Roles Of The Youths In Ensuring Effective And Qualitative Representation -By Maruf Quadri Olayiwola

INTRODUCTION:

Community Development happens when people take action to solve common problems affecting the places they live, work and play every day. Community members, neighborhood activities, elected officials, professionals and youth can all work together to build better communities for everyone as a whole.  Increasingly, when government, foundations and innovative community organizations wants creative solutions to difficult issues, they turn to young people for solutions. Oftentimes, youth are connected to their communities in more authentic and unhindered ways than adults that can help the communities by deploying energy to some herculean task.
If youth are included in programmes to meet needs and empower potential communities, they can become lifelong participants and take on a sense of ownership in developmental efforts.

An understanding of youth motivations and efficacy to this kind of engagement are important and other professionals can maximize these valuable resources. As youth are brought into community organizations and civic roles that they have traditionally been excluded from, they can participate in local decision-making at multiple levels. This collaboration leads to skill enhancement, confidence building and ownership that prepare them as they navigate toward adulthood. To facilitate an understanding of youth involvement, we focus on the primary research question.

The development of community is a dynamic process involving all segments of the locality, including the often-overlooked youth population. The key component to this process is found in the creation and maintenance of channels of interaction and communication among diverse local groups that are otherwise directed toward their more individual interests. By facilitating interaction and developing relationships, these diverse individuals interact and begin to mutually understand common needs. When relationships, consistent interaction, and channels of communication can be established and maintained, thereby local capacities in the communities can be improved upon.

While much of the attention given to building local capacities is often focused toward adults, youth are an increasingly visible and active component in community development efforts. Such involvement contributes to both the development of community and the social and psychological development of the youth involved. To encourage youth involvement in the community, it is vital to understand the strengths, motivations and setbacks that they receive from the community.

Youth needs to be SMS oriented, what do I mean?

You must be equipped with Strengths, Motivations and identify your Setbacks which can be regarded as your obstacles.

STRENGHTS OF YOUTH

1. Youth As Community Organizers — When governments fails to engage youth, the community groups and non-profit organizations can step in to engage youth as community organizers. These can be done through entrepreneurship trainings and empowerment; they can develop unique, powerful campaigns that engage many people, including children, youth, adults, families and elders.
2. Youth as Community Planners — Young people can participate as community planners in community development work. Using education and training, they can learn the skills and knowledge they need, and applying their knowledge they can guide their peers, younger people and adults, too.
3. Youth As Political Machineries — Participating in elective government positions, roles and activities can allow youth to change the world.

MOTIVATIONS FOR YOUTH

Youthand adults have identified a variety of motivators for volunteering or becoming active in their communities. These have included practical assessments of their activities, such as: to meet school requirements; hopes of getting higher grades in a particular class; improving their chances of getting into colleges. Motivations can also be the result of more practical conditions, such as a need to develop job contacts and enhance existing skills. In geographic areas where employment opportunities are limited, voluntary activities can offer a valuable alternative to paid employment.

Youth also becoming active for self-actualization (recognition, raise self-esteem) and social responsibility, have all emerged as important reasons why youth pursue community involvement.
Activeness in the community is facilitated by youth participation in community-based groups. Interaction between social groups promotes awareness of needs and helps identify volunteer opportunities. Overall, a variety of motivations are present that shape civic behavior, these can either be active politics or presence of natural tourism infrastructure, these also increase the extent to which people interact with each other.

SETBACKS FOR YOUTH
Despite the strengths and motivations, significant setbacks exist that inhibit, and often discourage community activeness among youth. Among the leading setbacks that are prevalent are: not being taken seriously, not being asked, and not being assigned or having an identifiable role, other setbacks to youth involvement in communities, including lack of communication and awareness of opportunities, turf issues among communities affiliate bodies competing for youth participation, youth have fears of speaking out, lack of diversity and adultism or the systematic mistreatment of young people simply because of their age.

