Re: President Buhari’s N5,000 Social Welfare promise

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

Dr. Ahmed Adamu

During the 2015 elections campaign, President Buhari and his party APC clearly promised to pay N5,000 stipend to 25 million unemployed and vulnerable citizens monthly, and this was highlighted during the last Presidential media chat. Considering the enormity of this undertaking, in November 2015, the wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari appealed to her husband to keep to this promise in her response to the prompt withdrawal of a startling motion proposing the payment of monthly N5000 to unemployed youth by the opposition party in the National Assembly, who have no obligation to such responsibility. Surprisingly, the APC Senators, whose party made the pledge rejected the proposal. Recently, while in Saudi Arabia, President Buhari himself declared his resolve to not implement this campaign promise.  No doubt, many young people were tempted by the N5,000 promise and will definitely be disappointed by Mr President’s recent proclamation. As such I decided to write this little piece to convince the disappointed young people on why Mr President is right on his position.

First, I would like to remind us that we are only human, and we can never be perfect. There is difference between expectation and reality, and experience make one adjust and do things better.  There is a popular saying that, it is better to teach people how to catch fish than to give them fish. Similarly, Sociologists argued that welfare programmes are responsible for encouraging and supporting claimants into welfare dependency, and I believe that systems that disburse money in ways that are not compatible with producing social utility can create pathological cultures of dependency. Welfare programmes lead to negative incentive to not work and thus sustains poverty.

All welfare programmes are meant to address poverty, but the question is how many people will really get out poverty by receiving N5,000 a month? Relying on the N5,000 a month will mean N166 expenditure a day, which still won’t take the beneficiary out of poverty, and the cost on the government will still be huge. And if 25 million beneficiaries are to be selected, the government will be spending N125 Billion every single month trying to fight poverty, but instead, it will be encouraging or sustaining the poverty.  In addition, how many months would a person needs to benefit from this package to get out of poverty? It is not likely for any individual to get out of poverty by collecting N5,000 a month in the wake of 8% inflation rate. Even government workers that receive N45, 000 remain poor. Without access to free or affordable housing scheme, and without access to education, healthcare, energy, transport systems, one has to provide for himself all these and yet feed himself and his family. Then, how will N5,000 make a difference?

If at all social welfare system is to be considered in this country (sooner or later), I will recommend to go for quality not quantity, instead of investing the N125 billion a month on 25 million people, it is better to spend the money on only 12,500 people, so that each individual will receive N10 million once and for all, and in one year, you will have around 150,000 people receiving N10 million each. This is the sure way of getting people out of poverty if at all social welfare programme is to be implemented in the country.

So, it is clear that N5,000 cannot improve the standard of living of the poor, and if the beneficiary will risk migrating artificially to a higher social class for collecting this package, then he/she risks poverty traps. It was observed that, especially young people engage in extra spending upon receipt of social welfare or poverty interventions funds, and thereby making them enlarge their expenditure basket, and once they stop receiving such intervention, they will go back to being poor. They can even engage in crime to enable them get the free money that they have been used to, in order to sustain their upgraded social classes. Another inadequacy of the social welfare is that many people who may not necessarily need it, will pretend to be poor so as to benefit from the programme and thereby denying others a chance.

Therefore, it is not about giving the money, but how do they use the money. Some scholars believe that, some poor people are poor in managing resources, and if you give them money they will mismanage it. So, investment shall be channeled toward educating people to be good managers of resources so that with little resources they can access, they can make it count. Giving out money without corresponding economic value or output is an economic leakage. Even though, it might trigger expenditure, but that is not the optimal option, as the value addition is lost.

