National Youth Conference Set to Chart New Course for Nigeria – Organisers

September 30, 2021

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The national youth conference to be organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is described as the replica of the National Conference organized in 2014 to chart a path for national cohesion and development.

The Conference Coordinator, Ms. Nkechi Obi and the media coordinator, Gbenga Olorunpomi, who addressed a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday disclosed that 370 youth delegates would attend physically in Abuja while others would participate virtually.

With the theme, “Energizing the Youth for Development: Inclusiveness, Governance, Security and Employment”, the conference also has five thematic areas of politics and nation building, education and youth development, peace unity and security, innovation and technology, among others.

Addressing newsmen on the conference slated for October 12-15, Ms. Obi said, “There is a genuine eagerness by the youth to have a front row seat at the table and that is what this conference offers. It is clear from the data we are seeing on the website that more female online users need to register.

“We were particularly surprised that youth participation in politics is generating more interest than sports and entertainment. We are doing our best to ensure that we get the best resource persons to handle each of these critical topics.”

She explained that the conference was aimed at triggering a policy direction that the youth would want the government to implement.

“The adults have done their own conference. We are now doing our own as youths and we will leverage on technology, our collective power to make our voice heard and champion the course of youth inclusiveness,” Ms. Obi added.

On the selection process, she said the state governors were asked to nominate 10 youths from their respective states cutting across all social strata while others come from youth groups as well as 100 corps members to be sent by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

“So far we are getting support from many local corporations and international agencies. They all say this conference is timely and critical,” she added.

On his part, Olorunpomi said the President who would declare the conference open has promised to implement the outcome of the confab, adding that the conference was in realization of the fact that youths are now the engine, the new oil and the biggest resource in the country.

“There is nothing we demand that we will not get if we are united,” he said.

With about two weeks until the start of the conference, the young Nigerians have been registering online through the conference website, www.nationalyouthconference.ng, to participate in the event.

This was revealed jointly by the Conference Coordinator, Miss Nkechi Obi and, Media Lead, Gbenga Olorunpomi in a press release statement on Monday. The statement also said that the conference, which is set to kick-off on the 12th of October, has been generating much interest by the private sector and development agencies.

According to her, the registration data reveals interesting details on gender and topic preferences. 83.2 percent of those that have registered are male while only 16.8 percent are female. 62.3 percent of the respondents are between the ages of 18 and 30, while 36.2 percent are between 31 years and 40 years old.

Of the five topics to be discussed, 41 percent of the Youth showed interest in the issue of Education and Youth Development. Another 40 percent said their main interest is Politics and Nation Building while 36.7 percent picked Youth in Peace and Security as their preference. Technology and Innovation was picked by 34.6 percent of the respondents and 23.6 percent said they want to join the conversations around Sports, Entertainment and Creative Industries.

The data was surprising to the team and the information gathered would dictate the tempo and depth of the conversations at the conference.

“The enthusiasm with which young Nigerians are registering for the National Youth Conference is encouraging,” the statement reads. “There is genuine eagerness by the Youth to have a front row seat at the table and that is what this conference offers. It is clear from the data we are seeing on the website that more female online users need to register. We were particularly surprised that Youth participation in politics is generating more interest than sports and entertainment. We are doing our best to ensure that we get the best resource persons to handle each of these critical topics.”

The event, which will be declared open by President Muhammdu Buhari, will be hosted by the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare. Governors, Ministers are expected to participate in some of the sessions. The conference is also being supported by private companies and development agencies.

“So far, we are getting support from many local corporations and international agencies. They all say this conference is timely and critical. The Minister of Youth and Sports Development is grateful for their support and looks forward to having everyone at the conference,” Miss Nkechi added.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will be sending about 100 Corps members to the conference. Ten delegates will be picked from each state of the Federation including the FCT. The event will be held at The Velodrome, Abuja, and will last three days.