Youth

By Usman Ibrahim

For a long time, Kano State has battled the enormous increase in drug abuse and trafficking of illicit drugs. Most commonly, many people directly or indirectly abuse drugs. In the past, only male youths aged 18 years and above were the major players in the business. But these days, it is more heart-aching that underage boys and girls, including married women, are into drug abuse, and it is increasing by the day and assuming top spots on the statistics.

People often see drug abusers as jobless who consume the drugs to forget their problems of unemployment and poverty. The precarious situation makes them steal from their families, friends, and even their communities.

Drug addicts are particularly vulnerable to politicians who utilize them to cause havoc during elections and protect them from the wrath of the law after their arrest. When they don’t get the opportunity to become the “boys” of the politicians, they resort to their communities and continue to cement their legacies as the greatest criminals of their time.

In addition, they sometimes make it uncomfortable for people in their communities to commute to some streets. Unfortunately, though, others see drug abuse as something one chooses to do due to peer group influence. Unfortunately, even teens living in stable and affluent homes are also into this drug addiction – many rich teens are into drug abuse despite all the care their parents have shown them.

Badawa in Kano State is one of the communities notorious for drug abuse. It is an intensely multi-ethnic setting harbouring diverse ethnicities but deeply troubled by illicit drug sales and consumption for over a decade. In an interview with a teenager into selling these intoxicants, he admitted that he couldn’t stop selling illegal drugs because he earns a lot from it, and many people from distant places come and buy from him at expensive rates. I also asked him whether he was aware of the anti-drugs agency or the vigilante groups who would arrest him, and he said he was aware. Still, he cannot stop because it is the only way to source his income.

But a philanthropist defies all odds to change existing narratives in the community. Seeing the height of the problem has made the anonymous Good Samaritan solve the menace. With his own money, he purchased three cars, walkie-talkies and uniforms to help arrest hard drug dealers and employed some men in the community’s vigilante group to assist in the fight.

According to Badar, one of the vigilante members, “At least we have arrested more than ten drug dealers in which some of them are in prison”. However, he also states that their work involves too much risk because some drug dealers walk along with knives, sharp horns and machetes, among other dangerous local weapons. So they are always cautious in handling their operations. And they work hand in hand with NDLEA to give them more information about the community.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) significant role is exterminating illicit drug trafficking and consumption in Nigeria. And also, it is for the sake of protecting the country from the dangers of hard drugs. Since the agency’s establishment in 1989, the war against hard drugs has been increasing yearly. The agency tries its best to tackle drug trafficking and importation of hard drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, cough syrups and other hard substances. However, the activities of philanthropists cannot be underscored because of the rapid increase in violence, especially during elections and among drug addicts in communities.

Therefore, combating drug abuse as well as securing the lives and properties of Nigerians needs collaborative efforts between security agencies, community leaders as well as philanthropists. If there is a time when these collaborations are desperately needed, it is now.

Usman Ibrahim is a level 200 student from the Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via usmannibrahim66@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Aminu 

Youths have been advised to eschew hate speech and use new media constructively for peacebuilding and sustaining peace and peaceful coexistence in their communities.

A communication expert and media scholar, Dr Ruqayya Yusuf Aliyu, gave the advice while engaging youths in a Critical Knowledge Production Dialogue Organised by the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) on Wednesday.

Dr Ruqayya, who discussed the Roles of Youths in Peace Building From a Communication Perspective, said youths play active roles in conflict and peacebuilding situations due to their agility and activeness.

She reminded the youths that peace and peaceful coexistence are the bedrock for the development of any society.

“Youths can be used for good or bad, peace or violence; hence it’s imperative that they know the importance of their roles in peacebuilding in their communities.

“Although conflict is inevitable in any society, managing it matters most in escalating or de-escalating the situation, ” she added.

“You can be partisan, but avoid hate speech and use new media positively.

According to her, communication is relevant in peace building through mobilisation, advocacy, persuasion and behaviour change among the youths.

