READ ME In Nigeria it was noted that the group most affected by poverty has shifted from the elderly to the youth. Youth now suffer the brunt of bad policies which results in poor education, inefficient life skills and unemployment. As if not bad enough, HIV/AIDS, crime, drug abuse and high rates of unwanted teenage pregnancy are also wreaking havoc, not only in Nigeria but across the whole continent. In Nigerian prison cells a large proportion of offenders are classified as youth, many of whom are held for serious crimes that include murder, rape and armed robbery. Only God knows what they will do for a living when they leave prison. For political parties, the status of the youth is irrelevant – offenders, ex-offenders, non-offenders – as long as they are eligible to vote. Political parties will stop at nothing to win an election and the youth vote can bring much support. It did amazing magic for Barack Obama in the United States presidential elections and you can imagine what it can do for the Nigerian political parties who are going to the polls next year. Besides their vote, the youth are the most active come election time. They volunteer to put up posters and conduct door-to-door voter drive campaigns. Unfortunately, the youth are also used for dirty campaign tactics like political violence, intimidation and harassment. In the infamous India Mumbai attacks where more than 185 innocent people were killed and many more injured, the perpetrators were all younger than 25 years old. This had nothing to do with elections but instead had everything to do with politics. In Kenya’s post-election violence that claimed the lives of more than a thousand people, the youth were most active in the gruesome killings. In Zimbabwe the story is the same. The unemployed youth are unleashed to torment their families, friends, neighbours and everyone perceived to be supporting the opposition. This brings the following questions to mind: What is the youth’s role in politics? Is it really worth it for the youth to be involved in politics? How well represented are the youth in government? Are the youth getting a fair share of the cake? In Nigerian politics, i argued that youth are not getting a real deal. Meaning: the youth are promised a lot by the political parties, and then very little is done for them following election day. The rise in unemployment, teenage pregnancy and crime rates as some of the products of bad policies that affect the youth. Booth believes that the government is not developing the youth or preparing them to be responsible future leaders. it is only some private organisations who are equipping young people with much-needed life skills not govt. One of the major challenges in Nigeria is moral decadence, which is an indirect result of a lack of good role models in the leadership of the country. When it comes to the big question of how to choose a political party that will further the interests of the youth, it is wise to always look to the leadership to decide if they are good role models. They should not only be good orators but must also be visionaries who are accountable to the people for their actions. Now is the time for the Nigerian youth to believe in themselves and also rise above party politics. The youth should not wait for governments to do everything for them or believe everything said by politicians. It is time to make the politicians answerable to the masses and it is time to take Nigeria to another level. IBRAHIM NAFIU
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:53:20 +0000
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