Many people would have been rich if basic infrastructures and provisions are provided, but now they are poor, because large proportion of their income is spent on providing such basic requirements, and yet not sufficient. So, it is a clever move to channel resources toward improving infrastructures and provisions in the real sectors of the economy, so that with little earnings, people can attain the required standard of living. This will also facilitate other economic activity, and any serious individual will take the advantage of this and become productive. If any money is intended to be spent for this purpose, it should then be channeled toward subsidizing education and health, being the basic requirements to prepare the labour force of the country. Therefore, Mr President is right to redirect resources toward providing an enabling environment and provisions for the productive sectors, so that people can catch their own fish.

Ahmed Adamu, PhD, is a Petroleum Economist, Development Expert and Pioneer Global Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council. He is a lecturer with Department of Economics, Umaru Musa Yar'adua University. 

Why Poverty traps in Nigeria?

Dr. Ahmed Adamu during the paper presentation on poverty
traps in Nigeria, University of Abuja. More photos below.

Today(26/2/2016), I presented a paper on why poverty traps in Nigeria at a research conference organised by International institute for Policy Review and Development Strategy, which took place in University of  Abuja, Gwagwalada, Nigeria. This is one of many other papers we compiled with my co-authors. I am inspired by this paper to write the following piece. 

There were many poverty alleviation programmes initiated in Nigeria since 1960, and as a result, trillions of Naira were spent, yet close to 80% of Nigerians live below $1.90 a day without adequate access to other basic infrastructures and amenities required for a standard of living, making many trapped in poverty. The world have been pretending to fight poverty, yet 50% of the world wealth is possessed by only 1% of the world population. The rich class has wealth growth rate higher than the middle class by 10 or more times. In four years, there were $600 billion increase of wealth for the wealthiest (Oxfam 2015).

In Nigeria, the story is not different, and you could even have more share of the wealth possessed by the 1%. If you are to share the combined wealth of all the people in Nigeria among the country's population, every Nigerian is likely to get N7 million. This figure include children and old people, and if you are to share it among only the working adult population, you will have not less than N13 million per head, and if this happens, many will not be poor, may be never again. So, some sociologist hold that greediness of the wealthiest caused poverty, but the question you ask is how do the rich become rich? why were they not prevented by the then wealthiest?.

Some also believe that income is the only indicator to poverty, but it is not, other factors are in play. Some think that poverty propensity is more attached to certain tribes or cultures, which is not, as no civilization started rich, they all started poor. There are also people who are hardworking, energetic, skillful and educated, but yet poor. It is necessary to first comprehend what causes poverty and what does not causes poverty, and how these factors correlates. This is the first prerequisite for any effective poverty alleviation programme, which many of the poverty alleviation programmes failed to identify.

Many literature and indices have proved the ineffectiveness of the poverty alleviation programmes in the country. From our experiences, we identified that many young people that benefited from the poverty programmes eventually returns to poverty, and we are keen to develop new theory that explains what have been missing in the fight against poverty and how it can be effective.

Our experiences have shown that psychology, perception and action of the beneficiaries in response to any intervention against poverty play significant role in determining the success of the poverty programmes. Some of the poverty programmes capitalized on provision of only money. For example, YouWin programme, even though proposals were requested but, young people were motivated to get the money and they can temporary develop business idea and get a proposal and pass the exams, but they might lack the interest in the business (may be the business of their interest cannot be eligible for the programme), so the aim was to acquire the money by enduring the enforced business type criteria. After acquiring the money, many of the beneficiaries of these prorgammes might want to immediately upgrade their standard of living and engage in extra spending that were not possible before, and sometimes engage in liability expenditure to maintain the new social class they claimed for themselves. All these couple with inadequate access to facilities and infrastructures, will make the agent stretch his savings to maintain social status, and eventually return to poverty, and making him poverty trapped. This could be repeated in the same pattern over time.

