By Prof. PROTUS NATHAN UZORMA
I want to re-echo the voice of Prof Eyo Ita in 1934 (as the National Leader of the Nigerian Youth Movement, NYM) who then declared that “Youths in other countries are driving forward, building themselves and their people, making their homelands beautiful, bright and stimulating, raising them to higher heights. This is the day of the Nigerian youth. It must build a new social order for whereas yesterday belonged to our fathers, today and the immediate tomorrow is ours. We can and must shape it according to our needs and desires.”
The Psalmist in Psalm 127 while exhorting youthful age, declared that “like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver filled with these arrows!” The youths are these arrows that the warrior (the state, the nation) uses to fight in order to conquer, in order to save its territorial integrity and ensure its continual future existence. Standing the youths on the rock of veritable survival and position in the society is comparable to the Psalmist filling one’s quiver with the arrows.
Certain situations are possible with regards to the arrows (the Youths), the quiver (the societal sector for growth, socio-economic and political stability) and the warrior (the state, the nation). First, the warrior may have quivers that are not filled up with the arrows. Second, the arrows could sufficiently lay waste without being filled up in the quivers. Third, the arrows could possibly be wrongly piled in the quivers. Fourth, the quivers may be insufficient to usefully hold to productiveness the arrows that the warrior has gathered. Five, due to hurry and carelessness, the warrior may not properly harness and arrange its arrows, and set them in readiness for situational usefulness, etc.
Whichever possibility the arrows (the youths) find themselves; it affects all segments of the nation’s youth population. The youth and the future of the society has inalienable links. Whatever affects the society (the state, the nation), affects instantly is youths. Prior to the advent of the global economic crisis, Nigeria youths had faced tremendous challenges such as unemployment, youths restiveness, militancy, extreme disconnection from the mainstream of the society, misdemeanour verging on criminality, increase level of drug addiction, usage and peddling, general breakdown of societal moral values and norms, pervasive culture of get rich quick syndrome and a host of other negative dispositions.
Prof Eyo Ita in 1934 (as the National Leader of the Nigerian Youth Movement, NYM) then declared that “Youths in other countries are driving forward, building themselves and their people, making their homelands beautiful, bright and stimulating, raising them to higher heights. This is the day of the Nigerian youth. It must build a new social order for whereas yesterday belonged tour fathers, today and the immediate tomorrow is ours. We can and must shape it according to our needs and desires.”
This declaration was made then when the major priority of the youths was being self-independent. The tempo then was how to train young Nigerian teachers, lawyers, medical doctors, lower class civil servants and educational empowerment to animate them with the tenets of nationalism, inter-tribal harmony and selfless service to the fatherland. Since then, the Nigerian youths have passed through series of socio-political history: The colonial and post-colonial eras, with nascent democracy, series of military interregnum in politics and the rebirth of democracy. Even with the dawn of the new democracy, so many socio-political and economic situations have been passed through, and today, a new set of state of challenges stare the youths in the face.
The state of the Imo youths today is like the declarations of the biblical Sheba son of Bichri (the Benjamite) who blew his trumpet and declared ‘everybody to his tent O Israel,’ (Samuel 20:1). The state of Imo youths today is like the poetic insight of W.B. Yeats who (in his poem, “The Second Coming”) declared that “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is formed around the world. The best lacks all convictions while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
When the youths are not gathered and attended to, and every parent is to his own tent, there can never be a unified and focused tomorrow. The problems of the Youths are the problems of a society that wants growth and development. And the best and lasting form of desirable future development a clairvoyant society could envision and embark upon, is youths’ development and empowerment, others are preliminary urgencies that have to be attended to.
Ours is a society that remembers the youths not as youths for tomorrow but employable adults who are 20-35 years below retirement age, and only when the already siphoned employment opportunities are made public. Ours is a society that divides its youths into qualified and unqualified ones. The qualified ones (in terms of academics) amount to millions from our universities, about 70% of which are in search of opportunities to be saved from denials of means for self-subsistence. Graduates roam about the streets in search of jobs. On the other hand, those who are unqualified (in terms of academics), end up as debased factory-hands and sex solicitors. Many of these trekked from Nigeria across the borders to outside countries (such as Spain, Algeria, Libya, Italy, Morocco, etc), and in most of the cases, a great many of them got rot away in countless jails on allegations of sundry crimes, etc.
The very few that have the courage to stay back in the country, they have to battle with dilapidated infrastructure, mass youth unemployment which the World Bank recently put at 33 per cent. With the near collapse of the education sector, only the children of the favoured few have access to quality service delivery either in one of the many mushrooming private universities now dotting the landscape of Nigeria or seek for greener pastures in Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom or the U.S. Some prefer nearby Ghana where Nigerian parents spent a whopping N140 billion in only three universities in 2012! ASSU has been on strike since this year, yet the government of the day says it cannot meet the demands as earlier agreed between the warring parties since 2009.
