10 Best Ways to Empower Youths in Nigeria

Youth empowerment entails youth development, a program of developing youths to be self reliance, and self employed, as well as, employers of labour thus, such program will make them become responsible citizens in the society.

The youth empowerment can come in various ways, it can be a skills acquisition for the youths, it can come in form of knowledge acquisition.

The skills and knowledge acquired can be technical or technological, whichever way, it must be such a program that would add value to the lives of the youths.

Youth empowerment can be either government responsibility or corporate organization responsibility, but be that as it may, government has a statutory responsibility of empowering its youths, this is very important perhaps, it is one of the reasons the Nigerian government has decided to undertake youths empowerment programs for Nigerian youths, as one of the ways to curb youths restiveness in the country.

Best Ways to Empower Nigerian Youths

Having talked about what the youths empowerment entails, and the purpose of embarking on youths empowerment programs for the Nigerian youths for example, I will be sharing with you in this article, the 10 best ways to empower youths in Nigeria.

Come with me as we continue.

1. Provision Of Higher Education

Education, it is said, is the bedrock of development hence, any society that want to attain greatness must embrace education.

So, access to higher education has helped in increasing the rate of economic growth, and sociopolitical development of a nation, and since the saying, ‘youths are the leaders of tomorrow’.

In  Nigeria for example, there is need to prepare this set of population in the Nigerian society for them to be able to face squarely, the onerous task of leadership that is ahead of them.

And the only way through is to allow Nigerian youths access to higher education by establishing more Universities across Nigeria, as well as, awarding Nigerian youths scholarships. The poor quality of education in Nigeria has driven many Nigerian youths to seek foreign schools for their educational needs.

2. Provision Of Technical And Vocational Education

Still in the education aspect of youths empowerment, after all, youths empowerment is all about capacity development.

Technical and vocational education is the new trend to socioeconomic development of any serious nation, and such nation will spend its last kobo to make sure that, its citizens, particularly the youths are trained in technical and vocational education with a view to prepare them for industrial and commercial activities, since such activities are what ensure or boost a nation’s industrialization.

Therefore, going by this fact, the Nigerian youths are empowered in technical and vocational education through Innovation Enterprise Institutions, which of course, is an alternative to formal Higher Education.

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3. Provision of Special Scholarship Programmes 

Special scholarships are awarded to the Nigerian youths for innovation and development. This type of youths empowerment, in most cases, are foreign training, where Nigerian youths will acquired knowledge and skills for innovation and development from top world universities around the world, sometimes, this type of youths empowerment calls for knowledge transfer.

4. Increase Budgetary Allocation For Education

There is no form of youths empowerment, where education is out of place, no. Whether it is higher tertiary education or alternative formal higher education, where technical and vocational education is taught, whether skills acquisition and capacity development, whichever form of education or empowerment, increasing or doubling funds allocated to education or youths empowerment by the government is another way of empowering Nigerian youths.

5. Making Grants Available For Business Development

Most of the Nigerian youths are engaged in small, and medium scale businesses for their livelihood.

And so, since expanding these businesses with the expectation of gaining huge return on investment, and as well, increase the socioeconomic activities in the society, with which, such activities can eventually led to a nation’s industrialization, government in particular, can release funds, such as business development incentives or grants for young Nigerian business entrepreneurs, particularly in the creative industry.

6. Creation Of Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jobs

Hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created by the government, as a way of taking the Nigerian youths away from the streets, and get them gainfully employed.

This aspect of youths empowerment can be achieved if young entrepreneurs in Nigeria received millions of naira each in capital grants that could make them grow there business, they can equally create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

7. Engaging Youth in Construction And Rehabilitation Of Infrastructure

The Nigerian youths can be empowered, if they are employed to take part or participate in the construction of social infrastructure and economic infrastructure, as well as, the rehabilitation of these infrastructure.

That is to say, if Nigeria rely on the capacity of the local content, it could empowered its youths by engaging them in such community services.

8. Graduate Internship Program

The graduate internship program is one of the major ways, where Nigerian youths could be empowered. It provides placement with companies that are competent to enhance the skills of the Nigerian youths, as well as, improves their changes of being employed by these companies.

So there is this program, graduate internship program which has indeed, empowered the youths of Nigeria for sometimes now.

9. Housing Sector Revolution

This is another way that the government of this country can empowered its youths.

Through the federal government housing sector revolution, the Nigerian government can empowered its youths through a designated mortgage financial institutions by allowing them avail themselves an opportunity of owning their own houses at a convenience and conducive environment.

10. Engaging Youths in Governance

The Nigerian youths can also be empowered, if the country allowed for participatory system of governance, where Nigerian youths are allowed to take part in governance of Nigeria, and their voices heard, and at the same time incorporated in the formulation of policies as well as, in the area of governance.

Conclusion

Youths empowerment can be either government responsibility or corporate organization responsibility, but be that as it may, government has a statutory responsibility of empowering its youths, this is very important perhaps, it is one of the reasons the Nigerian government has decided to undertake youths empowerment programs for Nigerian youths, as one of the ways to curb youths restiveness in the country.

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