Nigerian Youth Movement Rejects Tinubu’s Youth Conference, Demands Implementation Of 2014 Confab Report

The Nigerian Youth Union (NYU) has called on the President Bola Tinubu-led government to implement the recommendations of the 2014 sovereign national conference in order to fix the country’s challenges.

The NYU president, Chinonso Obasi, stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, adding that the challenges confronting the country as identified by the national confab were still around 10 years later.

Obasi, who was also a delegate at the 2014 national conference, noted that the country would have advanced socio-economically and politically if the recommendations were implemented by the government.

The NYU President pointed out that the student loan programme of the Tinubu administration was a brainchild of the confab but was not implemented according to the specifications.

He said, “The outcome of the 2014 national confab, the content of that recommendation is so rich that any government that signed to fix Nigeria can just dust that document and implement some of the decisions. But you find out that some of the recommendations are being picked without giving credit to the source.

“Just like the Nigerian students loan, it is a national confab recommendation. They couldn’t give credit to that source. But the implementation is not done the way it was recommended by the confab, which recommended that the beneficiaries will have a job upon graduation so that as they are working already, there will be deductions made from the loan given.

“But the state of the current loan is one that you’re given a loan and you will be left to go and look for a job and after two years upon graduation, that is when you begin to track. But the question is: what if you don’t have a job? How will they get back the money? And we hope that the money being given won’t be part of the national cake that will be shared without any means of recouping it?”

He kicked against the proposed National Youth confab, stressing that the Nigerian government should focus its energy on implementing far-reaching recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

On the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution by the 10th National Assembly, Obasi threw his weight behind regional government, emphasising that it would bring government closer to the people.

“For the constitution, we are in support of regional governance. But the statement made by the Senate Majority Leader opposing it has become a threat,” he said.

While lamenting that the present administration has no clear plans to address economic woes, with palliatives only benefiting a select few, he decried the absence of youth empowerment initiatives, with stipends being used as mere palliatives.

Suggesting the way forward, Obasi called for the creation of an enabling environment for youths to thrive, revival of moribund companies to generate employment, appointment of youth to positions of power based on merit, and not political connections.

He also urged the Nigerian government to address insecurity by tackling its root causes, including economic sabotage and porous borders.