YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ERA – A Keynote Address presented at the 6th Edition of the Osun Youth Ambassador Awards, Sunday, November 28, 2021
By
Prof. Siyan Oyeweso FHSN, FNAL
Department of History and International Studies,
Osun State University
Protocols
The Royal Father of the Day, HRM, Oba AbdulHammed Adekunle Makama (Tegbosun III), The Olowu of Kuta
The Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Charles Akindiji Akinola, the Chief of Staff to Osun State Governor
The Special Guest of Honour, Hon. Bamidele Salam, Member, House of Representatives, Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo Federal Constituency
The Hon. Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Osun State, Hon. Lawal Azeez Olayemi
The Hon. Commissioner for Information and Civil Orientation, Osun State, Hon. Funke Egbemode
The President, Youth Reformers Initiative (YRI), Aminat Ajibola
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ERA – A Keynote Address presented at the 6th Edition of the Osun Youth Ambassador Awards, Sunday, November 28, 2021
By
Prof. Siyan Oyeweso FHSN, FNAL
Department of History and International Studies,
Osun State University
Introduction:
I feel pleased and honoured to be among youths and young people who are creating a platform for intellectual discourse for development and I congratulate the organizers for finding me worthy to give this lecture.Youths are the building blocks of every developed nation. The stronger the youths of a country, the better for the country. For a country like Nigeria with about 70% youth population, one wonders why we are where we are but why would this not be so when the future of the youth has been mortgaged for selfish gains; when the youths have been denied the benefits of good education, when our minds have been chronically infested with low morality and loss of values, when the leadership class is benefit of ideas for good governance and when the justice system has helplessly fail to bring justice to the guilty, where terrorists are referred to as bandits. Why won’t it be so when government’s plans and readiness to revive youth productivity is but a mere lip service?
According to the organizers of this event, “this programme is the 6th edition and it has always been specially and specifically organized to acknowledge the positive contributions of great, illustrious and industrious sons and daughters of Osun State who have distinguished themselves in their chosen endeavours, whose impacts and contribution to their community and fatherland has created for them a niche of excellence.” So once again, I want to appreciate the Osun Youth Reformers Initiatives, the organizers of this program for putting this together at a time like this.
I am particularly happy that the Youths in this programme today are young professionals and entrepreneurs who have carved a niche for themselves in various walks of life. They have separated the “Young men” from the boys roaming the streets, those who are involved in illegal migrations across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Seas – all in search of “greener pastures in Europe, United States, among others. They are also not the “Yahoo Yahoo” group in search of instant wealth and fame.
I am also aware that 18 eminent personalities would be honoured today. From my vantage position, I wish to give special recognition to two of the awardees; the first, Engineer Raji Kehinde, the CEO of Aaraj Construction Company, a thorough breed professional and a philanthropist of note. The second awardee is a very young man in whom I am well pleased – the young Kehinde Ibitoye.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Before I begin, it is instructive to state that Covid – 19 is still very much with us and the global community is still battling new variants of Covid. So, we cannot categorically state that we are in Post – Covid19 era. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food.
The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.
Millions of agricultural workers – waged and self-employed – while feeding the world, regularly face high levels of working poverty, malnutrition and poor health, and suffer from a lack of safety and labour protection as well as other types of abuse. With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labour. Migrant agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable, because they face risks in their transport, working and living conditions and struggle to access support measures put in place by governments. Guaranteeing the safety and health of all agri-food workers – from primary producers to those involved in food processing, transport and retail, including street food vendors – as well as better incomes and protection, will be critical to saving lives and protecting public health, people’s livelihoods and food security.
Today, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. (Mrs.) Folasade Yemi-Esan has directed that all Federal Civil Servants from Grade Level 12 and below should resume work with effect from Wednesday, 1st December, 2021. “It will be recalled that as part of the measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 Pandemic, Officers on GL 12 and below were directed to work from home. Following the advice of the PSC on Covid-19, this category of Officers are expected to resume duties on Wednesday, 1st December, 2021,” the circular read in part.
