Change Nigeria Project

CHANGE NIGERIA PROJECT

REVIEW: CRITICAL SECTOR POSITION STATEMENT UPDATES**

CRITICAL SECTOR: YOUTH, CULTURE AND SPORTS

JUNE 5, 2010

INTRODCUTION:

Youth, culture and sports are usually grouped together because of their interrelationship in economic, social and technological advancement in nation building.  The youth learns an existing culture within a community and the understanding of that culture is usually based on currently existing environmental circumstances.  The learned culture is then propagated by the youth as he/she advances in age and into the future and new generation.  So culture is dynamic and changes from one generation to another, depending on the environmental influences impacting it. On the other hand, Sports teach the youth the need for team-work, working together for the common good, the principles of ‘give and take’ (in sports) and compliance with rules of the society in which the youth belongs. The dilemma that several societies face with regards to culture is that it is always treated anthropologically. Evidently, there are strong indications that a lot of effort is being spent in trying to understand the origin of cultures while only minimal effort is spent on the evolved culture that has impact on present-day society. In the same token, the development and understanding of sports focus on the physical and competitive aspects while seemingly, a very little effort is devoted to the development and accomplishment of the main objectives of sports and that is molding the youth to become a good and exemplary citizen.

The original Change Nigeria Project’s (CNP) Critical Sector Position Statement on the Youth, Culture and Sports has been evaluated and found to be adequate and points to the critical areas where developmental changes needed to occur to position Nigeria in a better socio-economic and technological advancement.  This review highlights those critical points and attempts to suggest areas that require positive change and methods of attaining them.

YOUTH:

The future of every nation, including Nigeria depends on the successes of its youth.  A society with well trained, well educated, and well cultured youths, most often results to a respectable, productive and well groomed society.   Nigeria has intelligent, vibrant and destined to be successful youth population. However, the existence of a political environment that resulted in most part, ill-education and high rate of unemployment have evolved unacceptable culture of protests, unproductiveness, and indiscipline among Nigeria’s youths.  On the other hand, instead of being nurtured, the Nigerian Youths appear to face a severe level of antagonism from their elders and leaders for their youthful indiscipline.  Incessant anti-societal behavior of the youths has led Nigerian leaders and elders to the belief that the youths of today may not be leaders of tomorrow after all.  But this belief may be shared by a very minority of Nigerian leaders.

Current challenges facing Nigerians leadership in order to attempt to reverse the current culture of indiscipline in the Nigerian youths include the following:

1. It is reported that out of about 70 million youths (within the ages of 15- 29 years), over 40 million youths are unemployed.  Out of this number, 23 million or 60 percent are said to be unemployable. This means that 23 million youths can not be productively employed.  This condition has been assessed to be due to (a) ill-designed educational system for national growth; (b) Mal-administration of the educational system by responsible government; (c) Employment and sustenance of a nonchalant and apathetic academic and non-academic staff bodies.
2. The result of having a high level of unemployable youths has been directly determined to be responsible for the following:
   1. Increase in crime: Increased incidence of armed robbery and kidnapping for ransom which are reported all over the country, especially in the South-South and South-Eastern States.
   2. Cultism:  Gangs and Cults groups that are made up of youths have now constituted themselves as security risks to the nation.  The actions of these cult groups have become of concern and sometime a threat to normal peace in several communities.
   3. The fact that Nigerian Youths have neither skills nor qualifications means that the country has to outsource services that could have been provided by the unemployed youths.
3. Corruption in High Places:  The culture of youthful indiscipline and violence may have been learned by the youths through the observation of the administrative indiscipline of public officials.  There have been several media-reported incidences of bribery and nepotism in the political class, civil service, and within the ranks of the Law enforcement agencies.  Also the robust display of apparently, ill-acquired wealth by the political class also seemed to stimulate the youth into open discontent.

There is also, Youth discontent borne out of frustration of not being employed for a long period, by watching nepotism in high places, the open display of ill-gotten wealth, and in some cases, the total neglect of duties by government officials.  Some of the situations in which youthful discontent resulted violent civil crises in some parts of Nigeria, are listed below:

1. Niger Delta Crises where youths organized themselves as armed groups and have confronted Nigeria’s Enforcement Agencies in open combats.
2. Kidnappings-for-ransom which were openly used in the Niger Delta Youths in their struggle for “resource control” are currently used in the South-South and South-Eastern states, especially, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Edo, Delta and Rivers States by criminals to extract money from the wealthy.
3. Inter-ethnic and religious crises which are apparently fueled by frustrations and youthful disillusionment from unemployment have been experienced through the following crises:

I.           The Jos Crises where, mostly, the youths of the Berom and Fulani ethnicities were involved in massacres and counter massacres of defenseless citizens, mostly women and children.