In another development, CITAD, in collaboration with eTrash2Cash, has trained 220 low-income women on plastic waste entrepreneurship in Bauchi.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of eTrash2Cash Abdullahi Salisu said the participants were trained to convert plastic waste into weaved bags, shoes, bangles, and flower vases, among others.

He said:” Items made from these wastes seem so original and authentic that one cannot tell if they are made from the “wastes” we improperly dispose of. Perhaps, one of the main reasons why so much keen interest is evident in the faces of the women beneficiaries.”

Some of the beneficiaries expressed their appreciation for the opportunity. 

Amina Bello and Hafsat Adamu said their newly acquired skills would enhance their living standard.

Hafsatu Adamu, while thanking the training organisers, said she benefitted greatly and had never known wastes could become useful in this way. “I’m proud to be a waste champion, and I will step down the training to my siblings, friends and immediate dependents,” she added.

According to Abdullahi Salisu, plans are underway to ensure that the trained women are continuously engaged and supported to keep cleaning the environment and support others to improve their lives and livelihoods.

Salisu said: “This social responsibility is continuous. It is non-stop. Other stakeholders have already expressed their interest to keep the impact going. We hope to keep engaging these beneficiaries through an innovation centre that will further help them in other areas of business development and entrepreneurship”.

By Ibrahim Sulaiman Jama’are

On Wednesday, 15th June 2022, two of my Facebook friends, Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro and Abdullahi Barau Azare, tagged me in a trending post that that one association called Jama’are Emirate Youth Forum (JEYF), awarded a popular Hausa political musician, Alh. Dauda Kahutu Rarara a “Certificate of Excellent” (don’t mind the grammar). The group added that “In recognize in your (that’s the awardee) tremendous effort and exceptional commitment towards development of humanity” (I beg for your pardon on the poor grammar).

Based on my search on Facebook, the story on this issue was first broken by Ibrahim  Sanyi-Sanyi (who I follow), whose post seemed to be earlier than that of the purported chairman of the forum, Rabiu A Umar (who happens to be my Facebook friend too).

My dismay was minified by the comments on the Facebook wall of Ibrahim Sanyi-Sanyi by his followers, many of whom (thank God) suspected the forum to be fake and, of course, created and formed for the purpose. 

Though there is naturally nothing wrong with conferring an award on any person who contributed toward the development of any community, the question remains: in what way did Rarara contribute to the development of Jama’are Emirate?. Many groups in Jama’are have a history of giving awards to personalities that excelled in different areas of endeavour and contributed to the Emirate’s development (which is normal and obtainable in many places). 

It is a source of concern that churning out such awards to personalities not known for delivering any community services is a spoof that will do a great disservice in future. 

The public should note that JEYF is not a registered association by any institution at the local government or state levels. Traditionally, such associations are registered with the desk officer of clubs and associations at the local government Social Welfare Office. Also, local clubs usually have patrons, typically elderly, who advise and guide members on what to do.  JEYF neither to has no one and no in the registry of the LG.   

I would naturally not write this if the awardee was, say, Aminu Bagwai, another famous Hausa singer. For quite a long time, he has been a friend and, of course, a frequent visitor to Jama’are and who had a dedicated song for Jama’are town, a headquarters of Jama’are Emirate.

On a serious note, from all indications, Rarara might have been a victim of ‘Yan-wanki’ impostors parading themselves as representatives of Jama’are Emirate Youths. The carelessness with which the certificate is written in quite mangled English indicates that this group does not represent us. It is an obvious fact that every casual observer can glean. 

Ibrahim Sulaiman Jama’are is a concerned citizen of Jama’are. He wrote from Abuja via ibrahimsulaiman193@gmail.com.

By Lukman Dahiru Abubakar 

Youths, they say, are the leaders of tomorrow. This is a saying we have heard since primary school days. Thanks to their productive and economically active age, youth should be frontrunners in nation-building. Adamawa State is blessed with educated and entrepreneurial people but tested with desperate and self-centred leaders who take advantage of these unsuspecting youths.