Paradoxically, a new variant of COVID-19 has been found in South-Arica – Omicron which has a higher re-infection risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the new variant as “of concern”. Several cases have now been discovered in Europe – 2 in the UK, 2 in Germany, 1 in Belgium, 1 in Italy, 61 in the Netherlands. As a pro-active measure, the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and a number of other countries have banned travel to South Africa and Southern African States. Our own distinguished Prof. Oyewale Tomori has also called on the Federal Government of Nigeria “to be swift in its emergency response to the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19, first detected in South Africa.” He warned that tardiness on the part of the government could make the nation slip into the fourth wave of COVID-19, especially as the Christmas and New Year festivities approach. The implication of this is that it is not over until God and Science say it is finally over.
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT OPTIONS IN THE POST-COVID-19 ECONOMY
Opportunities in Digital technologies
Digital technologies have fundamental roles to play in providing the youths with opportunities for growth and development. Opportunities in digital technology are very wide, multidimensional and inexhaustible, and are valuable to varying categories of people. Although before the outbreak of the pandemic, the potential importance of digital technologies have long been realised as exemplified through its priority place within the Sustainable Development Goals, and the efforts of various organisations at enabling and promoting acquisitions and effective use of digital technology education, the COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated its importance to the post-COVID-19 recovery. Thus, emphasis has been placed in recent times, on the need for huge investment in digital skills for young people around the world. Microsoft for instance launched an initiative targeted at helping 25 million people globally, acquire new skills for the COVID-19 economy. Below highlights some of the opportunities provided by digital technologies
E-Learning: E-learning is one of the major opportunities provided by digital technology. According to the World Economic Times, “e-learning system is a learning system based on formalised teaching but with the help of electronic sources”. A major delineating factor in e-learning is the use of information technology; the use of computers and the internet. The use of e-learning has become one of the major components of 21st-century education. Advantages of e-learning are numerous; they save the stress and hassles of transportation as students and teachers do not necessarily have to be within the school premises before knowledge is shared; it encourages self-directed learning, as a student does not necessarily need a teacher present in front of him before he learns; it exposes students to multiple instructional materials. Students from the corner of his room could have access to hundreds of libraries across the world, and maintain unbridled contact with top-notch experts, publications, and authorities in his field of study.
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Baidu, Ask.com, Lycos also serve as aid through which students carry out e-learning activities. Also, several websites provide access for students to download books, journals, and other academic publications, some of which grant free access to scholars.
E-commerce: the digital technology space also provides youths with opportunities for buying and selling. My interaction with many youths has over time exposed me to the values of digital space for marketing. Many young entrepreneurs have judiciously annexed the digital space for their economic prosperity. Young manufacturers, traders, and service providers use the opportunities provided by the social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp to advertise their products and services or showcase their talents to prospective customers, and initiate and in some cases, complete a transaction process without necessarily seeing or knowing each other. Using myself as an example, my shoemaker, a female, was first known to me on Facebook where she displayed some of her products, I became fascinated with her works and engaged her. I have to say that I was not disappointed at all with the quality of her job. Since then, she has become my right contact when I need to make shoes. I have also engaged several other young entrepreneurs on various services through my contact with them on social media, and I doubt if there has ever been a single occasion of regret!
Freelancing and microwork: there are several career opportunities in digital technology. These include Programming, web and App Development, Digital Design and Data visualisation, Digital Project Management, Digital Product Management, Digital Marketing Social Media Managers, Data Science, and Data Analytics. Also, there are other careers in tech that accommodate creative minds such as content writing, digital business analysis, and a good knowledge of tech can make one a good political, economic, and social advisers to leaders and policymakers.
Nigeria is particularly blessed with highly skilled and successful youths in the digital technology industry. One fundamental result of this is the many promising start-ups in Nigeria such as Paystack, Opay and Interswitch, and flutter wave, all of which have dominated the fintech industry. Also, several Nigerian youths are inventors of great technologies, many of whom have not only fetched them some fortunes but also solve particular societal problems.