The flip side is for the youths with low tolerance level now actively engaged in armed robbery, kidnappings, acting as thugs for politicians, massive crude oil theft, and cyber crime called ‘yahoo-yahoo’ and the senseless killings of innocent citizens by of Boko Haram terrorism. For how long can we go on this way?
When we say “challenges,” a great number of us certainly misunderstand it. “Challenge” in this situation is simply a new demanding and difficult task or situation that one has to face and deal with. The challenges facing the youths are many and very critical. They include: Unemployment, lack of good government, corruption, poor electricity supply, crime increase, non-patriotic behaviour of the citizens, despotism, ready tools for crimes and crises, lack of creativity, etc.
Unemployment or joblessness is the major and most central challenge the Imo Youths and Nigerian youths in general are facing. It has frustrated many. Our graduates are spending years studying in the universities, after which they come out jobless, roaming the streets as they were before going to school. And this is one of the major causes of crime increase in Nigeria. When graduates stay in their parents’ homes years after graduation, the next thing that comes to an idle person (who is said to be the devil’s workshop) is the inflow of negative thoughts. This makes them start engaging in dirty deals. Till today, some who graduated about four years ago have not seen any area of their study to fit in. this certainly is a web of thorns in the flesh of the Nigerian graduates and can be removed.
It would be recalled that during the regime of His Excellency (Late) Chief Sam Mbakwe, he borrowed in the first year of his office to build Concorde Hotel, Poultry, Ceramic and glass industries and several other establishments, not for leisure sake but to create strong state’s economy and generate employment opportunities for the Imo youths.
His Excellency, Former Governor Achike Udenwa, during his tenure made youth’s empowerment programmes of assorted times and at renewed intervals (and batches) the stool of his regime, and today many of the empowered youths have little breathe of relief from what they were engaged in.
During the tenure of His Excellency, Former Governor Ikedi Ohakim, the youths were at the frontage of his visions for the state. He never sacked any employee instead he employed additional 10,000 graduates and additional 15,000 non-graduates. He also employed over 6,000 sweepers who clean the streets and several thousands packers and supervisors who kept the street clean.
In this present administration of His Excellency, Governor Rochas Okorocha, the youths have no hopes, no bases, and no regards. Instead of employing youths, he sacked the 31,000 (10,000 graduates and additional 15,000 non-graduates. He also employed over 6,000 sweepers who clean the streets and several thousands packers and supervisors who kept the street clean) that were employed by Governor Ohakim. Ever since then till date, those youths have permanently lost their jobs, and roam about the streets, hallowing their lover that sacked them.
Former Governor Ohakim employed 30 Civil Engineers, 27 Road Supervisors, 27 Medical Doctors and 350 Road Maintenance Workers for IROMA and Rural Health Centres, 600 Students from finishing school fully employed, 10,000 graduates employed, over 80,000 private sector jobs as a result of deliberate policies on environment and security, and trained 150 youths in various fields of agriculture and paid over =N=250 million counterpart funding for FADAMA, IFAD and FAO projects. He also provided interest-free loans to 2,700 petty traders and direct financial intervention grants to 700,000 youths through the youth co-operative society under the youth empowerment programme.
Let Rochas tell us where all these youths are working in Imo today and why our previously employed sons are on the streets roaming with their certificates. The 10,000 graduates Ohakim employed, were they different from those that he sacked and have not been recalled? Apart from the ISOPADEC Youths that he finally gave out 200million, let him say who and where have almost 1 Million youths received financial empowerment.
2. Lack of Good Governance: The government and party in power are not performing their functions very well. They have no visions for the youths. Our leaders are busy enriching their pockets out of selfishness. They are the proverbial dog that eats the bones hung on its neck. The lawmakers are the law offenders. The anti-corruption agents are the actual promoters of corruption. The fund managers and fraud fighters are the certified public fund embezzlers. The government that stresses on law-abiding is the highest disregarder of the law. Our holy pastors, priests and preachers of peace are the agents of disunity in Imo state.
3. Corruption: This is another major challenge facing the Imo youths today. One sees it in many forms and in many sectors of the state and Nigeria in general. Before a youth gets employed, that is, when he or she rarely finds one, sometimes, the youth has to pay through his or her nose in order to get it. Sometimes a youth who have stayed more than 5 years without employment will be rejected because he has no stipulated number of years for cognitive experience in the job domain. How can an unemployed have job experience? Are there no rooms for in-service training, recruitment and orientation trainings? Some times, there are discrepancies in gender-permission to work. The male will be compelled to huge sum of money before being given the work, while the female youths pay in dual carriage, with both or either-or options. What happens in some companies when a lady applies for job where a man is the CEO of the company is most amazing. In many of these companies, the male Chief Executive officers demand for sex from the female youth that has suffered before getting the work, now as guarantee for job security.
