Youth

The use of alcohol, illicit substances and hard drugs by students and youths has reached an all-time high in different parts of Nigeria. 

It has in fact become a social problem and menace.

Indeed, in states where Those-in-Charge generate revenue from illegal structures, illicit substances and alcohol are sold in makeshift kiosks along the road, under bridges and motorparks.

The insinuation is that the cream in society may be benefitting from the sales.

That is why it goes unabated.

These hard drugs have negatively affected the behavior and appearance of students and youths.

Of worry are the grievous and heinous crimes that are committed on a daily basis under the influence of alcohol and hard drugs.

It is high time the government at all levels take decisive steps to salvage those affected before it is too late because it has started having adverse effects on the socio-economic fortunes of the giant of Africa.

The lack of discipline among the youth has been identified as one of the causes of youth related problems in Nigeria.

This view was expressed on Monday by the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Isalm Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke at the 22nd of the Annual Engr. Prof. S.A Olagoke Education competition in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

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‘’We have lost the focus of discipline that is why we are having problems with the youth. While the security agents are doing their work, the parents too have a lot to do. Religion complements the work of the parents to the extent that there is discipline, growth and development of their children. Don’t let us be pessimistic, we should be optimistic, things shall change for the better. The youth related problems shall fizzle out when we have a god government in power,’’ Prof. Olagoke stated.

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He called on the youth and Nigerians generally, to show curiosity by asking questions saying, ‘’ do not act on rumor or in ignorance. Be scientific on fact findings. Be an active citizen. Our youth education must be functional and inclusive and must be value laden with citizenship rights for wholesome civic responsibilities on the need for all stakeholders to be alive to their responsibilities without trampling on the people’s rights.

This is the essence of functional education. This is the essence of being educated. Justify this through being an active citizen.’’

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The overbearing influence of dysfunctional agents of socialization including defective parental upbringing have all combined to make the youth tobe threats to Nigeria’s future.

This assertion was made on Friday by the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shfaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke in his message to the nation on the occasion of the 61st independence anniversary of Nigeria.

‘’Today’s youth suffers from immature parental care and dysfunctional agents of socialization. The youth in Nigeria are at the receiving end of all activities emanating from Religion, Culture, Education, Politics and Society. Unfortunately, when each of these agents are poorly managed the effect on the youth may be a temporary or permanent damage to to their growth and development as a costly prize for the nation’s future.Thuggery,truancy, examination malpractice, hawking, unwanted pregnancy, rape, vandalism, pedophilia and other antisocial behaviors result from these deficiencies.Products of very faulty backgrounds are enmeshed in entertainment,poor reading culture, and mindset to loot the national and state treasuries at any given opportunity. They lack moral candor for leadership with wrong value orientation that is bad for leadership,’’ Prof. Olagoke concluded.

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Most communities in Nigeria today are inhabited by a sizable number of criminally-minded leadership and followership, which has resulted in the unabating rate of crime and criminality in these communities. Indeed, parents and guardians in several instances, aid and abet their children and wards to commit a crime.
However, Nigerians are hopeful that in the not too distant future, these communities shall produce those who shall make a positive and useful contribution to the advancement, progress, and development of these communities.
 In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says that privileged elders in the country have impacted negatively on the youth. Excerpts :
Most communities in Nigeria are inhabited by a number of criminally-minded leadership and followership, in what ways do you think these communities shall produce those who shall ensure the positive advancement, progress, and development of these communities?
Deviation from all the universal keys into successes always creates an environment of ethical practices, morality, and institutions of discipline as cultural heritages. Under this circumstance, communities were able to produce people as technocrats and leaders, who used to ensure advancement, progress, and development such as our founding fathers in Nigeria.   The social environment is always serene most especially when one finds himself working and living in the various quarters of tertiary institutions then, brilliance was promoted, the golden fleece was always the target of achievement when there is the opportunity to travel abroad.  The dignity of labor dictated the pace of hard work and prosperity. Unfortunately, this was shortlived after the departure of the colonial masters who gave us independence in 1960 which we could neither manage nor sustain because of our failure in power-sharing. The Nigerian youth has been badly affected by the greed of the privileged elders, who are yet to accept a paradigm shift solution of mentorship for godfatherism to develop a stable political environment for sustainable development. From the spiritual angle, Nigerians, low and high, have refused to understand that deviation from the positive mindset to help others and develop the youth aright through educational rejuvenation and career opportunities make one fall into a deluge of sins which if not well controlled and contained would eventually lead to the emergence of various forms of crime, affecting the psyche of all to destroy the legacies of our founding fathers who collectively fought and vowed to stand, to maintain and sustain the virtues and values bequeathed them, as contained in the national anthem, wherein we declared that the efforts of our heroes past shall are not in vain.
what obtains in Nigeria till date, is the vandalization of our heritage in all senses of it, making us look as if we are deliberately working against what we vowed to protect as been sung the daily-the national anthem.
Today, Nigeria is enveloped by criminally minded people emerging almost in every community as visibly manifesting on the image of Nigeria to the bewilderment of all including people abroad. The challenge, therefore, is in proferring feasible solutions starting from sensitizing all the youth to identify with some role models in the nation and work towards raising their status to be able to achieve for the land as they had achieved for their communities during their time. Anthony Enahoro moved the motion in 1953, which led to Nigeria's independence in 1960. There several other eminent Nigerians, dead or alive, that are worthy to be role models for the youth. Let us give the Nigerian youth a chance but under a reformed environment of zero tolerance to corruption and institutional indiscipline. Say No to allowing criminally minded to attain power from today.

