The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, called on Nigerian youths to wake up from their slumber and take charge of their future.

AFRICMIL in collaboration with the International institute of Journalism (IIJ), made the call in Abuja, at the two day round table organised to educate youths in tertiary institutions, of their role in the governance of their country.

The event which was supported by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation featured four sessions of intense lectures with diverse sub-themes all bothering on youth activism.

The lectures were presented by Professor Emman Shehu of IIJ, Prof Peter Nwangwu, Mr Chibuike Mgbeahuruike and Ms. Anne Kpason.

It was meant to reawaken the spirit of activism and the need to demand and hold leaders accountable.

In his welcome address, Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, said “Students and youth have been the backbone of a sane society so to say, young people play very active role in the process of social transformation of this country.

“They played a vital role in the subsidy protest in the 1980s, struggle against military dictatorship and against all kinds of manipulation whether colonialism, apatheid in South Africa.”

Onumah said it was good to continue in the spirit of activism while taking into cognizance the traditions that seeks to silent young people on campuses.

He however lamented that many of the students have lost hope and are completely disinterested in the happenings around them.

Addressing Journalists, Angela Odah, Programme Manager, Rosa Luxembourg West-Africa, said youths seemed oblivious of the fact that their destinies were not to be toyed with by politicians and should therefore drive what happens in the society where they have a stake.

“We need to rise to the occasion and stop running away to other countries. There is no way we would make a headway as long as we do not get the political process correct. The youths, Nigerians have to develop the habit of ensuring that the right things are done for the betterment of all,” she said.

Emman Shehu, the Director of IIJ, said the need to rekindle the fire of political consciousness was paramount following the poor governance being provided in the country. He said the silence of youths in the face of maladministration was a clear evidence that they have lost focus of what to demand from their leaders.

“The system we have in this country presently, will eventually collapse, we can not go on this way, in a situation where a retiree does not have his pension, yet has to sustain his children who are graduates but unemployed. This is what youths should be concerned about, but they are not.”

In his paper presentation on Student Radicalism and the Nigerian Project, Chibuike Mgbeahuruike, said participating in activism as students was not a new phenomenon as that was one sure way students got things done in the past.

According to him, “Globally, students’ associations are known to be a vocal group with tendency to engage in organized protests and demonstrations when the need arises. Activities of students’ association in this regard are common across the continents of the world.

“University students, in particular, usually engage in protests and demonstrations to show their dissatisfaction over various issues,” he said.
He urged students to observe the positive side of activism and act by speaking out when necessary.

Similarly, Prof Peter Nwangwu, in his paper, said it was unfortunate that though Nigerian youths make up about 70 percent of the country’s population, they have been schemed out of decision making.

Charging the students to be proactive, he said the Nigerian youths have been made irrelevant in piloting the affairs of this country and it was high time they began correcting the errors around them.

One of the participants who is a student of the IIJ, Macdonald Koiki, said it has really been a while since many of the students went to a rally to discuss issues affecting their wellbeing. He noted that there was need for more of such thought provoking seminars to motivate the youths into acting when necessary.

Another participant, Ebere Ayoka, an ex student of Abia State University, commended the initiative but said most of the students are afraid to challenge the powers that be on campuses because of fear of reprisals.

Report by Doyin Ojosipe