4. Nepotism: This is another challenge facing the Imo youths today. It is true that there are no employment opportunities even in all the sectors of the state’s public and civil service. It is true also that no week passes out in this state without 2-5 youths who know the Oga on top, being employed. Those at the top adopt a system of “if I do not know you before or I don’t know who knows you, you will not be employed in this sector.” This implies that youths who do not have some Ogas on top or Abrahams as fathers, in those offices and companies notwithstanding there good results and excellent skills should remain for ever jobless. Consequently, many employable youths and graduates from Nigeria who have good results are not employed in our state’s offices and companies because their fathers or relations do not work in those companies, or such a one does not have a third leg.
5. Increase in Crime Rate: Crime rate in Imo State tends to grow much especially in the past two years, as the number of the jobless citizens increases. Many who were frustrated in life or sacked from their jobs get themselves engaged in some nefarious activities, en guise of making ends meet. Crime rates and types increase as the citizens want to make money by all means. This makes them to indulge in many illegal activities, and thus call them “Busy-ness,” “hustling,” “runs,” etc.
6. Unpatriotic Behaviours of the Citizens: This is another crucial challenge that faces the Imo youths today. Since employment opportunities are elephant tusks that the poor and lesser opportune cannot get hold of, many who managed to engage in self-empowerment establishments, are frustrated for lack of patriotism. The products of these citizens are jettisoned in preference for foreign products. This frustrates both the establisher and the little employees that he engages. Another form of this unpatriotic disposition is the fact that most of our affluent citizens in Imo state and in Nigeria in general do not want to use what they have to help the masses. There are no standard industries in the state. They transfer their money to foreign banks rather than using it for the economic development of the state. In our Municipal Council (Local Government Area), for instance, one finds a total sum of 85 standard and still well functioning Hotels. This is the only sort of industry that prevails in the state. Our rich brothers and sisters go to Abuja, Lagos and abroad to invest their money, oblivious of the fact that “Aku ruo ulo, a mara onye kpara ya.” A friend once said that that is why kidnappers do not use eyes to see them return or hear that they are back to town- because these rich men that enjoy travelling overseas forgot that the countries are as good as they are because of the combined efforts of the government and the countries’ affluent citizens.
7. Lack of Creativity Background: This challenge has basis on the curriculum contents and national policy of education of Nigeria. They have no practical programmes and structures that could produce not only book learners but skilled youths, as one graduate from schools. The Nigerian child once it begins school is taught how to finish its studies and get a good job. The problematic with this lack of creativity that begins in childhood and is consolidated in the schooling years of the child, is that it later on makes the grown child (now, a youth) to depend on the government for subsistent jobs, just as the system has fixed it through its social values and curriculum contents. The uncreative nature of the Nigerian youths has made them jobless, restive and worse still become major tools for the execution of sundry societal mayhems: Thuggery, elections rigging and other related offences.
8. The Youth for Life Syndrome: This is another salient challenge facing the Imo and Nigerian youths. Whoever gets a good job as a youth remains in it till his death as a youth. There are many elderly ones that have passed over 10 years of retirement age but are still in active service, barring opportunities for young recruits to be employed. Some of them hang on there until they succeed in handing the position or its alternative down their relatives or contracted agents who got to them as the Oga on Top. Rev Fr Nathaniel Ndiokwere wrote a book and called it “Only in Nigeria”. It is only in Nigeria that one sees such adults of 60 years old even as youth’s leaders. Even this youth leadership itself in most of our local communities have been turned into employment status, especially by this regime. What is Community Youth President Status that it makes one an employed person in life? This is a life deceit title that makes a youth not to think about his or her future, or allow his creative powers to generate self-employment opportunities for themselves.
WHAT THE IMO GOVERNMENT DOES NOT KNOW
A sage once said that there are four angles of knowledge that compose the domain of human acquaintance. One of these angles of knowledge is what one does not know, but is ignorant of his ignorance. This is sort of ignorance needs urgent assistance, just as Imo youths need urgent assistance.
Governor Rochas Okorocha does not know that his regime is anti-youths progress, is youths repulsive and abusive. The Imo state government does not know that they youths have grown weary of his regime that frustrates every possibility of self-actualisation efforts of the youths. It does not know that he stirs up the hopes and raises their expectations every time he projects a youth empowerment programme or employment opportunity. This government does not know that for every bit of news announcement on employment opportunities for the masses, no youth spends less than N10, 000 that gets wasted as he aborts the employment opportunity programme.