1. Boko Harem crises where a religious fanatic used unemployed youths to cause mayhem in order to advance his personal objectives.

CULTURE:

Culture is the normal and peculiar way communities and societies do things that projects special own identity. Culture is dynamic, can be influenced by the environment and can inculcate new ideas as it transcends from one generation to another.  Recently, in Nigeria, the Nigerian youthful culture has been drastically and negatively influenced by new ideas to the extent that something needs to be done to reverse the trend.  CNP suggests that work should be done to modify the current culture where people want to benefit without work. The patronage systems and nepotism should give way to fairness in employment and compensation for work done. Nigeria should adopt the principles of re-culturization of its youths and make them believe that fairness can reign in Nigeria.

SPORTS:

Beyond the physical expressions and winning attitude that the playing of sports imbibe in our youths, it also teaches the youths the importance of TEAM work for the common good of all participants. Through the principles of team-work, come nationalism and the principles of ‘give and take’ which is important in groups that live together for mutual benefits and are imbibed with common destiny.

Nigeria participates in several kinds of sports, but the most important sports that bring out patriotism, heroism and nationalism in Nigerians is Football (or soccer).  But the nationalistic expressions are more pronounced in Nigerians when Football is played internationally.  In addition to playing Football, an international sport, other economically, socially and technologically advanced countries have their own sports that have deep roots in their cultures and therefore espouse strong national bonding and national pride among the citizenry.  CNP should have the view that Nigeria should plan, on the long run to create its own sports that are deep –rooted in the Nigerian culture. 

Many countries that do very well socially and economically also developed their own national sports, in addition to Football (not soccer). A few examples are:

1.  U.S.A which has its own Football (not soccer)
2. Australia which has the Tag Ball
3. Japan and China have either the Japanese or the Chinese Karate.

In the same token, Nigeria could evaluate and develop its traditional sports which are scattered among its cultures.  The sports that come to mind are (1) Different traditional types of wrestling which were used to entertain the public during national celebrations in the former Eastern and Western Nigeria. (2) In the Northern part of the country, the ‘One-Hand Boxing’ has survived westernization of Nigeria and it is still cherished as entertaining sport. (3) Other traditional types of sports such as the Agungu Fishing Competition or the Boat race in the Niger Delta can be developed into nationally accepted sports.

CONCLUSION OR PROFFERED SOLUTIONS:

Nigeria’s Educational System should be reviewed to ensure that seriousness and sense of responsibility are shown by the faculty, institutional administration, and responsible government ministry. The objectives should be geared toward the following but not limited to:

1. Youths should be taught the skills to earn a productive living, and lead a responsible citizenship life.
2. Youths should be taught to reverse some of the unbeneficial neo-cultures which they have developed and adopted and re-enforce the productive ones.

Employment:  The high unemployment percent could be reduced drastically.  CNP believes that most Nigerian youths cannot be permanently unemployable. CNP therefore, proposes the following as a way of creating new jobs and enhancing the productivity of Nigerians:

1. Re-train the youths:  CNP believes that the so-called ‘unemployable’ youths were the product of mal-education that did not impart in them the skills they needed to be successful.  CNP proposes the establishment of training programmes that will provide the youths with the skills they need to succeed as productive workers.
2. Both public and private sectors should create productive employment programmes in the different development areas of national interest:

1. Agriculture and Food Production: Youths could be re-trained to be productive in the food and fiber production, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of agricultural products.
2. Infrastructural development:  Youths should undergo re-enforced training and could be made to be productive in several areas such as road maintenance, erosion control, water supply, waste water and environmental management.

3. Look In-Ward for Solutions:  Many Nigerian professionals and youths could be productive if they are trusted in solving some of the National problems.  Most of the “overseas travel for medical checkups” could be done in Nigeria.  It is impossible for us to develop new technologies unless we trust and use the ones available locally.
4. Corruption:  Corruption is found to impede success of nearly every sector of Nigerian society.  Nepotism and unfair practices must be reduced to the barest minimum in public institutions.
5. Trust in the Youths:  There is the need to believe that Nigerian youths are capable of doing productive work.  Both working class citizens and youths should be challenged for excellence in performance.

Discourage Crime:

1. Criminals should be punished, although juvenile delinquency should be pardoned and while the guilty is given a second change to comply with the laws of Nigerian.  However, unrepentant youths should not be condoned. On the other hand, the pardoning of thieves, armed robbers and kidnappers-for-ransom, and allowing them to keep the stolen properties or ransom money (as it was recently introduced by Abia State Governor Orji,) can only exacerbate crime instead of curtailing it.

Presented by:

Professor Dennis O. Balogu

Executive Committee, Change Nigeria Project, Inc

June 11, 2010 

CNP State of Nation Committee