Also, several others are working for reputable tech companies within and outside Nigeria, many of whom are building very illustrious careers.
Several advantages abound it digital technology works. Some of these include;
Flexibility: the flexible working condition is one of the major attributes of digital technological works. Usually, they provide remote works options, which avail employers the opportunity to work from any location of their choice. Also, an employer can work for many organisations/ employers at a time, insofar, he meets up with his work targets. Also, remuneration is often high, and enough to provide the employee with a good standard of living.
Ease of employment: Digital Tech professionals have a greater possibility of securing employment than several other categories of job seekers. This is apt for several reasons, the fourth industrial revolution has exposed the world to the reality that knowledge of I.T is indispensable in every human organisation. This is truer in the aftermath of COVID-19, and the accentuated remote work system.
High remuneration and emoluments: From my interaction with several young people in the digital technology works, I gathered that they mostly enjoy an international standard salary structure and emoluments, and they are treated and expected to conform to standard best practices.
Freedom: A career in digital technology avails one the opportunity to be independent, without being subjected to undue pressure and a a hostile working environment as many people in the non-tech industries must have experienced.
Fashion Industry
The fashion industry is another area where youths could make remarkable progress and turn their lives around positively. The industry is very wide and fecund with various opportunities across the various production and marking chains of the industries. The fashion industry encompasses design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, and advertising. The philosophy behind the lucrativeness of this industry is the assumption that dress represents a fundamental part of human civilisation. Different occasions demand a different form of dressing, and since dressing can also mean an indication of one’s extent of wealth, reflect people’s social status, ethnic group, religious or traditional positions, mood, patronage of the fashion industry is bound to be ceaseless. There are today, many young Nigerians making waves in the fashion industry such as Ugochukwu Monye, the owner of Ugo MonyeReale Collections, Folake Folarin Coker, CEO of Tifanny Amber; Yomi Casual, Kenneth Ize, Lanre Da Silva, Abiodun Folashade Tokunbo, and many others.
The good news about the fashion industry is that one must not necessarily be a trained fashion designer before he makes a career in the fashion industry. At most, basic skills in fashion designing, with entrepreneurial spirits are enough to make one into an established fashion designer.
Food production and manufacturing industry:
Food manufacturing and processing is another important sector where Youths can be gainfully employed. This sector in Nigeria is dominated by Small and Medium scale enterprises, as well as some multinational food companies.
As expected, this sector is very lucrative, as food is one of the necessities of life. In Nigeria, opportunities in food manufacturing and processing industries increase by the day, especially with a governmental and non-governmental emphasis on reduced importation of food items. In recent times, some Nigerian young people have diversified into food processing; Ola Ola Pando Yam, Ola Ola Pando yam, fufu flour, plantain flour, are a few examples of these strides. Recently, I saw a processed and packaged gari brand named GarriOdeomu and I was greatly impressed. The young producer of this brand, I am sure, would soon make an international reputation for himself, if his zeal for the business is further sustained.
Arts and entertainment industry
The arts and entertainment industry also provide great opportunities for youths, especially in the post-COVID-19 era. Careers in acting, Stand Up comedy, skit making, dancing, singing, song-writing, visual arts, are open and appealing to youths, especially, those with talents in some of the mentioned areas. Also, those who do not necessarily have talents, but have good managerial abilities and entrepreneurial skills record success in the arts and entertainments sector. In visual arts, for example, one does not need to be an artist before being an art collector, owning an art gallery, or being a curator. Also, careers such as record label owners, production managers, marketers, in the art and entertainment industries are not for people of talent, but people with organisational and administrative skills.
Youths, Agriculture and Agric Business
The world currently faces multiple problems of food scarcity, global warming and low pricing of crude oil. Nigeria is not left out of these global crises considering her position in crude oil exportation and grain importation alike. One key area youths and young adults must focus and develop is agriculture. The youths at present constitute about 70% of Nigeria’s population in Nigeria and have over the years made significant contributions to National Development. Unfortunately, the present environment makes it even more difficult to explore their full potential in agricultural production and to stimulate youth participation in agriculture.