There are external and internal factors responsible for poverty traps: the societal unnecessary celebration and recognition of wealth motivate ostentation to acquire social recognition. Inadequate access to basic infrastructures and provisions make individuals to spend higher to sustain a higher social class, making it easy to exhaust one's additional income. Wealth and status competition in society propel unnecessary extra and unproductive expenditures. The internal factors include the tendency of one thinking and believing he is poor and he can never be rich, and this is possible by believing in some of he mentioned myth about poverty. The dependency culture is common among young people, that is why we believe continuous social welfare might make some lazy. The quest for getting rich quick and thinking of only now are also responsible for poverty traps. Blaming government for poverty will always make one wait for the government to make it up for them, and not willing to act by themselves.  Therefore, training and knowledge development programmes should be designed to address some of the external and largely internal mechanisms that  trapped people in poverty.

Another recommendation is to avoid enforcing the choice of areas of productivity or investment for the beneficiaries, first, all poverty programmes should be able to identify individuals personal interest, and then develop such interest productively to provide economic benefit and then link the benefits to the immediate society and beyond. There are also choice and leverage points, where people trapped in poverty can be made to separate between the external factors and internal factors, and then strategic training and guidance provided to them to surmount the internal factors. People trapped in poverty might have idols whom they listen and respect highly either politically, socially or economically, and such goodwill shall be leveraged in promoting positive perception and attitudes toward exiting poverty traps. This will not require direct monetary involvement, but will help fight at least the internal factors. For example, President Buhari, can use his popularity and command of followerships to engage in repeated advocacy for self determinations and best practices toward exiting poverty traps. This will help reform individual psychology and perceptions, and enhance their productivity more than what the proposed N5000 social welfare package could produce.

This could be through repeated advocacy to suppress unnecessary quest for social class and importance, and promotion of productive investment rather than immediate asset possessions. People can only get out of poverty alone only if they think they can. Many individuals became rich without participating in poverty programmes, yet many remain poor after benefiting from these programmes. It is also recommended that, the targets of these prorgammes should not be the number of beneficiaries, but the number of people that the programme can actually take out of poverty traps forever. And this has to be inclusive and responsive to the beneficiaries' already developed interest. Poverty prorgammes should not be decentralized,  it should be local, it will then be easier to track and more accessible. People trapped in poverty are encouraged to reinvest every extra income in productive venture, and do not artificially migrate to a higher social status.

This is an ongoing research and the contributions from the participants at the conference were highly appreciated.

Dr. Ahmed Adamu

More Photos from the event

Should Northern Nigeria Explore Oil and Gas?

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

Dr. Ahmed Adamu

The Nigerian government plans to spend N39.4 Billion to undertake geological and geophysical surveys in an effort to explore the prospect of oil and gas deposits in the Inland-Basin of Lake Chad and upper Benue Trough. This is provided in the proposed 2016 budget, presently awaiting National Assembly’s approval, and have so far provoked political reactions from some politicians. However, none have professionally react to it.

This is a ticklish issue as it involves investing huge amount of scarce resource on uncertain venture, and at a time when the oil and gas prices are below economic benchmarks. It will cost up to $15 million to drill a single exploration well, and you will need a number of them depending on the reserve spread. This investment will have to be recouped after development and production. What determines when to explore and recovery of investment cost is largely the oil price. Recently, Genel Energy PLC requested for extension of its exploration licence in Ethiopia, so as to put off the exploration drilling and save some cash due to the dwindling oil and gas prices, which makes the exploration unviable at the prevailing oil price.

This tells us that, it is not the right time to start new exploration, and Nigeria being heavily reliant on oil revenue would of course want to reduce the supply to help push the oil price up. Similarly, with the growing poverty and scarcity within the economy, the Nigerian government does not need to spend a single dollar to explore new reserves. The oil companies shall be able to cover the prospect risk and pay for the exploration costs. This is practiced in many countries, where oil companies fund the exploration cost as part of the joint venture agreement. So, in the joint venture or service agreements, if no commercial oil is found, the loss falls entirely on the oil company, and the government does not lose anything.

