Reps committee on judiciary chairman seeks review of universities curriculum

Ini Billie, Uyo

The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Mr Onofiok Luke, has asked for the review and restructuring of the Nigerian universities’ curriculum, noting that the move would ensure graduates are employable.

According to Luke, the high rate of graduate unemployment in the country may go on until the nation’s educational institutions take deliberate steps to restructure the course curriculum of the universities.

Speaking during a Youth summit organised by the Centre for Young People Development and Poverty Alleviation Initiative (YDPAN) in Uyo, on the theme: ‘Youth Development in Nigeria, Legislation and Key Issues’, the Etinan/Nsit Ubium/Nsit Ibom Federal representative lamented that educational institutions in the country were churning out a workforce that cannot interact with the current economic realities.

“Our educational institutions are churning out a workforce of persons who lack the requisite nous and practical knowledge to interact with the realities of the society towards economic productivity,” he said.

Luke added that the institution of deliberate policies for the youths would create enduring investment in their lives and called for the vigorous pursuit of the National Youth Policy of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

“Youths are potentially and actually the greatest investment for a country’s development and should be treated as a vital resource and a good measure of the extent to which our country can reproduce as well as sustain itself.

“We have had many wins as a people especially with the enactment of the Not Too Young to run Act which has addressed barriers to meaningful youth engagement in civil and political affairs and enhanced opportunities for constructive involvement and meaningful participation of all Nigerian youth in the community and social development, political processes and governance agenda at all levels, to the limit of their ability, desires and experience.

“Furthermore, the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund Bill, 2021 sponsored by my friend and brother in the green chambers, Hon. Dagogo aims to provide a vehicle for assured socio-economic security for Nigerian youths, to galvanize them to become employers of labour, self-reliance and captains of industry.

“These two legislations show that the objectives of the Centre for Young People Development and Poverty Alleviation especially as reflected in this Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit aligns with the policy drive of our legislature,” he stated.

The former Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly however lamented that, despite some commendable efforts at youth’s development, some sectors where youths are aligned by passion continue to suffer tremendous neglect, making the Nigerian youth look like the most neglected by the government.

“This neglect has created a huge gap in youth development in Nigeria as our Youthful population is still haunted by the treacherous triangle of Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment which makes them ready tools for manipulation by state and non-state actors.

“The Youths remain our valued possession and without them, there can be no future. The extent of their vitality, responsible conduct, and roles in society tomorrow is directly proportional to the investment we make in youth development today.

“Thus, it should therefore become a fundamental objective of our policy outlook, to invest our resources towards educating and equipping our young people along the lines of the skills in which their passions are naturally aligned.

“As a nation, we ought to do better and should do better, in developing a consciousness of the potentials available to us through the skills which our young people possess and becoming deliberate and intentional in maximizing this invaluable resource as we look to oust youth unemployment.

“Our policies and laws should be inspired by the need to foster and support innovation in business and not to cripple an enterprise. Nigerian startups, young founders and entrepreneurs do not have to suffer from laws like this hanging like albatrosses around their necks,” Luke explained.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Centre for Young People Development and Poverty Alleviation Initiative (CYDPAN), Mr Robert Boniface, said investing in young people education, health and employment would ensure a better prospect for their lives and for the countries’ development.

Boniface noted that the failure to do this would further entrench poverty and ignorance or generation to come.

“Yes, the challenges are many; but they are not insurmountable. Together we can overcome them if we work together and redouble our efforts to guarantee that all young people have the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to reach their fullest potentials.

“Let me say this, we will not achieve the Millennium Development Golds to end extreme poverty, to reach universal education, to improve health, to advance equality and create a sustainable planet unless we make these smart investments in youth and partner with young people,” he said.