Okolobi!

My attention has been brought to a publication in the Nigeria Compass newpaper, which quotes me as saying "the minister has succeeded in introducing a new youth policy that comprehensively address the needs of Nigerian youth.... the policy covers youth in education, health, employment, science, sports communication and others. It provides for youth in drugs, youth in prostitution, youth on the streets and others. Within the AU, the Nigerian youth policy adopted in 2009 is considered a good model for other African nations."

For the records, I did not grant an interview to anyone, neither have I been asked on my opinion regarding the development or implementation of the youth policy in 2009. Thus, I do not know from whom or where the said quote has been derived.  I have been away from Nigeria for nearly two years and was only in Nigeria in August 2009 at an ECOWAS/UNESCO Conference where I spoke on the developments in the TVET sector in Nigeria at a press conference. At this press conference which was also addressed by the UNESCO BREDA-Senegal Director, the DG of the NBTE and the ECOWAS Secretariat, I made no mention of the work of the Ministry of Youth and did not speak individually to any journalist. My last published interview regarding the National Youth Policy was published by the YouthWatch Magazine, which I have reproduced below.

Having worked with the Ministry of Youth and actively taken part in its different initiatives, I am happy to give my honest opinion on the work of the Ministry. However, the said quote did not come from me. 

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1.              How would you rate youth participation in the review of the National Youth Policy?

Speaking generally, I would say that young people have become more visible in policy making spaces. Youth are involved in various process and are sometimes included in high-level decision-making processes like the vision 2020:20 steering committee. However, what remains to be ascertained is whether the issues they bring to the table are actually taken into consideration. There is a general belief system that the adults know better what the youth need. If you put this in perspective, youth may actually not be enjoying the space as equal partners. It is my take the despite the high presence of youth in the policy-making space, their involvement is still largely tokenistic and often they have been the ones who take initiative to get involved. A clear example is the example you have raised, the review of the National Youth Policy. The youth have taken initiative to organise an online consultation to discuss the issues and bring to the fore what they feel are their biggest priorities. One contentious issue is age: how does the policy define who is a youth in the Nigerian context. While the youth who participated in the online consultation are saying 15/18-30 years is sufficient, some people, particularly those above the age bar, are arguing that we should raise the bar up to 40. So you will agree with me that we need to do a lot more to broaden the space for youth participation, not just in the review of the National Youth Policy, but in the development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and needed scaling-up of development policies.

2.              Is the procedure adopted in the review process inline with international best practices?

A best practice or what some organisations call good practice is innovation that can be replicated in other settings with similar or different circumstances. UNFPA and the African Union in 2006 put together a document which provides benchmarks to measure youth related best practices. These include: youth participation, innovation, capacity enhancement, knowledge and rights based approaches, community engagement and commitment, strategic partnerships, the potential for scaling up, monitoring and evaluation component, relevance of national youth development policies, linkage to local governance agencies and entities, and responsiveness to gender equality issues. I would say that in light of what these benchmarks, the youth policy review process has so far aligned with practices in other countries, and with set criteria. A policy review process should involve: needs analysis to ascertain the status of the youth, consultation with the youth and other stakeholders, a desk review, and accompanied by an implementation plan. The review process has taken most of these into consideration and thus can in itself be called a good practice. However, it is important to ensure that what the youth themselves want are clearly reflected in the revised policy. The policy should also align with international youth development frameworks to which Nigeria is a signatory, particularly the African Youth Charter. As you know, the charter is a framework for youth development in Africa, and when ratified will give provide a legal basis for youth development programming in the continent. It is the quickest way to advance the status of youth in Nigeria and to guarantee the implementation of the National Youth Policy itself.

3.              How relevant is the draft document to the present needs of our youth?

The youth have many different needs, and you will agree with me that youth is not a homogenous group; the youth are as diverse as society itself. Thus, the issue of whether the present version of the youth policy effectively meets the needs of the youth cannot be fully answered. I can say however, that the present draft meets a number of expectations, and hopefully the final version will take into consideration some of the biggest issues raised through the youth online consultations, I believe the final report has been submitted to the Ministry. The implementation plan needs to align with international development processes like the MDGs and World Programme of Action to the year 2000 and beyond, as well as the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE), which was initially developed in 2000 as a framework for youth development up to the year 2015 and was recently reviewed to align with the MDGs. We can do same with our National Youth Policy, extend its implementation until 2015 and have a mid-term review in 2011. I think it will be cost effective that way, rather than do a full review in 2011. Also it will be easy that way to derive youth related indicators for the MDGs review by 2015, which will further strengthen youth development programming. I am concerned though on whether we need to outline separate rights for the youth other than those already guaranteed by the federal constitution. In my layman’s opinion, the issue of rights and obligations to state is effectively covered in the constitution, and given that the policy is only a guiding framework, we don’t need it in the youth policy. We can however advance the rights of the youth through the ratification and domestication of the African Youth Charter. Rights and obligations can be included in regional and continental charters and frameworks, but I doubt if its really needed in a National Youth Policy. I also think that a number of the priority areas can be merged: Youth and HIV/drug abuse and health, youth ICT and science and technology can be merged. Also, I think youth and poverty is an over-aching theme and has been addressed under a number of the other priorities, thus it should not be a separate theme. The most controversial issue has been the issue of age. We need to evolve a definition that allows our youth to effectively participate in development and represent the country internationally. Age 18 to 30 will be most realistic given the legal concerns for the younger age groups. This has been the most engaging youth policy review process in Nigeria’s history and I really hope that the end results will be beneficial to all concerned, particularly the youth of this country.