Please take a look at the administration of Gov. Murtala Nyako, CFR, GCON, from 2007 until his impeachment in 2014, spearheaded by incumbent governor Ahmadu Fintiri. Nyako ran the affairs of the state in an exemplary manner, leaving an indelible mark that won’t fade in the sands of time and making it almost impossible for his successors to fill his void. Nyako once described growing unemployment and unskilled youth as ‘enemy armies facing the nation’.

Gov. Nyako did not see the youths as commodities and tools for praise-singing on social media. He had a plan and a vision for them. His government established youth-centric empowerment programs for the benefit of all and sundry. Farming Skills Acquisition Centers were established all through the state. Vocational and technical training centres were instituted and equipped with German technology and managed by German expatriates. Monthly stipends were also given to the trainees for their upkeep.

Other youths were placed on the government payroll as special assistants. The Nyako Youth Empowerment Model was a visionary, focused, and purposeful one which paved the way for a promising future for the youths in the state.

Governor Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, riding on the change mantra in 2015, promised to revitalize and remediate these centres to ensure a continuum. Unfortunately, upon his ascension, he reneged on his promise, and because he doesn’t fulfil promises most of the time, he earned himself a nickname called digital. However, he had other plans for the youth and unveiled his youth empowerment package.

The Bindow Model includes the distribution of iPads for social media praise-singers and the disengagement of some staff from their places of work. This led to the birth of thuggery, criminality in the state, and even the Shila boys started around that time. The Shila Boys engage in street robbery and have been terrorizing the residents of Yola for years. He failed the litmus test and was kicked out of office in 2019.

Incumbent governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri assumed office in 2019. He looked the real deal at that time. However, he is in his third year now and doesn’t look like he has a cogent plan for the youths. Albeit last month it was reported that he purchased mobile phones for his social media warriors. This shows he did not learn from the blunders of his predecessor and is following in his footsteps, and until he adjusts, he’s likely falling into the same pit as ex-governor Umaru Jibrilla.

The youths must therefore rise and use the period of their youthfulness for something good and beneficial. Do not let politicians use you; use them instead.

Lukman Dahiru Abubakar wrote from Yola, Adamawa State, via ldahyu@gmail.com.

By Mukhtar Garba Kobi

Communication is one of the fundamental means people command, caution and interact with one another. It is as old as human beings because the first created beings (Adam and Eve) communicated. Primitive generations used so many ways in sending signals or messages to other people. They include beating metal gongs, lighting fires on hills, blowing flutes, beating local drums, firing Dane-guns, intense ululations, especially during marriage ceremonies, etc. Moreover, communication passed through generations. More advanced platforms and channels are created to enable people to interact with fellows in far and near places with ease from their comfort zones. 

Every day, sophisticated communication gadgets are invented and taken to markets. The more advanced features are added to social media platforms, the easier messages and information are conveyed to target audiences. According to Global Digital Overview, Facebook has 2.910 billion users, Instagram has 1.478 billion, Twitter has 436 million, TikTok has 1 billion, and WhatsApp has 2 billion active users.

With smartphones and data, people interact live through video calls, share pictures, upload movable images and audio messages, and get instant replies. Yet, despite these developments, youths in Africa and other parts of the world are so addicted to social media that some could not spend 30 minutes without logging in instead of studying for a better future, assisting parents with chores, learning skills to be independents, etc.

Regrettably, some users enjoy chatting in darkness by offing light, not knowing the brightness from phones screens harm their eyes. An eye doctor working with Makka Specialist Hospital in Bauchi, Abba Salisu Abba, explained that the pupil constricts when the light is more than what eyes can accommodate. But when the light is too low or in the darkness, the pupil dilates to search for available light. He further revealed that frequent staring at a light could result in itchy, watery, reddishness of eyes and, if nothing is done, could lead to blindness.

Some parents purchase phones, laptops, and tablets primarily to aid studies of their wards without regular supervision; it is unknown to them that most of their wards use such devices for irrelevant chatting or streaming pornographic content in late hours.

