The recent 164 automatic federal government employments to National Youth Service Corps members of 2012, 2013 and 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan served as a way to encourage youth creativity in Nigeria. Even as opposition leaders continue to criticise this present government as a failure, we must realized that President Goodluck Jonathan met well for Nigerians in all ramifications. For federal government to recognise some able and disable young men and women that served their mandatory youth service indicated that there are better plans ahead for the Nigerian youth.
It is sad that most Nigerian politicians are interested in political calumnies than issues-based campaign. The youth constitute the 60 percent votes cast in any given elections in Nigeria and always serve as the INEC Adoc-staff. The problem with our nation’s universities, even as Covenant University owned by Bishop David Oyedepo as being rated as the number one best university in Nigeria, youth employment is yet to be guaranteed in our labour market. Some of the private-owned universities are now introducing creative courses in their departments to make graduates employable in the market. President Goodluck Jonathan must be commended for focusing on education which he stated at the youth forum that all youths should take their education serious in life.
Nigeria is gradually graduating from certificate qualification to creative qualification where anybody without creativity cannot secure employment in both formal and informal sectors of the economy. Today, creativity has played a major role in our economy where somebody that studies engineer can work effectively in the financial institutions without hesitation. The fact remains that attention has been withdrawn from our public universities where private universities are the bedrock of the government.
One problem is that youth creativity is yet to be encouraged while certificate is the basic tool for qualification for any political office in Nigeria. If anything to go by, the issue of Certificate forgery of Buhari would not have come into public domain in the country. The like of Lionel Messi, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin JJ Okocha, Daddy Showkey and others could become successful in their professions when they discovered their passions added with creativity. A country without youth creativity will continue depend on foreign made goods which ought to be created by our youths here if platforms are given. According to one of the renowned educational organisations in Nigeria said the Nigeria’s education has grown from paper to skill, degree to pedigree ,theory to practical, credential to potential, grade points(GP) to great product, scholarship to mentorship, white collar job to blue collar job and to certificate to sabificate. President Goodluck Jonathan also
stated in that youth forum organised in Lagos that it was education that gave him ladder to success that made him to approve more public and private universities in Nigeria.
The second problem being faced among the Nigerian youth is assumable platform to excel in their various callings in life. If our so-called leaders could allow young minds to add value to the leadership of the country. Most youths that started with creativity only ended in fiasco because nobody ever stood for them. In our various political platforms in Nigeria, youths are not recognised than making them as thugs and nothing else. Youth creativity has been thrown into the waste can due to self-centred leaders in Nigeria
The third problem of youth creativity and employment is that our renowned entrepreneurs are not interested to invest on young minds than spending money on politicians selfishly for their egoistical mission. We are yet to get it right in the sense that we emphasis on paper qualification that is why we are kept behind in economical development in the world. Most expatriates coming into Nigeria for one creative employment or the other are not as educated as Nigerians but we abysmally failed to discover brains for progressive economy.
Again, the opposition leaders have criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for given automatic employment to lost immigration applicants and their parents, the problem is that the President has demonstrated full leadership skill that people lives are secured no matter the situation of the country at present. Our religious organisations are not helping matters in the sense that some have failed to encourage young minds for organising seminars with responsibility to excel in their various professions in life. Political campaigners have not taken youth creativity seriously in their manifestoes than throwing expletive words on their opponents.
Finally, for any developing country to be equating with the developed countries, it needs youth creativity to achieve its set goals. Any country that disregards youth creativity cannot grow its economy well. If High Chief Michael Ubogu, the Managing Director of Micura Services Limited could create over 4000 jobs, that shows some faithful Nigerians are still interested on youth creativity and employment which kudos must be given to this Isoko-born entrepreneur with passion. It is time for Nigerian entrepreneurs to discover youth creativity not certificate if they want their companies to grow astronomically in all levels.