 Similarly, the global energy investments are projected and recommended to be channelled toward efficient energy resources to achieve the ambitious goal of keeping global warming below 2 degree Celsius and zero anthropogenic green gas emissions. This will mean that Nigeria will have to diversify energy investment toward renewable energies. With abundance of solar and wind energy, Nigeria would have radically invest and subsidise the use of these renewable energies especially in residential, transport and commercial sectors of the economy. It will help create jobs and reduce cost of production in the real sector of the economy. So the opportunity cost is the 156 MW capacity wind farm that can be installed using the same amount.

 Even though, there is still a promising future for the fossil fuels across the world, and in countries like Nigeria, it will continue to dominate the energy mix up to 50 years to come. Therefore, careful decision has to be made on what, where, how and for whom to produce the oil and gas resources. The oil dependence made Nigeria to currently suffer from Dutch disease, and investment has to be redirected toward the manufacturing, industrial, agricultural and technological sectors to offset the demand gap in the currency market and boost productivity and investment. 

It is not the right time to spend on uncertain explorations especially of a volatile resources, and the fact that oil exploration wells may not clearly provide exact estimate of commercial quantity of the deposits, which questions the oil investment viability. The market conditions may not be as expected, because oil prices are known to be extremely volatile, and new discoveries from the shale reserves have already saturated the market. Any further discovery will push the supply curve outward, which may not be good for the poor oil producing countries. Similarly, due to the long lead time in petroleum exploration and development, when an oil field is brought online for production, the oil price may be lower than expected. On the other hand, the costs could be higher than expected because of inflation in engineering and procurement of raw materials and equipment, which explains the cost run-up in the past several years. So, even if the Nigerian government will have to explore and produce more oil resources, it should not take the prospect and commercial risks absolutely, and should not explore at any oil price below $40 per barrel. The money should be redirected for diversification incentive, infrastructural development, and social welfare for the development of the real sector of the economy.  

Ahmed Adamu, Ph.D., is a Development and Petroleum Economist and the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC). 

2016 budget: How not to borrow

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

Dr. Ahmed Adamu

Nigeria’s 2016 budget christened budget of change is critical to the country’s real economic transition and it is the framework that will define the real change citizens of the country have long clamoured for.

There is no better time to get the economic policies and direction right than now, and that is why the President needs to be well informed.

The Nigerian people have unprecedented hope on President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the country out of the woods. It does appear he is unlucky to come at a time when the price of crude oil-which Nigeria’s economy is hugely dependent- has crashed to lowest level in a decade.

The crude oil prices (hovering around $30 per barrel early this year) is still lower than the budget benchmark price of $38 per barrel, which means at this level, there is going to be around 22% reduction in the expected oil revenue.

Despite this apparent shortfall of expected oil revenue, the 2016 budget which is before the national assembly has a deficit of 36%, meaning that 36% of the money expected to finance the budget will come from borrowing.

The implication is that more than 50% of the revenue expected to fund the 2016 budget are not going to be readily available or obtainable. In other words, only N3 trillion (out of the N6.08 trillion budgeted) is likely to be available to implement the 2016 budget (without borrowing), which will come from non-oil taxes and independent revenue, and partly from the shrinking oil revenue.

Now the question is why should the government be so ambitious just to keep its political promises for now? If you are a worker, would you keep spending more than you earn? Or would you adjust to the level of your income? Sometimes, it might be good to spend more, even if it means to borrow, so as to provide and help the family members, so that they can be productive and earn more. But this has to be strategically thought out and decide when to spend more and when not to, and when to borrow and when not to.

The current Nigerian debt with World Bank’s International Development Association (IDB) stands at $11.8 billion as principal with obligation of around $6 billion (World Bank 2015). This means for this particular loan, the average ratio of the obligation is 0.51, meaning that for every $1 borrowed; $0.51 has to be paid as interest or as debt service cost. This analysis only accounts for the IDB’s credits to Nigeria. It does not account for other international and national lenders to Nigeria, which if put together, the current Nigerian debt stock (including those from states) stand at $64 billion (Debt Management Office 2015). This equals to N13 trillion.