These days, young ladies in recent years shamelessly upload videos of them on TikTok dancing seductively in half-naked dressings; the act pushes some youths to rape teens, work sexually for sugar mummies or pay to satisfy themselves in brothels. Unfortunately, hours spent interacting with friends on social media platforms by students are high compared to the short time given for their studies or research; that has contributed hugely to mass failure during exams. A student from the State Polytechnic even told me that he often sacrifices his meal money to buy data primarily for chatting with friends. Sadly, many lost their lives after applying for jobs advertised on social media. They were pushed to early graves by their employers in unspecified locations. 

Shallow-minded adults and teenagers who heavily use social media platforms tend to believe whatever they come across and easily influence peers, thereby influencing them to snatch phones, kidnappings, or do other criminal acts to possess what celebrities have been bombarding them with on social media platforms. Consequently, most people in Nigeria believe that building crime-free societies is a collective responsibility, but only a few contribute in that direction. Parents no longer check the kind of postings, comments, pictures being uploaded or whatever their children are doing on social media platforms but are good at condemning others.

In summary, it is sacrosanct upon parents to be acting as watchdogs over the activities of their teenage sons and daughters on social media platforms. Parents should be collecting their devices and keeping them from them for days to know the messages coming in or people they are interacting with; this would help them determine the best decision.

Social media laws should work on all and sundry irrespective of positions, backgrounds or influences. The law should provide punishment for users sharing violent content, abuse, or false accusation to innocent individuals or groups to serve as a lesson to others. Furthermore, posting educational content on social media should be encouraged and youths doing that need to be rewarded by authorities; doing so would significantly improve students’ academic performances, thereby leading to good results.

Mukhtar Garba Kobi Wrote from Bauchi State.

By Umar Farouk

Your Excellency, I am writing you this letter with indubitable respect to your humble personality. Unfortunately, I am obliged to address you openly since personal access to you may be barred by your bureaucratic and routine security protocol. Hence, people like me can’t get access to meet you privately.

My joy is neither limited to the letter’s content nor the means of satisfying my professional conscience. It is rather vested in my utmost trust that you have a listening ear. It is on this that I implore that you gracefully through to be mention perception consider the actualisation of the message therein.

I, therefore, pray that this letter meets you well and that God would grant you the grace, wisdom and the presence of mind to accept this for what it is. It’s an honest attempt at giving you a perspective on handling the existential crisis facing Jigawa state and its people.

On many occasions, your administration claimed to be transparent, accountable, and respect the commoner, especially young people. I believe we have to grow beyond sentiments about those that govern us if we really want to move in the right direction, but I think your administration has performed below our expectations. 

Your Excellency, you may kindly wish to recall that the youths have been at the forefront of every struggle since the creation of this state. Also, most of the protagonists for the emancipation of Jigawa from Kano State were young people. 

Sir, youths’ trust deficit and loss of faith in you as the governor of our esteemed state is in dire need of rebuilding and assurance. I am particularly hoping you do this in earnest so that it won’t go down in history as one governor who lost his fort to secure his people out of obscurity and perpetual distrust in governance.

The younger generations have no patience for long messages; their understanding outstrips speeches and press statements lacking facts and pragmatism. They want today a vital social ideal for which to live and labour in. A system that will ensure their voices count while the equitable distribution of wealth and resources is guaranteed now and in the future.

My dear Governor, please note this, our youths, who graduated recently, are in large numbers, and many cannot find means for a decent livelihood. Many who desire to advance their education further cannot do so. Many of them, due to pressure, fall prey to employment scammers. The challenging life experience pushed many into drug peddling, organised groups engaged in stealing and all sorts of crimes. 

It would be a great thing if His Excellency’s administration would avoid lip service to youth’s plights but work concretely with them, not just with celebrities and most opinionated social media activists alone. We must also not forget to accommodate the army of young people that do not possess any skill and therefore would not fit into any formal employment description

The resourcefulness of Jigawa youths is enormous, of which I know your Excellency is very much aware of going by the information at your disposal as our governor.

