Nigeria Youth Union (NYU) has lamented the dwindling fortunes of, and opportunities for, Nigerian youths in the country, stressing that the youths who constitute a larger percentage of the Nigerian population are increasingly losing hope and confidence in the country they ought to enjoy.
NYU President, Comrade Chinonso Obasi, told journalists at a press conference on the State of Nigerian Youth, in Abuja, that surviving as a youth in Nigeria today, ironically, is like a camel passing through the eye of a needle.
He lamented that policies and programmes of the government are unfriendly to the youths, and the few ones being considered for them have no long lasting impact, thus suggesting the implementation of the content of the 2014 National Confab report as it concerns Nigerian youth development and empowerment.
He said: “The content of the 2014 national confab, and the recommendation is so rich that any government that wants to fix Nigeria can just dust up that document and implement some of the decisions. But you find out that some of the recommendations are being picked without giving credit to the source.
“For instance, the student loan is a national confab recommendation but it’s implemented without credit to the source. Sadly, the implementation is not being done the way it was recommended by the confab. The Confab report recommended that the beneficiaries will have a job upon graduation so that as they are working already, there will be deductions made from the loan given.
“But the state of the current student loan is one that you’re given a loan and you will be left to go and look for a job and after two years upon graduation, that is when you begin to track. But the question is: what if you don’t have a job? How will they get back the money? And we hope that the money being given won’t be part of the national cake that will be shared without any means of recouping it.”
Comrade Obasi, however, vowed to take the matter up with the relevant authorities in the coming days, alongside other issues of concern to the young people of Nigeria who, he said, are the major asset of the country.
He also demanded urgent actions to revive the ailing national economy while also calling for immediate actions to address what he termed “economic sabotage,” which, he lamented, undermines the potential of the youths and threatens the country’s future.
He added: “There are no indicators that, at 64, our leaders have created a guaranteed future for every Nigerian youth across areas such as education, economy, security, and youth empowerment. The present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is seen by many Nigerian youths as a disaster and a threat to their future.
“We are concerned about the increasing level of hopelessness and the lack of an enabling environment for youths to excel in present-day Nigeria. Every country experiences economic downturns, but with a clear and realistic exit plan. The Nigerian economy is undoubtedly in that phase, but lacks hope or clear measures for improvement.
“The use of palliatives to cushion the effects of a failing economy has become the only measure thus far. Unfortunately, these palliatives only reach those who acknowledge the problems and refuse to confront them.”
He thanked President Tinubu for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), but reminded him that rising inflation has significantly affected the value of the loan.