The decision Buhari will have to make is to either reduce the spending and not to borrow, or borrow now and spend more. Each decision will have its economic effects. If he borrows now, it means there will be increase in aggregate demand and development in infrastructure necessary for economic growth. However, this will mean these spending must attract equivalent or even higher return to be able to pay back the total cost of the debt. It will mean there will be less money available for the more efficient private sector, as government has to collect money from the private sector to fund its expenditure, which the government might not be able to efficiently manage compare to the private sector.

It will also mean that the debt stock and cost of debt will increase, which may likely undermine future development, leading to future decline in government services and increased in taxes. It will make the economy fragile and independent due to external obligations.

Now, President Buhari intends to borrow $2.5 billion from World Bank, $1 billion from African Development Bank (ADB) and N984 billion internally. If he collects these debts, it means Nigeria has to fulfil the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, one of which is to further devalue the country’s currency, which the president himself is not ready to do. This will further devastate the economy of course if he does so.

The Western world would at all cost collect back their oil dollars by making the poor oil rich countries devalue their currencies and granting them loans with expensive service costs. Already, Nigerians sensed this when Managing Director of the IMF, Ms Lagarde visited the country early this year.

So, I strongly disagree with respected economist Prof. Pat Utomi for suggesting that the naira should be devalued.

Our economy must pick up by itself, it needs to be strong, and investment promotion and diversification are the key priorities here. Many external spending (both private and public) must be reduced drastically; this may include reduction in unnecessary foreign scholarships and personal spending, so as to shift the currency supply curve inward. So, Mr President is perfectly right on the restrictions of foreign spending. However, we have to suffer for our failure to establish our independent economy, but scarcity brings about innovations and improvements. If the manufacturing sector is viable, cheap foreign investment due to Naira depreciation would have resort the currency market to equilibrium. Unfortunately, the manufacturing and non-oil sector is not viable in the country.

If Buhari chooses not to borrow, he will then have to reduce the spending and will reduce the interest rate, and by extension increasing investment, which will create more jobs and address the issues of unemployment and poverty. This will then create more chances for collecting taxes and independent revenues. He will then have the option of imposing proportionate tax systems, which will increase the government revenue to develop lagging infrastructure. This will not affect the future performance of governance, and will make the economy more independent and resist any external shock. It will enhance resilience, independence and productivity of the economy.

The appropriate balance has to be maintained, optimal government spending or budget deficit increases economic growth, but when it becomes constant or continues, it brings about reduction in economic growth. Nigeria had budget deficit for eight years in the last ten years, and the government was supposed to wait and see the effects and returns of the injections and provisions made so far through the government spending. If the government keep spending, the aggregate demand will continue to increase, thereby causing inflation. It will then reduce the purchasing power of the currency. It will also lead to higher interest rate which reduces investment (deficit hawks).

In my earlier piece, I advised Mr President not to borrow for the next four years at least. The easy way to go about it is to drastically reduce government spending, and reduction in the recurrent expenditures is the starting point. The recurrent expenditure constitutes 70% of the expected government spending in the 2016 budget. The involvement of private sector is critical in building the economy. We have to migrate from a government driven economy to private sector-driven economy.

The government should be responsible for policy and regulations. Most of the capital and recurrent expenditures can efficiently be delivered through private-public partnerships. The government would then concentrate on security, healthcare, and social welfare. I will advise the federal government to privatise primary and secondary schools, and government should use the savings to support parents that cannot afford to pay the regulated school fees. This will relieve the government of huge financial responsibilities and improve quality education (I will do a separate write-up on this). Private investment in non-oil sector has to be prioritised; the government cannot do it all alone. So, this is not the right time to borrow, it is time to control the spending and explore opportunities for generating revenue internally.


Ahmed Adamu, Ph.D., is a Development and Petroleum Economist and the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC).

