Youths are one of the greatest assets any country can have, they are the bedrock to a country’s growth and development. According to research conducted by British Council, in 2030, youths and not oil will be Africa’s greatest assets. If Nigeria’s government can invest in youth inclusion in the public sector, there will be triple effect growth in Nigeria, most of the leading political actors that fought for independence were in their youths, but it is different today with very few youths having the opportunity to play leadership roles in political party, processes and overall governance of a country. Factors such as poverty, highcost of electrical processes, insufficient information and lack of confidence.
At Strategy and Innovation for Development Initiative (SI4DEV) believes in Youths, we believe young leaders are the leaders of tomorrow, we empower youths, we give them the opportunity to manage and implement community driven projects in their communities. The government need to mobilize resources and channel it into encouraging youths to participating in public affairs through:
1. Establish internship programme for youth with national and state parliament for political mentorship.
2. strengthen the capacities of youth for political engagement through training and the promotion of their leadership skills in governance.
3. fostering an enabling environment for youth engagement with political process at all levels with the mindset to fully maximize the potential youths and harness their resources for improved governance system government and political action needs.
4. Free registration of youths to part of a political party and assist in purchasing the nomination form.
5. Youths led organizations, which we have a lot in Africa, should have access to government grants in other to promote a platform for civic engagement.
6. Design and promote programme and activities that will sensitize and mobilize youth participation in governance and development processes through building capacity of youth based organization.
7. Foster an economy environment for youth engagement. Youth participation is one of the element in positive youth development critical for national development.