The views that youth form the cornerstone of a nation and are particularly sensitive, energetic, active and potentially productive has been generally accepted all over the world. The prosperity and continued existence of a Nation depends on her youth, because youth in any society provides a bridge between the present and the future. Many countries that have made it today consciously invested in and mobilised their youth in cultivating the virtues of hard work, patriotism, honesty, discipline and respect for human dignity. The 1979 Nigerian constitution defines youths as people between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Even at International level it has also been difficult to agree on specific definition, but the United Nations settled down to persons of 14-25 years, while the Commonwealth of Nations youth ministers’ forum settled for 12-30 years. As for me, I will define youth as post adolescent people. Though most of us at this gathering are Nigerians, but I’ll speak in continental context, and probably global context. reason; we are all citizens of the world. Globally, the situation of young people today is characterised by extreme disparities in terms of economic, health, socio-cultural and developmental resources, which across regions, countries and localities varied enormously as far as the sun is from the earth. With more than a quarter of the world population being young people between the ages of 18-24 years Yet More than 150 million are illiterate, more than sixty six million unemployed making up nearly 40% of global unemployment. And more than 30 million dying from preventable diseases.
Overall, current opportunities for political participation are insufficient and consequently youth in many places are perceived as apathetic or disengaged. Both locally and on the Internet to make a difference in the world. It is against this background that we shall examine how far we and the society at large has prepared the youth as a social force for change, our roles, and the many challenges we are facing as young people. In the African culture (due to some reasons) for example, youth are expected to become increasingly knowledgeable about our proper sex roles and adjust to those roles in socially approved ways. We are expected to become increasingly independent of parents and other adults, culminating in economic independence, marriage and other responsibilities.. We are expected to become familiar with culturally approved ways of getting along with other people in cooperation or competition as the need arises but maintaining a certain harmony. We are expected to develop stable personal values, which are hopefully congruent with the collective values of the society as a whole.
But today, the African Youth are at a crossroad of history. We have found ourselves between hope and despair, progress and reaction, danger and opportunity, destruction and regeneration. And it seems a scenario of doom appears to outweigh that of hope. For instance in the past one decade or so, sign that are bound to deepen our fears about the future have appeared with a high level of resilience, social problems such as drug abuse, unemployment, HIV/AIDS scourge and violent crime within the civil society and its campus manifestation in form of cultism have risen to unprecedented levels. A youth sub-culture promoted by the west appears to have changed time-honoured values and cultural practices that used to provide the basis of stability and harmony. Youths have been mobilized for causes that threaten our immediate survival, not to talk of the future.
Similarly, youth have been mobilized to champion the cause of religious fundamentalism, political thuggery and ethnic chauvinism, which not only affect interpersonal relationship but also tend to call to question the very fabric of the African society. It is no doubt a threat to our survival as future leaders. Ours is a world where there’s fundamental disjuncture between the values we share and celebrate, and those of the older generations such that there is a profound fear about what the future portends. Take for example the views of youth about sexuality. The African notion of sexuality has been altered. Discourse on sexual matters is highly restrictive and consigned to the private domain. The young ones are generally shielded from open discussions of sexual matters. In most African societies, there was a high premium on virginity and chastity, which was enforced through a network of social control and myths. Parents whose daughters are known to have lost their virginity before marriage often have a sense of shame. Thus we are having a Western culture, which makes sexuality a part of celebration of freedom and liberty (Hollywood pictures). However, arising from a combination of factors such as the deepening economic crises, hardships, and exposure to Western cultural influence through the media and the dissemination of literature as well as peer groups influence, the traditional view of sexuality is undergoing rapid change. Thus we are increasingly confronted with problems of teenage pregnancy with all the social and medical problems including HIV/AIDS and other STIs associated with it.
There is also decline in the values of hard work industry and discipline. Almost on daily basis students are inventing new means of cheating in examination, a situation that is rampant at all levels. Corruption is seen as a norm. The whole idea of getting rich quick, a value which negates hard work, industry and honesty also explains the rising cases of drug trafficking, burglary, rape and fraudulent acts and the rave of the moment –yahoo-yahoo, all growing into a definite system of youth sub-culture. With more than half a million African youth expected to die from AIDS by the year 2007, about 50% of African young person having no employment. A warning signal that must not be ignored by the nation if we are to have a truly brighter future.
The global community must focus on the more than five hundred million young people in the world, who are routinely disregarded when strategies on issues affecting them are drafted, policies made and budget allocated.
Young people need to be given a chance of speaking for themselves and taking responsibility of the issues affecting them. We must be made to be aware of our potentials, rights, and responsibilities. Inconsistencies in the adult world also account for a lot of the confusion, which the youth experiences, Take the case of a boy who sees indolence, bribery and corruption, cheating, sexual license and injustice, all moulding him everyday. Yet his parent, teachers, pastors and other adults are trying to make a saint out of him.
Because of the intractable economic crises in the world ,especially on the continent of Africa, the youth nowadays feel that society does not care about them and they too no longer care for it, consequently a large number of youths have taken to anti-social behaviors as mentioned above.
To be a social force for change in the face of challenges and failure of the nation’s leadership to offer meaningful opportunities for us to contribute to our world and future, we must get out of our trapped enclave of poverty, violence, diseases and increasing mortality rate.
We need to be empowered with the means of sustainable livelihood to become creative nation builders. This is because as mentioned earlier that the youths are society’s potential of growth and development. We are parents, workers and leaders of tomorrow. Meeting the development needs of today’s youth requires more than solving problem. It also requires investing in the potentials of young people and helping young people to prevent and solve our problems ourselves. Youth should be equipped by providing them opportunities to acquire appropriate technical skills, abilities and competence required to cope with the burden of tomorrow. To achieve this, we, as young people must take into cognisance the following;
l Type of association [friends etc]
l Clarified values
l Decisions make
l Assertiveness
l High self esteem
l Self motivation.
Youth in the world over should be more meaningfully brought into decision-making processes in their institution, community and organisation especially in matters that affect them directly. Thus the needs for participation and leadership development. We must break the wall of political /community participation by organizing ourselves even without the needed support. We must ensure that our voices are heard, our needs met and our rights protected. Tough being young could be tough, it is sure that the surest way to a better society is through the hope en kindled in young people’s eye. The society must understand, celebrate, respect and make good use of our potentials, energy and talents through our involvement in community development and politics. However, we must make ourselves a force to be reckon with, we must bring out innovative and creative activities that could help our generation cope better with the mountainous challenges facing us. One clear message though is; an investment in the future of young people is fundamental to achieving MDGs and other developmental treaties. It is the only sure way of having a saved future for all.
As young people, we have the right to make decisions, but we don’t have the right over the consequences of our actions. The choice is ours, either to build or mar our life/our future. The change start with us, we can only be the change we seek. We can either be a social force for change or social force for our own doom. Finally, in the word of Fredrick Douglas “our destiny is largely in our hands, if we seek we shall find”. Let us as youths reassemble our disposition, reschedule our consciousness and redirect our consciousness. Remember ,we are not just African youth ,but citizens of the world-Global Citizens.
Fatoki Taiye Timmy
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