sets agenda for Youth Development Ministry

By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

A group of young professionals, under the aegis of the Association of Young Kwara Professionals in Diaspora (ASYKWAPID), has urged support for the Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamilah Ibrahim Bio, commending her effective leadership since assuming office.

According to the group, the youth development policy initiatives being undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development was a testament to the former President Buhari’s administration’s youth development policy and should be enhanced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Regime’.

The group particularly identified the recent announcement for the registration of the Nigerian Youth Investment Funds (NYIF) and several other youth development-based initiatives under the Jamilah-bio-led Federal Ministry of Youth Development, adding that they were laudable replica of the President Buhari-led administration youth development policy and could be improved upon.

In a statement on Thursday jointly signed by the pioneer National Coordinator, Mr. Abdulwaheed Sulaiman and National Publicity Secretary, Ahmad Adebayo, the group expressed concern over the nation’s worsening economy, stressing the importance of giving the youth a significant voice in policies that directly impact their lives.

The group calls for unwavering support, especially from the youth constituency, for the youth development policy of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development under the stewardship of Dr. Jamilah Ibrahim Bio (JIB).

“As concerned citizens and leaders of crafts in our own right, we’ve noted with keen interest the worsening economic and social status of the nation which has greatly impacted the living conditions of ordinary men and women in Nigeria today.”

“As young people and agents of development, we seek Nigerians’ support, especially the youth constituency, to throw their weights behind and support the youth development policy of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development under the leadership of Dr. Jamilah Ibrahim Bio (JIB).”

According to the group, they acknowledged the Youth Development Minister’s remarkable efforts during a recent interactive session in Abuja, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive review of the youth development policy.

“In May 2024, we monitored the laudable engagements of the Honourable Minister of Youth Development, during an interactive session with critical stakeholders from the 36 States, including FCT in Abuja – where she shared key insights which the federal government and President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” has taken particularly in addressing the challenges facing young people in Nigeria.

“We acknowledged her recommendations of launching a thorough review of the youth development policy, which she noted was obsolete.

Additionally, her remarks emphasized the need for input from all critical stakeholders before presenting the draft of the Youth Development Policy to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval, a development which should be commended by all and sundry.

“There is no doubt that Nigeria as one of the countries that have the largest population of youths in the world requires improvements in the areas of overall quality of life for the over 70 percent 9
of her youths population.”

According to available records, nearly 12 percent of the world population in extreme poverty lives in Nigeria, as measured by a poverty threshold of US$1.90 a day.

“This current development in our social and economic lives calls for a great concern that keeps making migration attractive to young people.”

“The growing poverty, unemployment, and insecurity of food, lives, and property could be improved to make the country attractive to young people.”

“One of these laudable initiatives of the Buhari-led is the Nigerian Youth Investment Funds (NYIF), which the Federal Ministry of Youth Development has replicated. We urge the Honourable Minister to look inward and make a realistic approach towards making such youth development initiatives meet up with the current economic situation of the country.

“We’ve no doubt that the challenges currently facing the country are surmountable with the collaboration of all necessary stakeholders to chart a way forward and get us out of this economic and social quagmire.”

End