by Adnan Mukhtar Adam TudunWada,
Dear Sir,
Let me first start by congratulating you on your victory at the march presidential election in the country and the successful inauguration of your minister’s, this is not a victory to you alone but a victory to the entire people of the country.
Your Excellency, this is the second letter I am writing to you, the first letter I wrote was on the fuel scarcity and the effort your government is making was not yielding anything positive from the hardship, I hope good measures are now taken to address that. You were lucky in choosing those that will work with you as ministers, they are people well experienced and academically sound but your cabinet is lacking the representation of the youths infact the youths are marginalized.
A lot of people especially those in the circle of youth activism are complaining about your age, anytime I remember and realised the competency that is in you, I felt hopeful and positive that a better Nigeria has come to stay, that the inclusion of youth in your government is something very possible.
During and after the APC primaries Nigerians were hopeful that you are competent, It is this competency that will help you in moving this country forward, I predicted your victory, this is because of the platform you contested under, I mean your political party in which my prediction became a reality.
Your Excellency Sir, I write this open letter to draw your attention on the marginalization of the youths in your cabinet, of all the appointments you made the youths were not represented, your Minister of Youth and sports is someone in his early 50’s talk less of other areas that we are expecting the youth there, this is indeed a marginalization of the youth and the change we are talking about should have started from this angle.
Your Excellency, on this when you are to appoint your Special Assistant on Youth and student matters or anything that is relevant to the youth or students appoint him from the youth circle, such a thing will make us to have confidence that this government is for us and the change we want and voted for is a reality.
Sir, as we approach your one year anniversary in office and many other appointments and programs are yet to take place i will consequently focus on one major phenomena which is that of the youths as a youth and student activist, I know our plights and I want you to address them for the interest and integrity of our teaming youths, The youths have played a vital role in mobilizing and organising support for their chosen platforms as well as promoting such platforms, the engagement of youths in your government will provide a better enabling environment for the youths than the previous government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
The challenge of unemployment faced by the economy, the challenge of growing poverty as well as the engagement of our youths by politicians in political thuggery for instance are blunders that fall heavily on the shoulder of the youth. That is why I am urging you Sir to put effort in the dredging of River Niger at Kwara state as that will help in giving job opportunities for our youths and the elimination of abject poverty and eradication of unemployment of our youths. More than 60% of our votes is that of the youths, their engagement in electoral process is more than your expectation, in most cases the youths help in bringing a government into power but are unfortunately neglected. As a youth and student activist I know the plights our youths and their demands and how such plights can be tackled if the demands are taken into consideration.
Your Excellency, I want you to look into the following demands of the youths, I am very much sure there will help in tackling the plights of our youths, the youths as we all know constituted more than 60% of our population, there are playing a vital role in nation building, any society that neglect its youth will not develop and have make a big mistake of doing that, the youths are the backbone of development, taking and including the youth into the affairs of government will help you to run a successful and hitch free tenure full of developmental things.
As a youth activist from Kano I demand the following for our youths;
Problem of Youth Unemployment should as a matter of urgency be addressed, this led our youths to participate in many social and immoral vices in the society.
Demand for 30% youth representation in government
A youth should be appointed to head the Ministry for Youth and sports for the welfare and social development of the youths as stated in the African Youth Charter.
Ensure that each state has a ministry for youth development and Such Ministry should be headed by a commissioner who is a youth aged 35 years and below respectively.
Education of the youths by ensuring free education scheme from primary up to university level should be given a priority, Education of the youths is one of the important element that makes a society great.
Youth Empowerment through skills acquisition programmes and distribution of capital to our youths for the purpose of running a business, this will make them to be self reliant and will lead to the development our state
Youths exploitation as labourers in different industries we have in the country should be stopped, a situation where our youths and women go to work spending more than 12 hours working without pity by their employees, at last will be paid in lower amount, such a problem must be stopped from 12 hours to 6 hours thereby making it 3 shifting with a good salary. This should affect all the industries we are having in the country.
Employment of Our Youths as casual workers in such industries that are owned by foreigners should be stopped by your government.
Sir, if this will be taken into proper consideration, I assure you more than 95% of the youths plights will be reduced and Nigeria will be great, i have confidence in you and your government, your success is always what i am praying for.
Thank You and God Bless
Your’s Sincerely,
Comrade Adnan Mukhtar Adam TudunWada
Deputy Speaker Students Representative Assembly (SRA) Northwest University, Kano.