Maurice Okafor, Enugu
Youth groups have advocated for the inclusion of Youths in various arms of government, insisting the strategy will enhance positive change in Nigeria’s political leadership system.
The Youths made the advocacy at one-day a symposium organized by South Saharan Development Organization(SSDO) a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in partnership with ActionAid, as part of activities to celebrate the 2022 International Youth Day.
The Youths who spoke at the symposium with the theme, “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for all Ages” said Youth inclusion in the acts of governance will propel innovations to meet up with global standards in our time.
The Executive Director of New Century Initiative, Mr Collins Nebo, stressed that the global trend calls for the inclusion of Youths in all sectors of management and leadership. He lamented that most adults are not settled while working with young people, especially the intelligent ones.
His words: “It is rather sad that unlike in the advanced climes, elders and adults cherish young people coming close, learning and taking life advancement forward. We must start advocating a change in the narrative and letting the senior citizens today know that they have the huge responsibility of mentorship and ensuring youths take off from where they stop to move the society forward.”
Speaking, the Convener of Initiative for Girls and Women Enlightenment, Miss Florence Ugwu, urged the youths to maximise the use of social media to deepen advocacy for inter-generational shift and change.
Ugwu tasked the youths to continue to dominate the social media, however, they should synergize on how to encourage adult involvement to erase the gap in communication among the Youths and the elderly but ensure that they pull the adults into it and let everyone be in the same positive page on moving the community or society forward.
“Social media remains the greatest weapon of change the youths have for mobilization, reorientation and awareness on issues that affect everyone and use same to ensure the adult population are carried along,” he said.
Another Speaker, Mrs Chinyere Otuonye, the Chief Executive of Sparks Consults, urged youths to ensure that they do all to sell their visions and programmes for the understanding of all.
Otuonye, who delivered a lecture on “Achieving Youth Empowerment through Inter-generational Collaboration”, noted that youths must ensure that they explain clearly the benefits of their visions or programmes to each generation.
“We have to build support systems for all to key in and practically show people the social and empowerment benefits of our visions and programmes for all generations,” she said.
In a lecture on “How Youths in Politics Leadership Can Bring Positive Change”, The Director of Red Aid Nigeria, Mr Ajuluchukwu Edechiene said there is a need for more youths to seek political power so they can change the narrative.
He highlighted the need for a policy direction that mandates every young person to undergo an internship in leadership or be mentored in that direction in his or her early stages of life.
He stated, “Youths have to leverage their overwhelming population to galvanise themselves to take up political space and start making a difference”.
“There is a need for youths to pool resources together and encourage those with leadership acumen, who have been mentored, to occupy decision-making offices to bring in innovation and energy,” he said.
The symposium was attended by leaders of different non-governmental organisations and youth-based organisations within Enugu State.
