ABUJA— THE Federal Government has been called upon to re-examine its youth policy for the nation and implement it to affect all parts of the country in order to address youth restiveness, particularly in the Niger Delta area.
Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha made the call in Abuja in a paper he delivered at the 5th Media Forum of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja Chapter.
The call coincided with the announcement of plans by the nations’ youth, under the aegis of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) to hold its first ever National Conference on peace where the issue of youth restiveness will be addressed and way out of the problem proffered.
According to Alamieyeseigha: “Youth restiveness is not limited to the Niger Delta alone. It has become a national malaise. I submit that only a full recognition and acceptance of the potentials of our teeming and resourceful youth can foster an atmosphere of peace and development in the country.
“It behoves the Federal Government to re-examine its youth policy for the nation and implement it to affect all parts of the country positively. I believe that in the face of such a welcome eventuality in nation where justice and equity reign supreme, the people of the region will feel a greater sense of belonging”.
He said further “government should initiate the political will to engage the stakeholders of peace and security in the Niger Delta area, especially the youth, with a frank discussion on the way forward. Programmes and policies need to be initiated to address the rising tide of youth unrest in this beleaguered region.
“In serious societies that plan their lives and progress ahead of time, the youth are equipped with proper, adequate and functional socialization, training, education and orientation; that is the only way we can make a head way towards meeting the global target on poverty reduction and social development, as set out in the millennium Development Goals (MDGS)”.
Governor Alamieyeseigha advised that “we must as a nation consider youth restiveness as one with serious implications for national security and development and the logical step to take therefore is to identify its root causes and deal with them”, identifying, among others, the predisposition of some leaders “in the communities who sponsor some youths with the concurrence of the oil companies to cause spillage with a view to receiving percentages of compensation arising there from and obtaining spillage cleaning contracts”.
Meanwhile, the youth conference, billed to hold in Abuja from September 27 to 29, which is being organized by the NYCN, the umbrella body of all youth organizations, in conjunction with Rural Youth Volunteer Association (RYVA), is expected to address the issue of youth restiveness nationwide.
According to the President of NYCN, Mr. Ben Duntoye and his RYVA counterpart, Mr. Hilary Amodu, the initiative was informed by the desire to bolster effort by government to tackle the menace of violence and youth restiveness.
A two-page statement issued by them weekend said: “as tetanus-infected sore that defies all treatments, violence and youth restiveness have virtually turned Nigeria into Armageddon. In spite of government’’s various measures to tackle this national menace, the sores fester, the poor groan and the nation limps.
“It is in view of the above that the NYCN as well as RYVA is propelled to take it upon itself to engineer a process of discussing these cankerworms that are inhibiting our peaceful co-existence.”
It listed the aims of the conference, which will be chaired by another former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, to include: officially and genuinely start a process of youth involvement in nation-building, articulate youth aspirations and agitations across the country, rekindle and sustain patriotic hopes in the nation’s nascent democracy and demonstrate that Nigeria youth are capable and ready to redefine the nation’s destiny.
The conveners of the conference also said that the confab would ensure that “for the first time, the grassroots people would have the rare opportunity of making input towards the solutions of their problems, and redirect the consciousness and orientation of youths against every violent act.
