Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has highlighted the transformative potential of empowering young people through targeted government policies and programs.
The Minister gave the insight in a recent address to participants of Executive Course 46 at Nigeria’s National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State.
Badaru emphasised that Nigerian youths are poised to be pivotal agents of positive change crucial to advancing national defence, security, and overall development.
His lecture, titled: “Leveraging Nigeria’s Digital Economy to Enhance National Security: Youth Empowerment and Job Creation,” underscored the interconnectedness of youth empowerment, national security, and the developing digital economy.
In a statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike, the minister stated that some of the empowerment programmes like Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), the Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture in Nigeria (YISA), the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWIN), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) scheme and N-power can effectively turn the Nigerian Youths to agents national Development if they are well implemented.
According to him, over 60% of Nigeria’s population is under 25 and there is a need to harness this demographic dividend. He cited examples of digital mobilization’s impact, including the Arab Spring and Nigeria’s #ENDSARS protests, and pointed out the importance of engaging youths constructively.
The Minister who was represented at the lecture by the Special Adviser (Technical) Major General A.T. Jibrin (Rtd) acknowledged past empowerment programs but noted their limitations. He called for strategists to ensure faithful implementation of government policies, emphasizing genuine youth empowerment as crucial for national defence and security.
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He highlighted the vast opportunities for youth empowerment and job creation in Nigeria’s digital economy, emphasizing the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration, targeted interventions, and supportive policies to address issues like the digital divide, skills gap, and unemployment.
“By investing in digital infrastructure, innovation, skill development, and entrepreneurship, Nigeria can unlock the transformative power of its youth demographic dividend and drive sustainable economic growth, ensuring a safer and more secure future for its citizens,” he said.
