By Chuba Keshi
FRI. 03 MARCH 2023-theGBJournal | The total rejection of the People’s Democratic Party by the people of Delta State last Saturday, must come as a bold statement that speaks to the future of all Deltans. Come Saturday, March 11, this new dawn will be consolidated with the Tsunamic rejection of the PDP at the gubernatorial election in the State.
I am aware that there have been a lot of arguments from several quarters concerning the candidacies of all the persons running the guber race in the State. We must not however, attempt to gamble with this opportunity for a total rebirth of Delta State. In all these, it is the Delta youth that have the most stake in the scheme of things. This is why the youth must reflect on all the choices open to them and come on board with the vehicle that will take them to where they ought to be.
It is indeed very heartbreaking when we begin to consider the place of the Delta youth in the “comity” of youths in Nigeria. Our youth have been severally described in all kinds of derogatory innuendoes. When for example, Delta is said to be the headquarters of Keke NAPEP, it is another way of saying that our youth are the most tricycle riders in Nigeria. So on, so forth.
But that is certainly not who we are. We are still the same people that excelled in all spheres of human endeavour, so much so that our youth were a standard of reference for other youths, not only in Nigeria, but in our part of the world. When Nigerian youth were being described as very smart in a positive way, a lot of reference was taken from the Delta youth.
Unfortunately, however, in the past decade, there had been a deliberate and systematic underemployment of the Delta youth, in spite of all the bogus “youth development projects”; that mostly prebend the State resources, piping them to ghost lands, in rather bogus schemes. In the past seven years, this has been heightened by the misplaced massive recruitment of able-bodied young men and women as aides to the current governor and his principal aides. This has been by way of special aide, assistant, adviser to; in and of, cascading up to the fifth degree and beyond.
This particular system of engaging the youth has its peculiar and far-reaching adverse consequences. Firstly, not many persons will benefit from such largesse. More importantly, it creates a gang of underemployed youth as most of them were truly employed not to create value in governance, but as ready foot soldiers for electioneering jobbing.
The killing consequence of this is that the Delta youth who ordinarily is creative, audacious and goal-getting is lured into a comfort cocoon that plucks the feathers. He/she is removed from the challenge that brings out his/her creativity. The youth becomes laidback. And chances would be that he/she spends the prime of youth when mountains are moved, in political jobbing. Thus, for some, by the time they leave such appointments, their orientation would have changed and their potential and capacity to create real value grossly undermined. The danger here is that many would begin to see politics as the only vocation they could aspire to.
This is in no way to say that the youth should not venture into politics. Far from it. In fact, that Omo-Agege is the one, in the history of guber race in Delta State, who has chosen a youth in his very prime as running mate loudly speaks to youth inclusiveness as part of his political agenda. The point here is that what Delta State needs is a new dispensation that opens a floodgate for youth participation in more creative ways than political jobbing.
If we sincerely want to examine the antecedents of all contending candidates for the governorship of Delta State, in terms of their readiness to uplift the Delta youth, Senator Omo-Agege stands out with unmatched credentials. A few examples will clearly speak to the issue.
Take for instance the famed Sexual Harassment Bill which he sponsored in the 9th Senate. What must be understood about this Bill is in its unquantifiable potential to liberate the youth, particularly the female youth, from all setbacks that hamper the capacity to realise one’s fullest potential. Sexual harassment is a killer of self-worth, self-prestige, self-esteem and self-confidence. All these are the perfect recipe for fear. And fear is a killer of hope of audaciousness and of venture. There is no way a youth can fully realise his or her full potential if permanently being harassed by fear.
Recently, a young woman trended on social media who just graduated from one of our tertiary institutions. The woman whose celebration video was quite viral, was in an allegory of sorts, as she lamented the abuse she underwent while training in school; having to resort to offering sex in order to graduate. She and her kind are victims rather than villains. Victims of a system that grossly abuses and undermines the youth even with all the latter hold for the future of generations unborn.
The whole idea of this brief, rather, digression is to give a little insight into a type of politics that looks at the future by fundamentally addressing the foundations of such a future. By this bill, which criminalises all forms of sex soliciting and matters that are appurtenant to it, the youth will now be free to apply themselves for excellence in the environment where basic human character is cultivated, namely the tertiary institution.
All said, what will directly impact, in tangible terms on youth development are several EDGE (Employment and Empowerment, Development, Good Governance and Enduring Peace and Security) projects that will cover all facets of youth endeavor. In the well thought-out programme, these range from an unprecedented large-scale investment in industrial estates all over the three Senatorial Zones, in a balanced, catchment manner. This will take care of the peculiar industrial potential of each zone in the State through micro to small and medium enterprises, plus large-scale variants.
To complement these, and also standing as their own development projects, are programmes for women and youth empowerment, skills acquisition, social safety nets, pension policies, infrastructure, agriculture, strategic industrialisation, sports, entertainment and all other business ventures that are ancillary to them.
Delta youths arise. Do not go for, or remain in a government that gives you fish fingerlings to eat. Embrace a government that will not only teach you how to fish but will give you access to the ponds and the fishing tackle.
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