Other factors such as lack of transportation, lack of time, and not being sure of the benefits of their contributions can limit the active involvement of youth. There are four key barriers that keep youth from participating in activities: lack of interesting programmes, transportation problems, lack of knowledge about programmes, and cost. Similarly, community based organizations may be uncertain of the role or impact that youth may have in their efforts. Viewing young people as transient, participating in too many other activities, and having less predictable schedules, community based organizations may exclude youth. The extent to which youth can contribute to the decision making process of communities and play an active role in programmes/policies development which is important in shaping youth future endeavours.

Factors such as parental involvement can facilitate influences on youth involvement. Youth whose parents are actively involved in the community are more likely to become active themselves. Youth whose parents do not participate in civic activities may still become active in their communities; however, a supportive and reinforcing parental relationship may have a greater contribution to civic engagement than parental modeling. Perhaps as a result of an increased awareness of the advantages for adolescents, parents play important roles in linking their children to the world around them.

LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT.

Leadership can be described as the action of piloting a group of people in a particular community, organization or a country with a distinct demarcation. When you talk of community, we are talking about our homestead, place of residency. In order words, we can say organization can be linked to our place of work, worship centers and clubs and when we talk about countries, we are talking of places in the world that are constitutionally independent.

Leadership positions can be attained through the followings:

Elective Leadership
Religious Leadership
Corporate Leadership
Traditional Leadership

Leaders, take time to help team members become successful, because as they become successful, so will you.

A great leader builds people around him because of the future, but an egocentric leader amass wealth to himself only.

A leader that builds people never go into oblivion but a greedy one fades away like a smoke.

When others are running around for help as leaders in the future in case of setback, a leader that builds lives sit back and those he has lifted up come around to cover his nakedness.

Be a builder and not a self centered Leader.

There are four types of intelligence which a Leader must possess:

–Intelligent Quotient (IQ)

-Emotional Quotient (EQ)

-Social Quotient (SQ)

-Adversity Quotient (AQ)

Let us define their meaning and impacts:

1.Intelligent Quotient (IQ): this is what helps one to “know book”, solve mathematics; memorize things and recall subject matters.

2. Emotional Quotient (EQ): this is what makes someone to be able to maintain peace with others; keep to time; be responsible; be honest; respect boundaries; be humble, genuine and considerate.

3. Social Quotient (SQ): this is what makes people to be able to build network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time.

People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go farther in life than those with high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize in improving IQ level while EQ and SQ are played down.

A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ.

Your EQ represents your character; your SQ represents your fame. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs but more especially your EQ and SQ.

EQ and SQ make one manage better than the other.

4. Adversity Quotient (AQ): that makes people go through a rough patch in life and come out without losing their centers.

The AQ determines who will give up in face of troubles, who will abandon their family or who will consider suicide.

HOW TO ATTAIN LEADERSHIP ROLES AND MAKING IMPACT:

Having being convinced that you can actually be actively involved in Leadership positions in your Community without contesting elections, let’s consider the steps you need to take to get started.

1. GET INVOLVED IN LOCAL GROUPS FORMATIONS
Attend Landlords/Residents meetings. Network with and be in good terms with local groups e.g The Vigilante, etc.  Build coalitions dedicated to changing and improving your town such as the CDA or Tribal Unions. Transport Union meetings and Cooperative Societies are equally good places to be for upcoming Leaders.

2. BUILD CHARACTER & GOOD NAME
A good name is better than silver and gold. As corrupt as our society is, a good name still speaks volume. Strive to build for yourself and generations after you a good name. In whatever capacity you are entrusted with responsibility, make a good opportunity to leave a lasting impression in the hearts of the people.

3. INDENTIFY YOUR WARD
The Ward is the smallest unit of Government in Politics. The Political Head of a Ward is called Councilor. Every politician must compulsorily be a card-carrying member of a political party at the ward level. This however is with the exception of those who choose to contest election as or support independent candidates. Your Ward is not necessarily your home town but the locality where you will most conveniently carry out your political activities. It is also advisable that you also register with INEC as a voter in your Ward.

