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Nigerian Youths Are Not Yet Ready.

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Nigerian Youths Are Not Yet Ready

Nigerian Youths Are Not Yet Ready

According to statistical report from the National Population Commission, NPoC, Nigeria’s population as at last census count lies in the boundary of “over” one hundred and fifty million (150 million). Young people, between the age range of 18 – 35 constitute 67% of this population and more than half of this percentage are practically jobless, at the same time, easily influenced. The debate whether or not the youths in Nigeria are capable of effecting the needed change, for me, is inconsequential because from what i have seen so far, they are not and cannot.

There are certain attributes that when you, a fellow citizen of a country, begins to see, tells you without doubt, that change is coming and it’s coming real quick from a certain group of people in that country. What we have seen so far in Nigeria, from the mouth of the young people, are talks about change and not actions that will lead to that change or make that change happen. I am sure you will agree intoto, that most Nigerian youths are afraid of taking a bold step when national issues are concerned. They fear the law, they fear those who make the laws, they fear to speak and even in that fear, attack those tiny number who dare to speak up.

The question whether or not Nigerian youths are ready comes with one straight answer, NO! They are still divided, they pursue different cause, they can easily be bought over, they are not hardcore nationalists, there’s no opinion leadership inside of them, and most of all, they see wrong as not right or wrong but a means to an end in a nation where what guides and rules, is corruption. It however, does not mean that there are not a single Nigerian with the required mindset of greatly effecting change in Nigeria. But the question is, how many are they?

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Before youths in Nigeria can be said to be ready, they must speak with one voice, fight a single cause and stand together on a single issue that involves national development. Until then, they are still sleeping.

Jeff Okoroafor is a leading member of a new generation of civic advocates for government accountability and democratic change in Nigeria. The Citizen Affairs Initiative is a citizen-driven governance initiative that enhances public awareness on critical issues of service quality in Nigeria. It encourages citizens to proactively seek higher standards from governments and service providers and further establishes new discussions in communities about the standards that citizens should expect and deserve from those they have given their mandates. Jeff is the Managing Director of SetFron Limited, a multimedia development company that is focused on creative and results-driven web, mobile app, and ERP software solutions. He is the co-founder of the African Youths Advancement and Support Initiative (AfriYasi), a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarship for young people from low-income homes in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the United Nations World Summit Awards. A Strategic Team member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, and a member of the National Technical Committee on the Establishment and Management of Missing Persons Database in Nigeria. Jeff holds a Bachelor and Postgraduate diploma degrees in Computer Science, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.

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