The rights of young people in Nigeria have eluded them. How do young people stand up for their rights and responsibilities when they don’t even know what rights they have and are not given responsibilities?

How will my friend Kunle, a 9 year-old male who lives in a remote village, get access to education when the closest school is about 2 hours’ walk away?  Kunle doesn’t even know he has a right to an education. How will Ramata, a 12 year-old female, make her parents understand that the man they want her to marry is old enough to be her father, and that she doesn’t even want marriage, she wants an education? I bet Ramata doesn’t know that her right to choose should be respected.  Tell me how Sala, my 14 year-old neighbor who got pregnant at 12, and again 3 months after her delivery, then her mum took her somewhere to flush it, will experience the joy of being a child or even a teenager?  She probably doesn’t have any idea that she has a choice in the issues affecting her life. How?  I ask again, how will these adolescents we see on our streets hawking get a proper education or even a good life?  These guys probably believe that’s the life they deserve.

It worries and baffles me to see that a lot of young folks in Nigeria are living under these conditions and even worse. Until we reach this group of people, our work isn’t complete. They say that everything rises and falls on leadership; what that tells me is that leadership is failing in carrying out its responsibilities. These guys are Nigerians and their needs are included in the national budget and policies. How come they are not being reached?

How do we go forward? These issues have been around for too long.

The way forward is that we as individuals should begin to take the responsibility for other young people. I believe that waiting for leadership to do something about the issues young people face in Nigeria will take forever. For example, take a look at all the policies our government is signatory. We have been on these for a while now. Look at the national budget for the previous years in Nigeria; nothing has changed significantly; thank God for donations from international organizations.  It isn’t as though nothing is being done, but it is not significant considering the fact that so many resources have been put in this. The truth is, we just can’t keep sitting around, waiting for those guys up there.

My point is, we all need to be passionate and committed. Yes, there is so much going on now, so much we are sacrificing to make sure other young people have a voice. But look around you; what do you see? I see opportunities, I see the need to fight harder, I see possibilities and solutions. I dare to say the future is in our hands.