With the current development agenda of Nigeria, agriculture is no doubt now recognized as a huge economic pillar contributing heavily to the country’s GDP. The nexus between agriculture development and the nation’s ability to achieve its food and nations security goals are inextricably linked. Agriculture is important to the development of any nation; this development includes fostering the full participation of youth in the agricultural sector. Youths are the successor farming generation and therefore the future of food security in Nigeria.
Modern agriculture is more than tilling the soil and animals; the sector today offers career opportunities in research, environment, financial management, engineering and technical areas for the youths to explore. Given the current depressing economic situation affecting the country’s populace, especially the ever increasing youth population who largely seem disoriented on how to eke out a living for themselves without access to the almost non-existent well-paid jobs, effective actions needs to be taken. This situation is further compounded by the recent devaluation of the Naira and the fall in oil prices which has led to a drag on the economy.
The Imperative of Technical and Vocational Training
Vocational training is educational training that provides hands-on or practical experience in a particular occupational field such as ICT, Agriculture, and Home Economics. The beauty of vocational training is that it is practical oriented whereby you get to use your mind and hands to design and produce a particular object or product. There are many benefits that accrue to any youth who engages in acquiring the skills inherent in vocational training. I explain a few of them below.
1. You become creative. One benefit of vocational training for anyone who acquires the skills is the ability to become a creative individual which ultimately makes such a person outstanding. I have seen some mind-blowing designs of cakes, furniture, fashion, etc. I have also seen people using Ankara and Jeans materials to make shoes and bags. These are evidence of a creative mind. I never thought clothing materials could be used for such products until I saw them. Vocational training help people generate ideas to invent new designs and products. So, if you are looking for an endeavor that can help you become innovative, I recommend you consider vocational training.
2. It can serve as a source of income. People acquire vocational skills for different reasons…but one of such reasons is to make money. I have a friend who runs a vocational training school for people and charges them for a fee. There are also people who collect contracts to bake wedding and birthday cakes, make some pairs of shoes, sew school uniforms, cut or plait fellow students’ hair on campuses, and so on. All these will no doubt generate income for the person and such money could further be used to support oneself in a tertiary institution, help your parents and other siblings or even serve as a source of funding one’s business in the future if you decide to build a career from such skills.
3. It boosts your networks. Learning and using the skills acquired from vocational training can give you a strong network of customers in different fields of life. I once read how Nadiya Hussain, a 32-year-old lady (who is a baker, a columnist, author, and television presenter) was given the contract to bake the birthday cake for the Queen Elizabeth of England during her 90th She came to the limelight after winning a baking competition in Britain in 2015 and then, she was known across the country. Some people have also been linked to influential people and celebrities within society due to their vocational skills. For instance, let’s assume Pastor Adeboye is celebrating his birthday or Dangote’s daughter is getting married, whether the birthday or wedding cake is produced locally or imported from overseas, am sure the baker will one way or the other be physically contacted and that alone can open doors for him or her or even people related to such a person in so many other areas. So, if you hope to have access to meaningful contacts or grow your networks, vocational training is one way of achieving such. People will surely patronize your products and services and also refer others to you as long as your product or service is excellently manufactured, packaged, and delivered.
4. It can boost your academic credentials. There are some foreign schools that do not base their admission criteria on academic grades alone.
They also look at other credentials and abilities possessed by the intending students. The ability to demonstrate certain skills in a particular vocational training could be an asset to a student seeking admission to such schools. The renowned Dr. Benjamin Carson, the author of ‘THINK BIG’ got a slot for his houseman-ship at John Hopkins hospital just because of his love and ability for classical music. It was in that same hospital he successfully performed the popular Siamese twins’ operation which later promoted his career and brought him to the limelight across the world. The vocational skills acquired today can enhance your admission to tertiary institutions or even boost your chances of securing your dream job in the future.