Similarly, Governor Okorocha believes that Imo must be better only when the capital city and metropolitan cities are beautified. Aesthetics is good for booming economies. But for a creeping economy like ours to forget about the major challenges facing its society members and prefer city beautifications, shows misplacement of priority.
This present administration forgets that without directing the youths to self-usefulness, crime rise will continue as unemployment and its anxieties could lead many to seeking for alternatives for survival. What holds the 4,000 youths Rochas declared he has concluded to employ? What holds the commencement of the second batch (the 7,000) that is to follow the first? When shall he look into the problems of unemployment in the state, and not only grand the existence of a fictitious free education programme that end up in producing youths that roam the streets jobless?
THE WAYS FORWARD
The youths in the state should be given the room to partake in democratic government. When they are involved in the government or have representatives in it as women are, the problems of youth unemployment will be recurrently in the list of projects in the state.
Similarly, the youths should not fold their hands when the desirable job they need do not come their way. One thing that makes employability overseas possible is versatility. It is common for instance to find amongst 100 graduates 2-5 who have average computer operation knowledge. How can a graduate of accountant be employable in a bank when he lacks ordinary Microsoft Excel programme. A graduate should be versatile. They should also search online for bodies that help the jobless.
What this means is that skills than books should be the major priority of every student in any institution of learning in Imo State and in Nigeria in general. The Imo youths in both secondary and tertiary institutions should learn “skills and not books”. It is common in Nigeria that many of our graduates do not learn good skills during their studies in the schools. They were only busy reading their books to make excellent grades; without knowing the applications of what they read. This makes many companies reject them when they apply for jobs.
Thus, the call to introduce entrepreneurship training into Nigerian Universities is a good attempt and strategy to solving these challenges the youths are facing. As the rate of unemployed graduates in Nigeria is alarming, Imo graduates need to be well trained and educated in entrepreneurial skills.
Skill acquisition should begin as early as the Primary school level when creativity debuts in the child. As the child grows up to Secondary school level, general knowledge as specialization begins to settle, and with entrepreneurship training in the university level, the youth can harness their potentials in both skill acquisition and entrepreneurship, and this in the long run will assist them in self-employment programmes, and lessen the anxieties and effects of joblessness in the state. With this mindset, soon we would begin to have initiatives for the production of new products and services.
More so, Imolites and indeed every Nigerian should start to cherish locally manufactured goods. This would encourage industrialization and would in turn help the community to grow. When we do this, self-employment, industrialization and entrepreneurial activities will be encouraging and thus, many idle and jobless youths will benefit immensely. This would as well be an encouragement to them, and will make them expand their business by building more companies.
Governor Okorocha above all has to take the problems of youths’ unemployment as a serious matter in his administration. To this effect, he should instantly recall the 10,000 youths that were employed by the Ohakim administration and jettisoned in his administration; and also pay them their entitlements since the ban. This will make governance and its duty of employment not have any form of tenure-longevity that expires with the exit of the Chief Executive. Otherwise, whoever Okorocha employs today will certainly be thrown out of the job when he is no more in power, and by then the few employed ones will return to unemployment status.
He should as fast as possible, conclude the 4,000 teachers recruitment programme that he promised Imo youths that the successful candidates will begin teaching by September 2013, 2-3 months are gone without the youths seeing the headway of the declaration. Governor Okorocha has to release their appointment letters. He should as well facilitate the engagement of further 7,000 youths in the teaching sector that he promised.
The Imo State government should as a matter of urgency declare state of emergency on the youth sector and state, and thus on unemployment. Cities beautifications are good for established economies, not in a country where ¾ of its population are living in abject poverty. To do it the other way round will be misplacement of values. He should re-channel his focus and investment to resolving the challenges facing Imo youths today. More employment opportunities should be created as it will reduce automatically not only joblessness but a decrease in the spate of other related crimes.
Conclusion
The challenges facing the youths in Imo State are innumerable and pathetic, but we can stop them if the Imo State government begins to accommodate the youths in he government. However, it is worth to note that in the face of these challenges, the Imo youths and indeed, the Nigerian youth sector has been vibrant, and has made the state and nation proud especially in international competitions and other life engagements. For instance, in the field of sports, literature and sciences, our youths have won medals and honours through their rare display of superlative creativity and talents. In various domains of the Federation, our youths are contributing to nation building and national development as evidenced in the booming field of entertainment, literary creativity and other developmental achievements, and certain commercial activities nationwide