BARRIERS TO YOUTH PARTICIPATION / INVOLVEMENT IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

Energetic, readiness to work, seen everywhere, vibrant, future leaders etc are some of the words most commonly used to describe youths. Youths make up 65 percent of the entire population in Nigeria (please confirm this statistic before publishing). This is a critical number that should not be ignored from the formation, conception, initiation stages to the execution stage of any policy of the Nigerian state.
Youth participation in various stages of development is very important and critical in any society.
Certain factors may act as barrier to youth involvement and participation. There may be seen as follows:
Expression of interest / Desire:
Before any young person gets involved or participates in development processes, there has to be that desire, interest and passion to want to work for change. This could serve as a barrier to youth participation. Lack of interest or desire.
Lack of information:
Information gathering and acquisition is usually the first step in any issue of interest. One needs to be informed taking a decision. Information before decision makes the decision an informed decision. Lack of information can act as a barrier to youth participation. When a young person is not properly informed, it can act as a deterrent to participation at any level of development. For example, the just concluded presentation of the FISCAL YEAR 2006 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET BY HIS Excellency the President of the federal Republic of Nigeria, if a young person is not well informed on budgetary processes; s/he may not be able to be actively involved in amendment or monitoring etc.
Parental influence
This to an extent can also act as a barrier to youth participation at different levels of development. For example, if a young person whose parents have phobia for traveling maybe because of certain experience they had sometime can prevent his/her child to travel for any youth event which might be of benefit to the community at large. Also a parent who is at the hemm of affairs at a public office which is not doing well to favor the present democracy may prevent his/her child who is a democracy activist from commenting on any issues related to his/her parent kind of work.
A true example is that of a young man whose parent works with the present administration and this young man refuses to get involved in any development process with an excuse such as “my mum may not be happy if she sees my face on the media and gets to hear what I said”.
This can be a very big impediment because most people / youths may not want to hurt their parents and so will not participate or get involved.
UNDERSTANDING ISSUES
This is also very important and it is inter-linked to the second paragraph which is “lack of information?”
One must understand issues before thinking of getting involved.
A practical example – for instance if the debt cancellation that was given Nigeria. Before I get involved as an activist to either commend or critique the debt cancellation, I must understand clearly what debt is, why the cancellation , what the agreement was like and the effect of such in the Country, not just in the country but on the lay person’s lives. When these issues are well understood and clear, then one can now get involved and participate in such issues. Most times young people may feel that it is not directly related to them and as such may not want to be interested or concerned. This feeling may be true but except we as young people connect every act by the Government of the day to our present and most especially future lives, then everything will be important to us.
Also another example is the recent poverty level by one of the UN agency in Nigeria which says “a Nigerian lives on less than a dollar per day”. if this statement is not connected to us as youths, our future , it will not spur interest and as such participation.
Infact, connecting issues to day – to – day lives and the future is one of the most important issues in youth participation because if one connects issues, it’ll spur up active participation, better understanding etc.
Except a youth understand that decisions taken today can affect tomorrow , in essence “sequences taken today can be consequences tomorrow”- a slogan by a youth NGO called Young people’s Initiative(YPI).
FUNDING
This is about the very first issue that comes to the minds of every youth when it has to do with youth involvement and participation especially in issues relating to travels for youth events.
Whether it is local, national, international events, lack of funding can prevent or act as a barrier to youth participation.
Finance determines action almost at all levels. Also finance can be a barrier to a young person’s participation in a roundtable discussion that decisions regarding youth future will be taken. Most times decisions taken affects youth future either positively or negatively.
The list of the barrier to youth participation and involvement can be endless because most issues are inter-twined. Still yet, these barriers do not change the way young people are seen or perceived but can influence the way young people want to be seen.


AUTHOR
Uduak Nta .
uduaknta@yahoo.com
08034002568.
Nigeria.