5. You become a change agent within society. When you acquire vocational skills, you are actually setting yourself up for being a change agent within your community and you stand the chance of adding positive value to the lives of people both within and outside your community. An idle mind, they say, is the devil’s workshop so, being an agent of positive change by learning and producing products and services through vocational training will ultimately reduce the rate of crime and social vices that are performed by idle teenagers and youths. It is on record that most of the teenagers and youths recruited by Boko Haram and militants groups in some parts of the country were mostly idle and jobless, hence, it was possible for them to join such heinous gangs killing innocent lives and destroying properties worth billions of naira. If you aspire to become a positive change agent and to add value to the community where you belong, then consider learning one or more vocational skills.
6. Opportunity to develop life skills. Youths who engage in vocational training tend to be different from their counterparts who do not. Skills and lessons such as humility, respect for elders, self-control, teamwork, diligence, determination, problem-solving skills, time management skills, communication skills, negotiation skills, ICT skills, and interpersonal skills to mention a few are daily imparted to them All these go a long way to positively shape their outlook about life and fellow humans. They also stand a better chance to handle life challenges while on campus and even after graduation. Many students, while on campus have fallen apart and become wrecked emotionally when confronted with little pressure or issues about failing a subject, having troublesome roommates, enormous academic work, insufficient cash, and so on. Most of these students have never been ‘exposed’ to life, hence, they find it difficult to handle those challenges. To effectively handle all these challenges that come in one form or the other to students on campuses or youths generally, avail yourself of the opportunity of developing strengths ahead via vocational training.
Conclusion
As the world grapples with unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are demonstrating their continued resilience in their communities and localities. However, the pandemic has changed the world forever and youths must be ready to take up the challenge and develop themselves in three core areas of Agriculture, Technology and Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship.
The Federal Government Agenda for Nigerian Youths: Between Sunday Dare and Femi Adesina
The Federal Government’s agenda for Nigerian youths is encapsulated under the acronym DEEL. DEEL stands for Digital Skill Acquisition, Employability, Entrepreneurship and Leadership.
Under D, the Minister for Youths and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare has averred that a minimum number of 6523 of youths have been trained in robotics and artificial intelligence and that others have been tutored in mobile device repairs while 30,000 others have benefited from Digital Youth Nigeria through the IBM Digital Nation Africa, and 10,000 Youth Corps members benefited in Digital skills training. Our position here is that in a digital age, the onus is on literate youths to apply online, to become beneficiaries. They need not look for godfathers to help, as it is available for all and sundry. Nigeria youths need to embrace the challenge of post-Covid Era and step into what has been provided for them.
Under E, Entrepreneurship both Sunday Dare and Femi Adesina contended that there are also trainings in youth entrepreneurship for vulnerable youths, and applicant recruitment across the six geopolitical zones in the country, with a budget of N5.2 billion. They further contended that the sum of N75 billion is to be spent over three years, 2020-2023. Called the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), it is an initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, and is funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The aim is to invest in the innovative ideas, skills and talent of our youths, thereby turning them into entrepreneurs, wealth creators and employers of labour, contributing to national development. The intention is to generate 500,000 jobs between 2020-2023.
According to Sunday Dare, the sum of N2.9 billion has been disbursed so far under the CBN/NIRSAL arrangement, while 25,000 applications are evaluated. It is further averred that about 5,258 youths have already benefited from the MSME loan.
There’s the Nigeria Online Youth Assembly (NOYA), which is a purpose-built portal by the Ministry to enable youths get job opportunities, scholarships for personal development, and it presently has over 98, 300 youths signed up.
The Federal Government also has the Work Experience Programme (WEP), designed to provide opportunities for them to obtain technical and work readiness skills that will increase their potential for employment, through placement in various organizations for a period of three months.
Leadership is taken, not given on a platter of gold. Beyond the Not Too Young to Run law, Nigeria youths must utilize their strategic population edge to control and shape their future.
Siyan Oyeweso
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