By Elias Abayomi Adagunduro
A Youth is a young person who has come of age. Youth crave for freedom and independence. Young persons want to explore with things around them. The Millennials and the Genz generation exhibit proactive and reactive tendencies. To develop young persons in Nigeria, catch them young, and give them leadership roles to manage.
Every youths have lofty dreams. Some of them may have dreamt of working in great organisation like Nestle, Chevron, NNPCL, LNLG, MTN, Glo, etc in the future.
Government or Civil Society Organisation can catch them young, introduce the orientation and training at early stage while they are being guided.
Organised youths have myriads of ways to manage pressure, think, make plans and even plans for others.
In contrary, a disorganized youth is ready to do anything for money. There is no inculcated moral value system, no decision of character, so anything goes.
Ironically, these categories of youths influence others. Some resist but many usually fall prey in a challenging economy like ours. The maxim If you can’t beat them, you rather join them come to fruition.
We have Young boys in secondary schools from poor background driving exotic cars, dating different ladies. They are also in the Universities. They have friends from decent background who are contented with what they have. Many with sound background are also influenced, forgetting quickly that hard work pays.
Therefore, to develop youths, it should be from a younger age. If they are trained and adequately monitored, the type of empowerment they needed will be easily identified, intervention will be judiciously tailored towards them.
The percentage that the empowerment of young person with this strategy will be impactful is high.
I appeal to the government and civil society organisations that in their quest to develop and empower youths, they should mobilise, organise youths at a younger age, to be fit for empowerment.