Hon. Ojukwu Nzube And Youth Empowerment Programme -By Gozie Irogboli

It feels good always to see those that have braved all odds to accomplish great feats; to excel in their chosen careers in spite of the asphyxiating Nigerian socio-economic environment. And it is equally good to make reference to them as a way of encouraging others to aspire for success especially in this era when our youths are regarded as lazy. It is exciting to know that when our youths are regarded as lazy, there are some among them who are hyperactive and high-flying. Of course it is encouraging to know that in contemporary Nigerian environment where some folks wait idly for short cuts and easy money and patronage, that there are some who have achieved tremendous success by sheer courage and hard work.

Among the courageous Nigerian youths who have distinguished himself in business is Chief Hon. Nzube Ojukwu who recently launched a foundation for the empowerment of the youth and the vulnerable members of the society. He is a renowned social/youth activist. He was one time leader of the Idemili Youth Forum and an executive member of the National Youth Council of Nigeria. He had worked in several NGOs were he pioneered, sponsored and supervised the execution of many youth related capacity-building projects. He was also one time Special Assistant on Youth Matters to the former Governor of Anambra. Right from his university days at Uturu and Abuja, he was known for youth activism. He has always identified and fraternized with the youth.

Apart from youth activism, he is also involved in philanthropy and social advocacy. He is an apostle of positive social change—a philosophy he has espoused in different fora. He believed that act of kindness and philanthropy is an investment in goodwill that pays un-quantifiable dividends in the long run. He believes that his success and happiness cannot be full till it extends to the larger society. His philanthropy goes beyond his native Alor in Idemili South Local government area to the neighboring communities and every environment he finds himself. He has sponsored many projects both within and outside his immediate community. He has sunk community boreholes, paid school fees for brilliant indigent students to continue their education paid medical bills for people among other acts of philanthropy. He has creatively designed many commendable programmes for youth empowerment in his home state Anambra. He made multi-million Naira donations to his people as palliatives for the COVID-19 pandemic including free medical outreach for Anambra Central and South.

He is a man of many parts: a corporate icon, a business mogul, a philanthropist, and a politician. In the 2017 Anambra gubernatorial election, Chief, Hon. Ojukwu Nzubechukwu Ojukwu was the governorship candidate of Young Democratic Party (YDP). By training and orientation, he is an economist. At present, he is the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Davonch Group, a business conglomerate with diversified investments in automobile, oil and gas, real estate, equipment leasing and… He is always passionate about whatever he does. Success has always been his overarching consideration in whatever he finds himself to do. As the CEO of his group, he attracted and brokered many high-profile local and international businesses that changed the fortunes of the company.

His accomplishments and philanthropy has won him many accolades. Apart from his professional affiliation and awards, he has a number of traditional titles and societal recognition to his credit. He is the Ikemba Odumegwu Idemili, the Nwanne di namba 1 of Umuaga community, Enugu State, the Adagbatokubo 1 of Igala Kingdom, the Damasani Arewa in Maiduguri inter alia.

Of particular interest to me is his passion and programme for youth empowerment. In his address delivered at the launching of his foundation, he stated that there is low national productivity in the country because the youths have not been motivated enough to contribute their quota to the development of the nation. He believes that youth empowerment holds the key to the motley of problems confronting the nation. He is of the view that youth empowerment will reduce crime, social vices, gangstarism, cultism and even advanced free fraud.
Indeed, he is right in his opinion concerning the youth. The youth is the most active and productive segment of the population. The youths are active and adventurous and should be motivated and empowered to express themselves, unleash their creative energies for the good of the nation. Progress and development in every society are driven by the youth. Societies that realized this golden truth always have plans and programmes for youth development.

Another unique feature of the youth population is the fact that by their nature, they are delicate and vulnerable. Therefore they should be carefully and strategically handled, nurtured and directed in accordance with the society’s ethos in order to hone their skills and maximize their contribution to national development. Nigeria needs the energy and vibrancy of the youth to turn things around.
As a trained economist, he aptly understands the importance of the contribution of this critical mass.

He knows that another route to poverty reduction is wealth creation and can only be created through building capacity and empowerment. He has advocated for the creation of youth development centres for training and skill acquisition in all the 774 Local Government Areas in the country. Again, he believes that youth empowerment would on the long run be the panacea for insecurity and corruption bedeviling the country. Sometime in the past, he had muted the idea of establishing Youth Development Trust Funds to empower youths with special talents to realize their dream. He was of the view that if the youths are the leaders of tomorrow as it is oft-said, then they should be adequately prepared and empowered for tomorrow leadership. He opined that the country has not enough plans and programmes for youth development. He wants a special commission created for youth development and corporate bodies as part of their CSR taxed a certain percentage of their profits for the youth development funds.

He is a self-made man and that probably influenced his desire to emancipate the struggling youths bearing in mind the tortuous route he had taken to achieve success and knowing that everybody is equally opportune. And as a way of engaging the youths, he is planning through his foundation to hold a youth summit in his home state in October and cultural carnival which will showcase the art and creativity of young Anambrarians in December where he hopes to identify and sponsors young talents.

To him it is unfair and uncharitable to brand Nigerian youths as lazy. He is of the view that youth misdemeanor is actually a reflection of societal decay; society benighted by bad leadership. He believed that the plight of the youths is associated with the conspiracy and negligence of the political class that want to see the youths as tools for political brigandage and electoral malfeasance instead of national asset. He has worked closely with politicians, so he knows their antics. He does not believe in giving the youths freebies in the name of empowerment. To him that is an insult from crude politicians. To him the Nigerian youths have what it takes to stand out anywhere in the world given the right ambience. The youths are a buffer, security and insurance to the entire society, not a burden and should not be toyed with. He warned prophetically, albeit, pessimistically that Nigeria should avert the rehash of the Arab Spring revolt by finding a pragmatic solution to the intractable problem of youth unemployment.

Clearly, tackling youth problem should be beyond rhetoric and psychobabbles by the politicians and policy-makers. It requires affirmative action and praxis. It is quite commendable to hear a politician frankly and bluntly criticize the political class the way he did. It is an indication that we still have some honest and forward looking politicians despite the rot in the system.

Gozie Irogboli
An economist, public policy analyst and strategist
(goziei@yahoo.com).