Youth in Nigeria
[5] Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former President of Nigeria from 1999 until 2007, believes that identifying and addressing issues that would enhance the lives of the youth would improve overall national development.
The National Youth Policy (2009) aims to,promote the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and protect the health, social, economic and political well-being of all young men and women in order to enhance their participation in the overall development process and improve their quality of life.National Youth Policy focuses on 18 priority areas, including education, health, agriculture, women & girls, peace-building, HIV/AIDS, migration & human trafficking, poverty and participation.
By empowering females, restoring their dignity, establishing programs to end gender-based discrimination and promoting the rights, Nigerian youth policy places emphasis on the needs of young women.
Its head office is located at 29 Aswan St, Wuse 904101, Abuja, Nigeria [21][22] Aims and Objectives Below are the main aims and objectives of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN):[23] Some Nigerians live in extended large families with separate living quarters.
Educating children is regarded as a community responsibility in some ethnic groups [24] Parenting styles differ among cultures in Nigeria.
First, fifth, tenth, and fifteenth birthdays are marked by a large gathering for socialising providing food and drink consumption in certain parts as a traditional celebration.
Cohabitation in urban areas is increasingly accepted prior to marriage while a romantic couple saves money to marry.
The Tiv people perform a ritual by marking a girl's abdomen with four incisions to make sure they are capable of conceiving a child.
The Okrika Tribe hold ceremonies to mark the stage when girls are ready for marriage; they will ask the lady to dance with half-naked, with their breast opened.
Muslim people arrange marriages for their daughters, placing the male's family finances as an influential factor when choosing her husband.
Educating youth in Nigeria is prioritized with the goal of reducing poverty, inequality and overall increasing economic growth.
The youth are encouraged to partake in a variety of programs including: gang related violence prevention programs, Extra-curricular competitive and recreational game activities through organisations, and a student union was launched encouraging leadership roles for youth and democratic culture.
[32][33] The report also revealed that Nigeria employment rate has increased drastically over the last five years because the country has been through two different recessions and this has cast a shadow of gloom on the economic policies implemented by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
[36] Advancements in information communication technology expose youths to a variety of values and ways of thinking which differ from their elder generations.
[36] Infection rates among youths vary according to gender, region, education, marital status, and other factors.
[38] Nigerian youth are campaigning for reduction in age qualification for political position with the Not Too Young To Run bill, which seeks to reduce the age to run for president from 40 years to 30 years; Governor 35 to 30, Senate 35 to 30, House of Representatives 30 to 25 and State of Assembly 30 to 25.
The bill is "aimed at relaxing some of the stringent and biased provisions of the constitution that prevent young people from participating actively in politics."
"[42] This statement by Mr President points to the fact that the Nigerian society is yet to fully accept youth leadership and participation at the corridors of power.
Since the Post Cold War era, oil based revenues and its disbursements in the Niger Delta region has led to massive protests and violence among youth.
[43][44] Tension in the public has caused conflict among minority and majority groups which has crippled national and social development.
[45] The youth's participation in violence is their way of expressing feelings of marginalisation and that their voices are not heard in competing for beneficial resources.
Nigerian youths are hardworking individuals who struggle to be resourceful despite the lack of jobs and unfair treatment in society, poverty is a main factor that creates the so-called 'get rich quick syndrome' in young adults in Nigeria.