About 65% of our population are young people between 18-42. Therefore, the need to invest heavily in developing this energetic group can never be overemphasised. Therefore, youth empowerment and development should have been the cornerstone of your administration. 

Your Excellency, after the end of your first term and second year into your second and final term, many believe you have not done well on those matters, and others think you can do better. The unemployment rate in Jigawa is simply worrisome and should not be taken lightly. Furthermore, the NBS reports for three consecutive years have shown we are not doing well in job creation.

I am, however, aware of the various intervention measures your administration has initiated to engage our young people in gainful ventures. Still, they are a far cry from addressing the hydra-headed problem. They need more opportunities to discover their capabilities and an encouraging environment to grow and innovate. For this reason, the government needs to develop initiatives to train and retrain the youth and create awareness about new and emerging fields of entrepreneurship. 

Sir, Your top aides, political leaders within your party and your friends may not tell you the truth even when they complain bitterly within their closets and are quietly compiling a list of your sins they will use against you at the appropriate time.

You must understand that a leader who takes delight or cares less about his people’s disturbing condition is not worth being called a leader. Jack Welch said, “Great Leaders love to see people grow. The day you are afraid of them being better than you is the day you fail as a person” John Maxwell added that “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”

Sir, this clamour is not in any way aimed at attacking you, as I remain ruthless in our support to ensure the State of Virtues rise above the shackles limiting it to a desirable standard that places it in the heart of all and sundry, but it’s just as important to speak against the repression of this sort, as I believe and stand convinced that the price of unflinching loyalty shouldn’t be undue abandonment. 

Mr Governor, have my best wishes as you reform and initiate programmes and policies that have positive effects on our State and people. 

Best wishes. Thank you.

Umar writes from Jigawa, and he can be reached via umarrfarouk2015@gmail.com. 

By Tijjani Ahmad

As a state that accommodates one out of every ten people living in the country, Kano has many competitive advantages over other states regarding development at the sub-national level. Looking at how economies worldwide are competing to finance development, mainly using domestic resources mobilisation, the easiest for the state is to leverage on its abundance of human resources.

As a governor of the state for the second time from 2011 to 2015, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso wanted to make Kano a knowledge-based economy by providing necessary education and skills, thereby making a large portion of the state’s economic growth and employment from knowledge-intensive activities. The governor understood how knowledge spurs more rapid growth than any other resources; therefore, he projected the potential of the state to use its population of teeming youth as a comparative advantage.

His revolution started with efforts to bridge the workforce gap in tertiary institutions by sponsoring more than 2,500 postgraduates and undergraduates to study abroad. In addition, he sponsored hundreds of undergraduates in private universities across the country. These beneficiaries were expected to come back and support the education sector of the state and beyond. 

These people were selected based on merit, and most of them occupied positions at various tertiary institutions in Kano state and Northern Nigeria in general. Recently, two of the beneficiaries were listed among the most cited scientists in the world.

The governor further created 47 technical colleges to revive technical and vocational education. These colleges were strategically located across 44 local governments to provide secondary school students in rural and urban areas with skills in various trades. 

Looking at how Kano businesspeople import textile and garments materials, the governor also established skills acquisition centres in more than 20 local governments in the state to serve as incubation centres for modern garment production. However, these centres were about to be launched when the present government truncated the effort. Only God knows the reason. 

I heard the governor on air saying that when these centres are launched, they would compete favourably and capture a significant share of the undergarments market in Nigeria and across the sub-region. This is because the centres have been equipped with the most modern techniques and technology in garment making industry.

Kwankwaso didn’t stop there. He introduced over 20 specialised training institutions to provide in-demand skills in agriculture, ICT, sports, tourism and hospitality, among others. One of them is the poultry training institute located at Tukui village of Makoda local government in the northern part of the state.

The institute is designed to offer formal and informal training in poultry production and management. Immediately after its establishment in 2012, the institute trained 4,400 women in basic requirements for poultry production and management practice.

