The Role of Nigerian Youths In The Emergence of A New Nigeria

The building of a nation is a cause that is both complex and demanding. All across the globe, from generation to generation, several nations have at one point decided that they would build a new nation than what they had.

This has led to revolts and several revolutions, major political and social actions, and even complete migrations to new geographical territories; yet, although quite a few nations have recorded successes, the vast majority of nations cannot claim to have gotten the nation that they dreamt of or fought for.

This is evident in the fact that over 80% of the countries of the world are still considered third world nations and the majority of their citizens live below $10 daily.

This case is not any better in Nigeria. According to the World Bank’s report, half of the population who live in abject poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, live in just five countries, of which Nigeria is first.

As many Nigerians will naturally say, this is a result of the leadership of the nation. True as it may be, that is not the whole truth. Leadership is just one of the three cardinal points of the building of a great nation.

The other two are the commitment of the citizens and the quality of the nation’s institutions.

The EndSARS protest or movement embarked upon by Nigerian youths revealed the difficulty that lies in influencing the Nigerian government to yield to specific calls made by her citizens, as although the Special Anti-Robbery Squad was defunct, that was only one of the several demands made by the protesting youths.

All the other demands were swept under the carpet of bloodshed and bad memories believed to be perpetrated by government officials.

Despite all these, the fact remains that the commitment of citizens has a pivotal role to play in the building of a great nation. But a commitment to what?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, if fully actualized in any nation, is a perfect picture of the new Nigeria we seek for.

Since influencing the government seems like an impossible task for Nigerians, the youth who make up over 60% of Nigeria's population should get committed to the actualization of these SDGs through other platforms that do not directly involve the government.

For instance, of all the 17 SDGs, apart from the 6th and 10th goals which focus on gender equality, none wouldn’t be significantly actualized if youths commit to economic growth, and community and infrastructural development at their level.

This is not to write off the role of the government to the successful actualization of these goals, but a more realistic approach owing to the situation of governance in Nigeria is to first, make the government look irrelevant, then force them to do what is right to gain relevance once more.

But how will this be possible, still? The first step that can be taken towards making this happen is for Nigerian youths to financially empower themselves. We all know that the policies in the Nigerian system are controlled by some hidden financial magnates.

It's no surprise because he who pays the piper dictates the tune. But for that to change, we have to make it change.

Now, over ₦70 million was raised during the EndSARS protest and that was one of the major reasons why the protest could have so much impact as it did.

Working at financial empowerment is a long-term approach but if Nigerian youths can commit to it, they have brought themselves to a position where their impact can continually be a notable one. But how can they ever get financial empowerment in a system that isn't supportive?

Youth entrepreneurial funding will be the only solution. Selar.co, a currently ₦100 million valued start-up in just 5 years, was built on a $10,000 grant from Tony Elumelu Foundation.

If successful youth-owned businesses, and entrepreneurs can also take up such ventures and support other young entrepreneurs, not only will youths be empowered to cause a change, that on its own is already bringing economical change to the nation.

Youths can also contribute to the emergence of a new Nigeria by embarking on self-sponsored community development projects. SDGs 9 to 17 focus on goals diverse community development projects can actualize. Again, waiting on the government to achieve this goal is unproductive.

This step (community development) will be consequential to the first. That is, after financial empowerment through joint entrepreneurial funding, the wealth that has been raised should be transferred to the development of communities.

Since the goal is not squarely the revolutionization of government here, but the development of a new nation, where the development comes from is therefore impertinent (community development should not be all on the government).

Community development here spans education, health, infrastructure, and environmental actions. Youths should serve as contributors and spearheads to this growth.

For example, Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs, an NGO that has put millions of dollars into the education of over 12 million Africans, was founded by a 29-year-old Nigerian, Summy Smart Francis in 2010.

This is just one of several examples that show the strong contributions Nigerian youths can make in the emergence of a new Nigeria.

Lastly, although the bulk of this essay has focused on involvements youth can undertake apart from the government, the contribution of youths to governance also cannot be sidelined. It always seems the reasonable next thing to do to get involved in politics as a youth is to engage in mass actions, but it has proven to be more than just that.

For instance, despite the uproar and large population that was involved in the EndSARS protest in October 2020, less than six months later, report shows that only a disheartening 2.21% of registered voters in Abia State went for the March 27, 2021, Aba North/ Aba South federal constituency by-election.

This then brings us to question the true participation youths claim to have in the politics of the nation.

Youths must go beyond online and street involvement, and get into active involvement in electoral activities beginning from the 2023 general elections for us to see a transformation.

Conclusion

Youths play an integral part in the emergence of a new Nigeria. However, rather than waiting for the government to make room for them, Nigerian youths should intentionally initiate the emergence of this new nation.

They must first financially empower themselves through entrepreneurial funding, engage in various community development projects, then actively participate in political activities.

These three steps will not make a new Nigeria emerge overnight but will set the stage for a huge and inevitable eruption in the development of the nation, which will ultimately create a new nation with time.

***I wrote this essay contesting for the 2021 Alfred Agunbiade Foundation essay competition for youths but it didn’t win the contest.

Iyejare Olusegun is a career coach and counsellor who is passionate about helping career men and women balance mental well-being and career/enterpreneurial success. One of the way he does this is through the Self Discovery Blog