4. GET INVOLVED IN WARD ACTIVITIES
The least you can do as a potential Leader is to attend Ward Meetings, get deeply involved at this stage. Contribute at meetings and assist once in a while in footing party bills either in kind or cash. This not easy and takes time and plenty of efforts. Once in  a while, sponsor refreshments at meetings or volunteer to transport some members to meetings or places where other political affiliates are expected to carry out mutual activities.

5. MAKE CHOICE OF POLITICAL PARTY
Consider the available political parties in your area and make a choice. I will advise you to study the manifesto and constitution of the party you want to join and agree that you align with such. Unfortunately, in Nigeria democracy, ideology is not well defined in the existing political parties, therefore, they almost share basic ideologies.

6. IDENTIFY LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE IN THE PARTY TO RELATE WITH
This is very important as decision are taken in politics based on majority of opinions. It is important that you align with your own class of people to ensure that decisions taken are not to the disadvantage of your interest.

7. RELATE WELL WITH ESTABLISHED LEADERS
That you want to make changes in the politics of your environment does not mean castigating existing leaders. Celebrate them for the good they have done and be silent on their evils, at least for a start. Success in Leadership positions is all about whom you know and not necessarily what you know.

8. VOLUNTEER TO BE PART OF CAMPAIGNS/PARTY ACTIVITIES
Every political campaigns and activities needs committed party faithful. If you want to get an idea of how politics really work, walk into any campaign office of a candidate and offer to help out. You will likely be asked to do what appears to be menial work at first, things like helping to register new voters or making phone calls and/or sending test messages on behalf of a candidate. But if you do the job well, you will be given more bigger responsibilities and visible roles in the campaign structure that is on ground.

9. PAY ATTENTION TO POLITICAL INFORMATION
Unfortunately many are political illiterates. Before you get into politics, you ought to know what you’re talking about and be able to hold intelligent and thoughtful conversations about issues. Local politicians and the community respect you when you have better information at hand. That alone makes you a point of reference in your locality. Therefore, read your local newspaper(s), statewide newspapers and national newspapers. Be alive on the social media for information.

10. IF YOU MUST CONTEST, START SMALL
There is no spirituality in insisting that certain offices are too small for you. Start from the grassroots and gradually work your way to the top. “All politics is local.”

Join a Political Party Today. Don’t just criticize, TAKE ACTION..

AS A YOUTH THAT WANTS TO MAKE IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY YOU NEED TO TAKE THESE LESSONS FROM THE HEN:

1. She first lays enough eggs before sitting on them:
GOOD PLANNING.

2. When she starts sitting on her eggs, she minimizes movement:
DISCIPLINE.

3. She physically loses weight while sitting on her eggs due to decreased feeding:
SACRIFICE and SELF DENIAL.

4. She can sit on eggs from another hen:
INDISCRIMINATE and GENEROUS.

5. She sits on her eggs for 21 days, patiently waiting and even if they don’t hatch she will still lay eggs again:
FAITH, HOPE and COURAGE.

6. She detects unfertilized eggs and rolls them out:
SENSITIVE and DISCERNING.

7. She abandons the rotten eggs and starts caring for the hatched chicks even if it is only one:
WISE, CONSCIOUS and REALISTIC.

8. No one can touch her chick:
PROTECTIVE LOVE.

9. She gathers all her Chicks together:
UNITY of PURPOSE.

10. She doesn’t abandon her chicks before they mature: MENTORING

Brothers and Sisters, Live your dreams, one day they shall hatch and you shall see them grow.

SOURCE: DR. ABAYOMI  OLUGBENGA OJEKUNLE, (YOUTH COACH) A PRODUCER OF OYINMOMO TV TALK SHOW on DSTV (DURING THE PRESENTATION IN THE EDUCATIONAL STUDENTS REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL (ESRC-LASU), INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY)

REPORTED BY: MR. MARUF QUADRI OLAYIWOLA (SOPHIST)
C.E.O. CAMPUS AMEBO TV

Nigerian Writer and Youth Development Strategist.

MOBILE NUMBER / WHATSAPP : 081 0114 9078/070 8384 6904
EMAIL: marufquadri@gmail.com
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