These centres were meant to bridge the skills gap, provide employment to our teeming youth and reduce insecurity and over-dependency on grants by improving internally generated revenue of the state. Had there been continuity in the models employed by the former governor, Kano would have been on its way to reclaiming the past glory it is known for in terms of knowledge and commerce.

The hope of everyone who wishes good for the state is to consolidate this model by whoever would emerge as the state’s number one citizen in 2023. But, of course, this can only be possible if his priority is development.

Tijjani Ahmad wrote from Kano via ahmatee123@gmail.com.

By Sadiq Aliyu Waziri

“Education is the key to success” is the cliché that filled our ears to the extent that we got hypnotised and went to school. We have listened and done what was demanded, but success remains a de luxe ethereal dream. Thanks to the system for bringing such a motivational saying down to nothing. Who said it first deserves pity while those that believed should wait for succour. The system’s failure to prove that education is indeed the key has doomed our society with the presence of unemployment, the begetter of revolt. 

The way I see it, the unemployment problem should not be last or penultimate, but the first in the other direction. Every government should tackle its course to building a sound society or salvaging a community endangered by their predecessors, as they will prefer to say it. This and how bad the system is are no longer alluring headlines. Calls and cries have been on the air for a long time. However, the system has turned a deaf ear and refused to act for the absence of patriotism or of acumen or perhaps the two put together.

The number of unemployed youth is alarming, ranging from secondary school certificate holders to second-degree graduates. Everyone’s desperate to secure a good job for survival. But, like it or not, this desperation is putting both the youth and the country at stake, endangering the youth morality and the country’s peace.

My advice to the unemployed youth is, don’t allow your love for a lucrative job to destroy you by leading you to do heinous things or following every fool that promises you a job. What you need is patience. Then, ready yourself for every challenge that is to come. Money and power are not everything. Don’t steal or terrorise anybody or become a ‘pimp’ for not having a job. Unless it is a dream to build a political career, don’t go into it because you think it is the only place to get a job.

I don’t know how or when, but you will secure a job that you crave with or without the help of anyone. As a matter of fact, you do not need to kowtow to anyone to help you get a job so that you won’t be forever in anyone’s debt. So be patient now until the time comes.

Sadiq Aliyu Waziri sent this article via sawaziry@yahoo.com.

By Ibraheem Abdullateef

Late last year, Nigerian media was awash with my statement of appeal to the two biggest political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the review of nomination form fees for office-seekers under 35 years old in the 2023 elections, to deepen inclusion, and strengthen national democracy. Weeks later, none of these parties has made any official statement on the matter. We must sustain the tempo until the cause is achieved. 

The review of nomination form fees by APC and PDP is urgent to strengthen our democracy, encourage diversity, and foster youths’ inclusion in politics and leadership. It is socially, economically, and politically unhealthy to retain the same table used in 2019 for the 2023 elections. 

In the 2019 elections, PDP sold their gubernatorial expression of interest and nomination forms for N1 million and N20 million, respectively.

Reports also show that PDP charged N12 million for both the expression of interest and nomination form for the Office of the President, N3.5million for Senate, N2.5million for House of Representatives, and N600,000 for the House of Assembly.

In a similar vein, the gubernatorial expression of interest and nomination form of the ruling APC attracted N2.5 million and N20 million, respectively. 

It also sold for N5 million the expression of interest and N40 million for nomination form for the Office of President, N7 million for Senate, N3.5million for House of Representatives, and N850,000, for the House of Assembly.

It is most worrisome that these political parties retained the fees in the recently held Anambra elections, Ekiti primaries, and others in 2022.

While I understand that funds accrued from the sale of forms remain a serious source of funding its operations, the decision of the parties to make young people pay the same fees as more established office-seekers is unfair and inconsistent with emerging realities in modern democracies. 

