ActionAid Nigeria, a Non Governmental Organization, has urged the Nasarawa State government to establish a Youth Development Commission, to drive the process of youth empowerment and address restiveness.
Mrs Ene Obi, Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, made the call on Saturday in Lafia, at a policy dialogue on youth development and validation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 on youth, peace and security for domestication in Nasarawa State.
Obi, represented by the Resilience Programme Coordinator, ActionAid Nigeria, Mr Anicetus Atakpu, said the establishment of the commission and domestication of UNSCR 2250 would give the teeming unemployed and illiterate youths in the state a boost and direction.
According to the country director, having a youth commission will go a long way in supporting the government drive the process of youth
development, through job creation and education, saying that she was optimistic the youth development bill, currently before the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, would eventually be passed.
The country director said that apart from addressing the issue of youth restiveness, the commission, when established, would greatly impact on the lives of the over 39 per cent unemployed youth in the state.
“One of the things that the Youth Development Commission bill seeks to do is the opening up of the educational space by strengthening and establishing technical colleges across all the senatorial zones in the state,” she said, adding that the commission would also would open more avenues to mobilise resources for the
implementation of youth development initiatives, thereby lessening the burden on governnent.
Obi said her organisation supported the Youth Commission bill so as to sustain the gains it recorded from the implementation of its Systems and Structures Strengthening Approach Against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) project in the state.
Also speaking, Mr Emmanuel Etim, Lead Consultant, ActionAid Nigeria, said the policy dialogue on the validation of the UNSCR 2250 for domestication in Nasarawa State was aimed at collating input from stakeholders to facilitate the effective implementation of the resolution.
“The idea of this document is to create a platform where the role of young people to actualize peace and security is recognized and institutionalized.
“Not just that, but also that investments required for young people to play more active roles in peace-building and the variables that would make for sustainable peace are understood, estimated and the road map clear on milestones required, if implemented holistically.” Etim said.
He said that the document would later be fine-tuned and presented to the state governor for endorsement, public launch and implementation. (NAN)
