By Nso Gabriel, Abuja Bureau, youtHouse reporters
The Hon. Speaker of Ndigbo Youth Parliament (NYP), Rt. Hon. Rikki Nwajiofor, has called on the Government to set the machineries rolling for the sensitization of Nigerian Youth, especially the Youth at the grassroots.
He said this during a live TV interaction program, tagged “The Roundtable” on Aso TV and Radio, on Tuesday. During the live TV roundtable discussion, which centered on “Promoting Trust between Government and the Youth”, Hon. Nwajiofor stated that the mistrust between the government and the Youth is majorly caused by the lack of adequate communications from the government to the Youth at the grassroot.
According to him, Government has several good policies and empowerment programs for the teeming Nigerian Youth but an average Nigerian Youth does not believe in those programs because they feel that the empowerment programs are already mapped out and reserved for the children of the wealthy and connected citizens.
Thus, to eradicate this ontological mistrust, which did not start today, there is an urgent need for orientation and re-orientation of the Youth at the grassroots. He stated that the only immediate panacea to this mistrust is constant re-orientation at the grassroots so as to disabuse the minds of an average Nigerian youth. He applauded the Minister of Youth and Sports development, Hon. Sunday Dare, and the Permanent Secretary for carrying the youths along in their various programs.
He advised that government should, through the National Orientation Agency (NOA), activate the local government desks because the local government is the closest tier of government to the common masses.
He equally urged the government to make use of the traditional rulers in disseminating information regarding various empowerment programs. According to him, the traditional rulers are the closest authorities to the citizens and can serve as the eyes of the government in various communities.
Hon. Nwajiofor also urged the government to offer political appointments to the Youth, as a solution towards eradicating the mistrust in the minds of the Youth towards the government. He suggested that the position of Minister of states, in all the ministries, should be given to the Youth.
He, the Speaker of Ndigbo Youth Parliament, concluded by urging the Youth who find themselves around the corridors of power or in political appointments, to be good ambassadors of the Youth constituency and not to misuse the opportunity in self aggrandizement and embezzlement of public funds.