As it stands today, the exorbitant fees for nomination forms are mitigating against the legitimate ambition of over 65% of credible, capable young Nigerians to run for elective offices. It also encourages corruption and godfatherism; fuels the orgy for violent, do-or-die electoral practices while deepening the gap between the rich and have-nots in our society. No party must retain those crazy fees for the 2023 elections. 

Data about the 2019 elections released by YIAGA showed that only 8.6% (68 members) of 991 seats in the 36 State House of Assemblies and 6.8% of 360 members of the House of Representatives were under 35 and below.

Although youth candidacy in Nigeria’s elections rose from 21% to 34.2 % (13.5 per cent of the candidates vied for the Senate, and 27.4 per cent for the House of Representatives), the fact is that buoyed by the Age Reduction Act, Nigeria could have recorded better youths participation under a more favourable party system. This shows that the demography that constitutes over 60% of the registered voters in the country has literally had no place in Nigeria’s democracy. 

From 1999 to date, the abysmal record of youths participation in politics is a direct effect of our mega parties, PDP and APC’s weak commitment to youths inclusion agenda. Despite the notable efforts of #NotTooYoungToRun in improving eligibility, affordability of the political system reduction in nomination fees is key to unlocking the space for young Nigerians. This is why these parties need to decide now to show over 80 million Nigerian youths they genuinely believe in them and are the best platforms for the Nigeria Project. 

It no longer sells the stories about the non-participation of young people in politics. What is new is the understanding that there has been no space for them in the leadership. From communication to organising, and even campaigns, they have always been involved at different levels. But, with a lack of deliberate intra-party youths-friendly policies, Nigerian political parties are meant to attract seasonal voters, not future leaders.

Let me state that I am aware that the PDP and APC constitutions give women a 50% cut in regular fees for nomination forms and find that applaudable. But I cannot understand in 2022 why the same constitution would make no provision for the youths, especially after the #EndSARS struggle and the global youths renaissance, to encourage young Nigerians’ dreams and passion for the motherland. Nigerian youths deserve a 60% cut in fees. 

With our sheer numerical strength and globally acclaimed talent and industry, Nigerian youths do not deserve this strategic exclusion and alienation from democracy from the parties that average Nigerian youths consider as platforms of choice. The message this passes inadvertently is that they are not much wanted, accepted, and treasured, as is usually parroted. And seriously, this is a bad curve on our political values that must be reset immediately by the parties. It is time to match words with actions. 

When these constitutions are reviewed, I have absolute faith that they will positively change leadership selection, becoming instrumental to the clamour to ingest energy and innovation to national leadership. There is no doubt of Nigerian youths’ abilities to lead and make impacts to accelerate the growth and development of the nation. 

I appeal earnestly to the leadership of these parties to stop this alienation, review and reduce the fees for the nomination form for office-seekers below 35 years of age in the 2023 elections. It is the ultimate way to reciprocate the love and loyalty, maximise the talent and energy of the youths constituency, to promote inclusion, peace and development of Nigeria. 

Abdullateef is the Kwara Central Representative in the Nigerian Youth Parliament (NYP) 5th Assembly. He can be reached via ibraheemabdullateef09@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

At this delicate time and cruel Nigeria that takes advantage of your laziness, incapabilities, lack of purchasing power and goal to actualize one’s dream, it will be hard for the less privileged and children born with a wooden spoon to attain a better by acquiring education. 

Umar Muhammad is a native of Jigawa state and lives in Dutse. A practical example of a downtrodden who may have given up and rejected every instinct that he might someday attain every possible accomplishment that life has to offer through education.

Umar has been consistent in his practical life to make ends meet since a tender age. He has built a definite guide that multiplies his efficiency to actualize his potentials and build his independence. 

Passionate about education, Umar started out and established his Cap-laundering business that has now metamorphosed into one of the most efficient and reliable persons in the town. He has funded his education up to the university level.

At an upheaval time of youthful exuberance, Umar’s story should inspire many people who unfortunately find themselves in similar life circumstances that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. With self-determination, visualization and internalization of self-worth, being less privileged cannot restrict one from actualizing his full potential.