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, said few days ago that Nigeria is broke and cannot afford to pay the university lecturers! Haba!
The question to ask in this circumstance is whether the money requested by ASUU (either it is N92billion or N87billion or N100billion) is the just entitlements of the lecturers or a gift? How on earth will a country that is broke spends N1billion on feeding at the Presidential Villa? Why will a country that is broke continue to maintain about 13 jets in her presidential fleet? Why will a country that his broke organize a wasteful electioneering jamboree of women in Abuja yesterday that brought people all offer the country and from outside the country to Abuja, spending hundreds of millions of naira, if not billions on first class tickets, food, ice cream, and what have you? What is the priority of this government? Some Nigerians have said that, there was no attention to education in the past because we had Presidents who were not graduates, what difference do we have now that a doctorate degree holder is at the helms of affairs? Education is the best legacy, which, from what we can see, the present administration is not committed to.
WAY OUT
From the look of things, Nigerian youth is challenged to take their destiny in their own hands. The right to education, as well as others, like the right to life, human dignity, freedom to receive, impart and disseminate information, is a fundamental right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 1948) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Nigeria is a signatory to both documents.
It is true that today, there is acute scarcity of role models and good examples for our youth to follow. However, we must still look for the few good ones for direction, mentoring and so on.
Self education is what the youth must also be engaged in. The youth must read far and wide and beyond what is being taught in the lecture halls. It is very important to have broad knowledge of our history and culture.
Youth Quota Demand should also be a form of affirmative action in a country where grandfathers are competing with their grandchildren for public offices; and you have people of 65 years and above occupying the positions of youth leaders in political parties!
It is good for youth to migrate. It helps the youth to migrate. It broadens the experience and worldview of the youth to migrate. But there is no paradise anywhere. Those who migrated from the villages to Lagos and Abuja now know better. Those who have migrated outside the shores of the country now know better as 98 per cent of them clamour to return home (since they have suffered racism, harassment, sexual exploitation and discriminations).
MESSAGE FOR THE LEADERS
For the leaders of the nation, most of who went to the best colleges and universities and military training institutions all over the world on the bill of the government; who occupied prominent public positions when they were in their twenties and thirties; those who now treat issues affecting youth, especially in the area of education with levity and wanton abandonment, even as they continue to send their own children abroad, build private universities with tuition fees that are clearly out of reach of the common man, and steal blindly in preparation for their generation yet unborn, this is my message in the words of James Baldwin: “These are our children We shall either pay for or profit by whatever they become.”
MESSAGE FOR THE YOUTH
Nowhere is like home. Let us stay here, strategise, organize, mobilize and hold our leaders accountable. Let us take on the revolutionary responsibility to save our country from the hecklers, the rent seekers and collectors and their dominating offspring. The future is today.
Arise!
Being the speech by Oladunjoye at the 2013 International Youth Day celebration by the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ejigbo Local Council Development Authority chapter, Lagos State on August 16, 2013.
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