By Umar Dankano Yola.
The Nigerian youths have resolved to persuade humanitarian and government actors to meaningfully involve young people in major decisions to be taken in all human endeavors due to important roles being rendered in the development of the country.
Dr.Andrew Mamedu, the country Director, ActionAid Nigeria shared the resolution at a two-day North East Youth in Crisis Conference (NYiCC)4.0 held in Yola the Adamawa state capital stressing that the importance of the young people can never be over emphasized being those to take over mantle of leadership in a near future.
Represented by David Habba, Actionaid’s Humanitarian and Relisilience programme specialist, Mamedu said that the confere nce itself was an evidence of what is possible when organisations put aside institutional boundaries and work towards a shared purpose.
Mamedu elaborated that theme for the Confab;”Beyond 2026 :Youth as partners in localizing humanitarian action and building resilience communities in Nigeria” depict the kind of comradeship that the future of humanitarian action in Nigeria will require.
Mamedu noted that No single institution, government agency, international organisation, donor, civil society organisation or youth-led movement can navigate the transition ahead alone. And that transition is already upon us.
He challenged the youth not to see the present situations as that of uncertainty rather as an opportunity to write the future and not to spectators to a future they will be expected to live with, clarifying that there is something particularly important about youth that we sometimes overlook. Unlike many other identities, youth is a transition. If you are a young person today, there will come a time when you no longer fit that definition.
“That is why prioritising youth cannot depend only on the advocacy of today’s young people. Youth inclusion must become institutionalised. It must become part of how we plan, how we finance, how we coordinate, how we assess needs, how we build leadership and how we measure accountability.
“That is how we preserve the future.That is how the investments we make today continue to yield results long after the present generation of youth has moved on.
“Our message must be clear and unequivocal: youth must be prioritised now. Not after the transition. Not after the structures have been designed. Not after decisions have been made. And certainly not when, years from now, we find ourselves organising another series of conferences and workshops to ask how we can persuade humanitarian and government actors to meaningfully involve young people.
“The time to build youth participation into the architecture is while that architecture is being built. That means young people must be part of the conversations, but participation cannot end with an invitation to a meeting.
“Young people must also influence the structures that emerge, the decisions that are taken, the resources that are allocated and the mechanisms through which institutions are held accountable.
The argument must not only be “give us space.” It must also be “we are ready to lead, ready to deliver and ready to be accountable.”Mamedu declared.
In her remarks as the special guest of honor at the Conference, Adamawa state Deputy Governor, Professor Kaletapwa George Farauta congratulated the organizers of the conference advising that the young people are shakers and movers of the future of any society and need be focus and creative for the upliftment of their communities.
Professor Farauta said that the government will always provide the enabling environment for empowerment to the youths assuring them that will make them realize their potentials and innovation for sustainable development.
“I want to challenge Nigeria youths on faithfulness in whatever we do as there is dignity in labour.We must learn to give value to labour, because most of business that have grown started as home business,” she said.
The conference which is fourth in its series was organized by the center for advocacy, transparency and accountability initiative CATAI in collaboration with Adamawa state government, Action aid and other partners.
