Hope For Nigeria - Harnessing the Potential of the Nigerian Youth for National Development

Hopefully this gets into the right hands....

The walls of the Nigerian Agricultural sector are broken down, we discover that lesser number of Nigerians want to get involved in Agricultural activities, the cost of food is on the rise, Nigeria has become more of a consumer nation than a producer nation, our import index far outweighs our export index, solemn services are now been observed for Nigerian students who gain admission into higher institutions to study Agric related courses.

This current trend however makes it almost impossible to believe that at one point in time in the history of Nigeria long before the discovery of crude oil, farming was a high calling. The nobility and respect attached to professions such as that of the lawyer, doctor and engineer today, was also been attributed to the farmer in the past.

What happened to the famous groundnut pyramids of Kano, or to the yam pyramids of Benue, or to the cocoa plantation of the western Nigeria and so on. As a result of the neglect of agricultural practice, one is tempted to think that Nigeria’s possession and exploitation of crude oil is doing more evil than good since we have become over dependent on a resource that has an exhaustible source.

Crude oil is Nigeria’s ultimate source of revenue and it accounts for about $52 billion of her yearly revenue.

Agriculture, which has proven to be a God given source of inexhaustible resources, has been neglected. Nigeria has potential to get as much revenue from agric as it's gotten from crude oil. It is estimated that by 2051 Nigeria’s petroleum resource reserve will run dry (23rd April, 2012 edition, The Punch Newspaper). The bugging question now is; what would happen to Nigeria since we have neglected alternative sources of revenue and have become over dependent on petroleum resources; or the jobs that crude oil exploration and exploitation has provided in this country?

The answer to this question among others, is to re-embrace agriculture and exploit its rich and inexhaustible potentials. In my own opinion, NYSC is the most potent platform upon which a common ground for agricultural involvement can be given to Nigerian youths since it attempts to unite Nigerian graduates towards sustainable National development.

It is on this note that we hereby propose an integration of an agricultural scheme into the three weeks NYSC orientation programme as this would further propel the mission of NYSC which is;

“To mobilize and groom graduates for the promotion of national unity, sustainable development, self reliance and prepare them for the challenges of leadership”.

And the vision of NYSC which is;

“To develop a scheme that is dynamic enough to meet new challenges and become the leading light of youth’ organizations in Africa”.

Having gone through the four walls of the orientation camp and experienced what it has to offer, we want to commend the federal government for its success in realizing the NYSC vision thus far and we also believe that more can be done that would inculcate discipline, learning, character and leadership effectiveness amongst Nigerian youths.

It is popularly said that the peak of a man is in his youth. At this stage, lots of strength abide in the bosom of the youth and if not properly harnessed, can cause youth restiveness.

So many countries have an understanding of this and have harnessed youthful strength to provoke sustainable national development. For instance, in some countries, laws have been promulgated to ensure that youths within a particular age bracket be involved in national civil defense. Some ensure that these youths serve in the police force of the nation.

It is therefore in my own recommendation that subjecting Nigerian graduates to three weeks of mere paramilitary and man-o-war drills is not a totally productive way of maximizing youth strength. I believe their strength can be harnessed and also used to propel progress in the agricultural sector since it requires urgent attention.

WAY FORWARD/ RECOMMENDATION

•           Every NYSC orientation camp should have an adjoining farm settlement attached to it and the farm settlement should shoulder the food needs of that camp and the state at large. This practice is called the integrated approach to farming.

•           NYSC operates a system whereby corps members are divided into ten platoons. The adjoining farm settlement in view should be shared amongst platoons and each platoon held responsible for the cultivation and management of each portion of the settlement.

•           Mechanized farming should be introduced to corps members in practical terms.

•         Animal husbandry (fishery, poultry etc) should also be introduced to corps members in practical terms.

•           Food processing, preservation and packaging techniques should also be introduced to corps members.

•           After the three weeks orientation exercise, some corps members can be retained to ensure continuity on the farm.

•           The help of professional agricultural supervisory bodies can also be employed to ensure proper monitoring.

•           After the service year, corps members should be aided financially to enable those who want to continue in the agricultural trend. Faithfulness of corps members in managing the first grant within the space of one year would entitle them to subsequent grants and assistance from the federal government or supportive organisations.

BENEFITS OF THIS PROGRAMME

1. More efficient and profitable use of corps members as they are good source of agricultural man power.
2. Eradication of youth restiveness
3. Every state would become agriculturally responsible and productive since every state has   its   own farm extension attached to its orientation camp.
4. Nigeria’s import index would drop, while her export index would rise drastically
5. It is a bold step towards the rebuilding the broken down walls of the Nations agricultural sector
6. It creates a levelled platform for youths’ agricultural awareness, sensitization and involvement. 
7. It imparts skill, knowledge and confidence that would in turn provoke youths into agricultural exploits
8. Nigerians would become a lot more patriotic of our products, especially if well processed, preserved and packaged.
9. It will eradicate unemployment and reduce the over dependence of youths on government for jobs after NYSC since many of the youths would see opportunities in agriculture and continue such practice in the future.
10. It will expose youths to the potentials that lie fallow in the agric sector.

CONCLUSION

This measure among several others I believe would be instrumental in utilizing youth corps members and effectively rebuilding the Nations broken down agricultural walls. Nevertheless, I believe that this platform would be the most potent ground for the exhibition and realization of this vision.