The international youth day has always created opportunities to dialogue on the issues that affect the youths. However, how best has the outcome from these dialogues affected the youths is something that needs to be critically analyzed.
The youths of yesterday are eventually the leaders of today while the youths of today would lead tomorrow. The actions of the leaders of today are pure reflection of the level of development they were able to get during their youths. Those who act well are a reflection of the skills they were able to develop or acquire as youths, this substantiates the fact you can only give what you have and not the other way around.
Over the years, the youths have always looked up to the leaders to make things better for them and as they were waiting, they found themselves in the position of leadership without getting that which they were waiting to get from the leaders. There are youths also waiting for leaders who had once waited in vain as youths and this would make the cycle of creating empty leaders to continue. This cycle needs to be broken.
This year’s theme “from clicks to progress” is tasking the youths of today to break from the cycle of looking up to leaders who have nothing to offer them; this is stimulating the youth to break from the traditional cycle of stereotypes; it is asking the youths to think outside the box and make use of the prevailing reality to improve themselves. No doubt that over the years, there has been technological advancement in nearly all spheres of life and the question is how have the youths used this to improve themselves as well as their livelihood and positively improve the community they live in.
This digital era where the youths are supposed to explore digital pathways for sustainable development is not the time to wait for an analogue command system. In this digital era, knowledge and skills are more available as well as easily accessed compared to decades ago.
Despite technological advancement, the Nigeria system is still highly affected negatively by analogue style of doing things. Looking at various sectors of the country, while digital is allowed in some levels, the most important areas that would speed up things are still handled manually. Take for instance, our electoral system, after a beautiful accreditation and voting (even though we have not gone fully digital), the whole process is complicated and marred with irregularities through the manual process of collating results. This results in waste of time, human and material resources as well as potential red flags for crises. The Electoral Act can be amended to give the complete option of a digital process. It is not good enough to allow digital innovations in campaigns, training and voters education and still leave the collation of results to be analogue; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can use the forthcoming Edo and Ondo States Governorship election to demonstrate to Nigerians the beauty and benefits of electronic (digital) collation of results.
The youths were pushed to the street some days ago to protest against hunger due to the rising cost of food in a country where there are arable lands and a wide range of opportunities to use technology to improve food production.
Every sector can be improved effectively if technologies are explored and utilized. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been greatly improved upon and has given the youths opportunities to explore innovative ideas to better the future if adequately explored. The use of digital technology would reduce the pressure of humans on many of the analogue things we rely on while the huge resources in those areas can be invested in other areas for development. It would also go a long way to remove the elements that fuel corrupt practices in our system.
Some decades ago, high reliance and utilization on the post office for letters (and other postal services) has dropped to almost zero with the advent of technological advancement hence the huge fund invested in structures to transport and store items can be channeled to other areas. The mobile phone device and the applications they carry are innovative ideas of youths that are fetching income to those who innovated them.
The youths of today would definitely become an adult tomorrow, the question is what would they be taking there? This is the time to move from clicks to progress, break away from the traditional style of relying on analogue style; go out of the regimented zone of stereotypes to explore digital knowledge for better development. This is a call on the youths to explore digital options, think outside the box, leave that fixed monotonous way of doing things. Review the principles and bring in digital innovation.
If there is anything that the youths of today should resist is analogue style of doing things and this must commence from our training institutions. Training youths with a complete analogue style to face a digital world can be said to be a waste of time and resources. This is the time to think outside and act innovatively to bring about sustainable development that would speak to the now and the future.
Bright ONIOVOKUKOR
Indomiatble Youths Organization (IYO)
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Email: sirniovo@gmail.com
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