WHAT YOUTH ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT REALLY MEANS?

The word Youth Economic Empowerment (YEE) has always been used by various individuals, Governments, organizations etc. But the question has always been do they really know what it means? Also, there are so many projects being implemented all around the globe with regards the economic empowerment of youth. Though this is heart-warming to know but the challenge lies in it not being appropriately implemented. In this article, I will therefore be discussing what YEE really means and the best ways to implement projects pertaining to it in the World using Nigeria as a case study. 

Nigeria is a country blessed with so many human and natural resources but yet we are still wallowing in poverty. A new report by the World poverty clock shows that Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the most extreme poor people in the World. Also according to Bloomberg, 46.5% of an estimated 195.6 million Nigerians of which more than 50% are youth are currently living on less than 1.25 dollars a day. These staggering statistics indeed portends great danger for everyone in Nigeria because the rate of crime usually increases, when there are high levels of unemployment and poverty in a country. This is because when people are unemployed and poor they usually start involving themselves in various societal vices just to make ends meet. A popular adage says “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. Currently in Nigeria, the rate of militancy, kidnappings, robbery, banditry etc has increased especially amongst youth simply because there are no jobs.

Although, there have been several programs in Nigeria initiated by the Government, Organizations, and Individuals to tackle this problem many of these programs have not yet yielded any positive change in the lives of various youth in the country. This is because of so many reasons, which include amongst others ignorance, lack of sincerity and the political will on the part of Individuals, Organizations and the Government who initiate such projects. Some of these programs include NPOWER, The Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative, Young Entrepreneurs of Nigeria and the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P) etc. While some of these foregoing programs are still ongoing, many of them have since ended due to several reasons ranging from corruption to change in Government policies and lack of continued support and funding. But the question is this? Are these programs really working? The answer to this question is simply no. This is because most of these programs, have not followed all the stages needed for a YEE program to be complete and effective.

YEE is defined as the attitudinal process through which young people gain the ability to make and implement decisions not just for themselves but for others around them. In the foregoing definition three key words are important and should be noted “Process”, “Ability” and “Decision”. Process is defined as the stage where a youth is being taken through a system of learning i.e. through an educational system or vocational training. Ability is defined as the stage where a youth is now educated or skilled in one business/trade or the other. Finally, decision is defined as the stage where a youth is said to be financially independent and can now meet not just his/her immediate needs, but that of others around him. Any YEE that does not go through these foregoing stages cannot be said to be complete and effective. The formula is simply Process + Ability=Decision.

Now, I will like to explain how the foregoing stages really work. In this regard, I will like to use tailoring as an example. Now, the first thing you should do is to map out your beneficiaries i.e. one should look out for those young people, who don’t just come from poor homes, but that are also really passionate and committed about learning how to sew. Once you get your beneficiaries, you then engage them in intensive tailoring classes which could last between 6 months to 1 year. After this is done, then the next stage is you getting spaces and tailoring equipments for them, so that they will put what they have learnt into use. Finally, you then move into the final stage, where you work to increase the business credibility, visibility and profitability. It is at this stage that you help to get the business registered, increase the business online presence, and organize trainings on business management etc. It is only when all this are done that one can boldly say that a YEE process has taken place.

Finally, I currently work with Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP) an NGO based here in Nigeria and also with CubosWorld an e-commerce platform which is committed to increasing the credibility, visibility and profitability of various small businesses here in Nigeria. As a general rule, we imbibe the foregoing illustration/model in all our YEE programs here in Nigeria and so far it has been effective.