Ify Ogo, UNIC Lagos
With 150 million people, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. Nestled between the Republic of Benin and the Republic of Cameroon, with its southernmost states lying on the Atlantic Ocean, and its northern states touching the Sahara desert, Nigeria is a geographically, economically, and culturally diverse nation. Like many other developing countries, Nigeria’s development process has been fraught with numerous difficulties. Nonetheless, Nigeria has achieved increased, albeit uneven, levels of economic growth as well as social and technological advancement over the last few decades.
It has been reported that 70% of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 30. The Nigerian youth represents a vast and energetic human resource, and should be integrated into development discourse and projects in order to create policies. This is because it would be impossible to achieve any meaningful developmental goals without youth participation.
Firstly, there is a need for a coherent development action plan; the Nigerian government has committed itself to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The 7 point agenda (Power, Security, Wealth Creation, Land Reform, Mass Transit, and Niger Delta Region) put forward by the late President Musa Yar’Adua clearly outlines the most pressing development challenges and how to overcome them.
Secondly, the Nigerian youth needs to be awakened to developmental goals: sustained awareness campaigns are needed to sensitise and mobilise. Television, radio and online media platforms are crucial in engaging the youth. I remember watching a programme aired by the Nigerian Television Authority in the mid-‘90s about health issues. During one episode, in addition to highlighting the dangers of diarrhoea, the programme showed viewers how to prepare oral rehydration therapy to counter the dehydration associated with diarrhoea.
Technology and the media have since evolved and can be effectively utilized to reach large groups of people: with 77 million active subscriptions, Nigeria now has the largest number of mobile phone users on the African continent. Many young people in Nigeria have access to mobile phones, the internet and social media platforms. The government, public and private organisations working in development practice can make use of these platforms in order to provide information to, and engage young people in an accessible manner. Similarly, there is no reason why the Nigerian film industry, popularly called Nollywood, cannot provide a platform from which developmental issues can be highlighted. Nollywood is said to produce about 200 movies monthly, and is the third largest in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood. Nollywood films, popularly known as home videos, reach millions of young Nigerians at home and abroad, and can facilitate development discourse by presenting issues crucial to Nigeria’s development. Furthermore, youth participation is crucial to make any gains in the development process. If young people have a sense of ownership over their country’s development, policies and projects will be sustainable and improved upon.
I suggest the creation of a National Development Corps designed to train young people from different professional, educational and vocational backgrounds in development practice. Similar to the National Youth Service Corps, which was created in the aftermath of the 1967-70 civil war to reconstruct and rebuild the country, this Development Corps would engage the youth for up to 3 years, providing education, training and manpower to stimulate development. For example, young engineers joining the development corps would learn about development in general, Nigeria’s particular development goals, reconstruction goals, and will be assigned to help achieve these goals. In addition to achieving development goals, this corps would turn out highly skilled, well trained, development minded graduates who can move into the mainstream economy, where they would add value.
Finally, Nigeria has already begun the development process and has a long way to go in achieving its goals. The youth is an under-represented group in development discourse and practice, and should be engaged both formally and informally. Technology and the media provide platforms for information exchange and dissemination. Also, formal schemes such as a development corps will provide the youth with knowledge and equip them to participate in development. The existence of highly skilled, young, vibrant youth interested and working in development cannot have any disadvantages.
Picture : UNICEF video / Guy Hubbard
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