The National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) scheme has been weighed down by several challenges over the years. The scheme seeks to promote unity and integration among the diverse peoples of Nigeria. However, a cross section of Nigerians insist that the scheme has outlived its relevance while stressing that efforts should be geared towards repositioning the scheme. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says that the management of the NYSC must be above board, for the scheme to serve the purpose for which it was established.

Is the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) still functioning to provide for the the unity and integration needs of Nigerians ?

The National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) scheme was established in 1973 as an aftermath effect of sanity restoration into Nigeria after the harrowing experience of the fratricidal war of Nigeria/Biafra of 1967/70, as part of the follow up of reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation. One of the aims therefore is to foster unity among Nigerians of different tongues and tribes. The hope was to integrate people through their children, most especially the youth into different communities that constitute Nigeria.

Above all, the curriculum expectation is to inculcate in Nigerian graduates, a sense of discipline and integrity to become assets for development rather than been liabilities. The assessment of the NYSC scheme as programs and projects for Nigeria based on the above set of objectives, shall therefore be the criteria through which our assessment and evaluation shall be based.

Postings are influenced arbitrarily without considering the set of objectives for which the NYSC was established. When this happens, affected candidates are denied their rights of familiarity to areas of opportunity to learn different things like culture, tradition and languages that would have made them to understand better, the different nationalities that constitute Nigeria; for the purpose of of knowing the reasons why we must allow peaceful co-existence.

Presently, the South-South and the South East to me are still alien, if not for some opportunities of attending conferences of professional importance around the areas. The same thing happens to many of us having myopic views about regions beyond the areas of our race forcing ourselves to consume the lies and the truth about people from the races. For example, the Middle Belt and the North in general. On the security point of view, the NYSC has been badly affected. There are several cases of violence involving Corps members. The phenomenal cases of kidnapping and road hazards also contribute enormously to parental fear, making them to prefer their wards serving in near by states and in some cases their states of origin.

One expects the Federal Government to pay particular attention to the security needs of the nation and the safety of the Corps members while on service in any part of the country. The scheme is supposed to enjoy some level of immunity and privileges which could be appreciated in the Military services. When this kind of environment is guaranteed for the NYSC scheme, parents and their wards will have no alternative option to official posting procedure to be followed to the letter without any excuses or need for any influence.

Progressively, in terms of the NYSC at 10, during my own time, it paid us 200 Naira as monthly allowance, although then, the purchasing power of the Naira was equal to the Dollar and even then, jobs after the scheme were guaranteed.

However, graduates going for national service are already wallowing in an environment of poverty, inflation and unemployment, making them to live in a state of uncertainty for economic survival. Under this condition the tendency to misbehave to a state of indiscipline is very high, unless they are truly religious with very good upbringing. The NYSC scheme is therefore faced with how to regulate and control the exercise, effectively manage the incoming graduates as well as as how best to sustain the exercise not to lose track of the set objectives.The issue at stake therefore, revolve on the huge management cost for the scheme with the ever increasing number of graduates every year.

The remuneration for the NYSC participants is another issue of great economic interest. For example, we are in an era of the need for a living wage. Th status of corps members is highly above $98. Government must therefore live above rhetoric, but pay as appropriate with immediate effect, the corps members remuneration that is attractive and sustaining . If Corps members take home is about 50,000 Naira, nobody will thank the Federal Government for this. These graduates in the active service of the nation need motivation because the government forced them into the entrepreneurship scheme while they were in school most especially during their final year.

Instead of making them roam about the streets, government ought to create a saving scheme for them whereby they manage N25,000 monthly and save the remaining N25,000 for the 12 months they are to serve the nation for them to be able to establish a vocation of their choice based on the entrepreneurship scheme already acquired while they were in school. In the spirit of TIVET, such graduates must be made to have easy access to loans to complement the amount already saved. Such loans must attract very low interest rates with single digits, to be able to meet up with the agreed pay back period. An environment of this kind of hope would make the scheme continue to be relevant, while parents and their wards would be ready to accept any area of offer for the service. 

Our hope to have true integration of the people to accept other people’s culture in the spirit of one nation, lies in the success of the NYSC because only the youth filled with love for togetherness and service can achieve at sustainable level the set objective for which the NYSC was established. Finally, a scheme aims at promoting unity, system integration and production of assets rather than liabilities like the NYSC must be managed without fraud, while it must not equally be underfunded. In the spirit of Democracy that stands on justice and equity principles, the NYSC management must be above board hence people with impeccable character are expected to be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring peace and sustainable development in an environment of high respect for the fundamental human rights of the people. The youth constitute the NYSC, knowledgeable as they are, the nation must rely on them because apart from serving the nation through the primary and secondary duties assigned them, they equally promote friendship and intermarriages which Nigeria needs to be truly united.