Western Youths Insist On Restructuring As Panacea To Country’s Challenges

Youths In the Western Region of the country, have insisted on restructuring the current warped federal arrangement that stifles the growth of the region.

The youth agreed that the golden era of the region was in the era of regional governments and should revert to a system of federalism based on regionalism.

The youths agreed on this at the 1st Western Youth Summit organised by the Government of the State of Osun in collaboration with Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN on Wednesday.

In a communique issued at the end of the two days Summit, the youths also condemned the recent clashes between farmers and herdsmen and implored the Federal Government to address the issue immediately.

Asking that the anti-open grazing law be implemented in all the states, the Western youths called for fairness, rule of law, separation of power and equity in government, adding that the “Not too young to rule law” be implemented at both states and federal levels.

“That the youth of Western Nigeria affirm their belief in one united Nigeria based on fairness, equity and strict adherence of doctrine of federalism, separation of powers and rule of law.

“Youths in the region should be encouraged to participate in political governance at both the legislative and executive levels. The NOT TO YOUNG TO RUN proposal should be properly institutionalized at both federal and state elections.

“That the ultimate goal of education should essentially be to produce the quintessential Omoluabi, both in content and character. Our Education should bring enlightenment to the human mind; prepare people for the world of work; provide the platform for leadership recruitment and provide the means for character building, especially the development of the Total Man.

“To tackle poor entrepreneurial skills and financial illiteracy, support and policies in Business Development and Entrepreneurial skill Development; and Financial Literacy Training should be deployed in states of the region.
“The creative economy and informal economy (film, music, fashion, food, photography etc) should be properly structured to stimulate creativity and economic growth.

“On Agriculture, the youths agreed that enablers should be put in place so the agriculture value chain be optimized for youth participation

“That Joint actions will be pursued and sustained on security threats to guarantee the safety of lives, property and prosperity of the people of the region.”

At the end of the summit, all participants agreed that 25-year master plan as conceived by the Governments of the Western Nigeria is a step in the right direction and commend the government and people of the State of Osun and DAWN Commission on convening the Regional Youth Summit and look forward to the next edition in Oyo state.