The Future Of Nigerian Youths: Who are the youths, and what range of age is considered the youth age?
Youth is the totality of not treating oneself as incapable, the desire to explore life, the ability to embrace changes, and the enthusiasm to live each moment. Youthfulness in essence is about the possibilities in one’s own future, about human nature, and about the possibility of fulfillment in adult life.
Youthfulness is therefore the quality or state of being young. It is the stage of life immediately succeeding childhood. It follows therefore that there is no certainty as to the age range at which one may be considered a youth. Youth age may however range from and within 14 – 35 years of age, and may extend to 46.
Having discovered who the youths are or may be, and what constitutes the youth age, what then does the future of Nigerian youths look like? Youths are popularly referred to as the future of the nation. There have been contentions that as a result of the impossibilities and uncertainties existing in Nigeria, that the basis of the afore-highlighted phrase has been defeated. A better view is that the purpose of the phrase was redefined as opposed to being totally extinguished. If follows therefore that the now youths may have to struggle to survive till they get to their own old age in order to start leading.
This is exactly what the description looks like. Now, this takes us to the number one menace facing the Nigerian youths and of course the country as a whole, which is that the political structure of Nigeria is being manned by retirees; people who ordinarily ought to have retired. This setting is popularly described as the digital world being manned by analog minds.
Nigerian youths have taken steps to show that their future does not depend or lie with the governance in Nigeria. Nigerian youths have proven to be very hardworking, innovative and explorative in all sectors of life and the economy. In a country where absolutely nothing works, good percentage of our country youths, yet, are still successful. None is ever dependent on the government. In fact, the capacity of Nigerian youths is being appreciated overseas. We are beginning to loose our capable youths to the hands of other countries who appreciate their value and capacity.
If follows correctly that when our youths are subjected to the cruel governance in Nigeria, they still find their way to raise their heads and attain success. If Nigerians can become successful under such cruel circumstances and conditions as that in Nigeria, you can imagine how much more they would explore and attain in a more relaxed environment and conditions in other countries where things work. Currently and as expected, the future of the youths in Nigeria and of course, the future of Nigeria as a country suffers from the terminology known as brain drain.
Brain drain is the migration of educated and talented people from less economically developed areas or countries to a more economically advanced areas or countries. Nigeria is unarguably a country with poor economic advancement; very poor one. It is not longer news but a norm that our youths are consciously making positive efforts and exploring means to leave Nigeria in search of better opportunities, and at most, relocate to a country where things work. There is practically no country in the world that Nigerians are not found.
We have all it takes to be found in every country in the world, after all, our population is endless. The large population of Nigeria is another menace contributing to the perceived nature of the future of the youths as well as the future of the country. Nigeria has excess population that its economy can ever carter for.
There are limited opportunities being struggled for by millions and thousands of people. Take higher institutions’ aptitude assessment for example, where the capacity of Nigerian universities cannot admit a fraction of the population on application. This population posing as a menace here clearly contributes to the rate of unemployment, and as well encourages criminal activities ranging from kidnapping, fraud, money laundering, etc. all these renders the future of the country unsafe, hopeless and scary; thereby providing valid reasons for Nigerian youths to seek the nation building of other countries instead of theirs. These points back to the brain drain factor. It then seems that the various factors revolve around each other. The future of Nigerian youths is something that can never be taken away from them.
The worse that Nigerian youths may experience is the thorn process which is incidental to attainment of heights, though in a more extreme thorn process this time. A good percentage of Nigerian youths on the other side of the stream no longer believe in the process. Youths nowadays suffer and cannot withstand societal pressure, especially the male folks. It is sad that the act of fraudulently possessing the product of people’s sweat is now getting societal justification; that is, becoming socially recognized as something normal.
It is the popular trend of yahoo-yahoo (online fraud) which has been encouraged by the get rich quick syndrome, well; this certainly cannot be the future of Nigerian youths. People who engage in legal businesses in Nigeria sometimes get frustrated by new state policies; how much more, illegal ones? Policies are made day by day which seeks to restrict, regulate and promote financial security in the system. Check the banking industry for instance, the policies are getting tighter unlike it used to be. Not so long ago, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its supervisory capacity mandated all banks against the transaction of Bitcoin.
The financial system is getting more security attention lately. The gist is that yahoo-yahoo is a risky temporal substance. One this basis, it seems better to stand on the proposition that the future of Nigerian youths has not and cannot be completely altered or extinguished. The real youths out there are bent on doing the right thing, securing opportunities, building on their capacity and self worth, and making changes in their realm of operation. Nigerian youths are now becoming self-aware. Go into the political sector, they are well occupied at least to a large extent. Talk about business, education, health sector, innovations and technologies, and the host of them.
Nigerian youths are not entirely lost in focus. The youths occupy quite an amount of the Nigerian population. Youths are by their very nature, self conscious, enthusiastic, goal driven and never incapacitated. In most realms, the youths cannot be done without. Their relevance in the country and to the economy can never be extinguished. But the center gist remains that the process is a lot more difficult than it ordinarily ought to be.
It is trite to say that the future of Nigerian youths lies in their hands. When a person feels that something which belongs to him is being withheld by another, the natural cause to do is to go and grab what is yours. Ordinarily, good things no longer come to those who wait, and nobody is ever ready to step down for another to rise. It has always been the survival of the fittest. The advantage which the youths have is that their youthful age has an enthusiastic characteristic. As long as they remain in the process, their future belongs to them. The only regret is that the current status of Nigeria has imposed extra difficulty on the process.