UAE appoints 22-year-old Shamma Al Mazrui as minister

Shamma Al Mazrui, 22-year-old

Doha: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice-President of UAE has appointed a youth minister in the new cabinet. He had earlier tweeted that UAE will be appointing someone under 25 in the cabinet and he has picked Shamma Al Mazrui as the Minister of Youth Affairs.

Shamma is 22 years old and hold a Master’s degree from Oxford University and a Bachelor’s degree from New York University. She will also be the President of the Youth Council which will “represent the aspirations and affairs of the youth before the government”, The National newspaper, published from UAE, reported.

Sheikh Mohammed said: “We will give the council prerogatives and we expect true achievements from her and her council.”

In earlier tweets he had said: “Youth represents some half of our Arab societies, so it is only logical to give them a voice and role in governing the nation.”

“Youth have hopes and dreams, issues and challenges; they are the reason why societies prosper or fail. They are our hope for the future. Our young country was built by the hands and achievements of youth. Youth is our strength and speed and is our treasure for the future.”

Culled from The Peninsula

Fear of Public Speaking

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

I receive calls and messages from many of my followers and friends disclosing their weaknesses and fear in public speaking, which gravely affect their businesses, social and political endeavours. I gave them many advices which I would like to share few of them with you.

It is natural to have fear for public speaking. The Book of Lists mentioned that, many people fear public speaking more than they fear death. According to the book’s survey, death was ranked seventh in the ranking of the top worst human fears, while public speaking was ranked first worst human fear. So if you fear public speaking, you are certainly not alone, because 3 out of every 5 people have fear for public speaking. What you need to do is know why you have this fear and how to overcome it.

Every person can speak comfortably and effectively at least to his/her peers or juniors, which means they are in person good and effective speakers, it is only a matter of the environment and cognitive perception.

If you are comfortable talking to small group or your juniors or your siblings, then when you are talking to big audience, just imagine that the big audience are exactly the same ones as that of the individual or small group of your juniors or peers. Perception about your audience contribute 90% to your anxiety, which makes you absent from the place. Perceiving your audience as different from your peers or juniors makes you concentrate more on how uncomfortable you feel and how bad you might communicate, which will then distract you from the purpose and content of speech.

Sometimes you will be clouded by the fear of the fear itself. Sometimes you worried that you will look fearful, which makes you to fear that once the audience notices your nervousness, everyone will realise you don’t actually know your topic or you are not a good speaker. So don’t get distracted about what people think about you, but what they think about your message. Don’t get up there to impress anyone or to be better than other speakers or be reckoned as an orator, just go there to communicate a message. So your job is not to be an excellent speaker.

It does not matter how it was presented, but what matter is to get the message across. Assume that your audience know nothing about the topic and you are the only one to inform them about the new knowledge. So, you are there just to pass an information. This then relate to how much you know about the content of the message. That is why it is very good to know deeply and widely around the topic of your speech. Preparation is one of the best way to tackle obstacles of public speaking. Know very well the content of your speech, and prepare some guiding notes.

Practice your speech over and over if you have time, and practice it before your friend or your junior, this will prepare you establish the imagination and comfort that you will assume while presenting the actual speech. Public speaking is a learning process, there have to be times when you will do it badly, you will have to fail in some important speeches, so don’t let the fear of what happened in the past affect you now. Don’t let the past influence your presence. You are meant to improve and learn from your mistakes. The best speakers in the world had their worst moments too. Always dress well and breathe deeply when you come to public speaking. Be at your best possible personal and physical appearance at the moment. And when you come to the Podium, spend some few seconds to engage in some little acts, like touching the Mic, or rearranging your guiding notes, or any little act before you start talking, and then look your audience into the eyes for a second, and then you begin your speech. Try and start your speech with informal jokes or making your audience laugh, but that should be after thanking and recognising the dignitaries present. That makes you relax and create connection between yourself and your audience.

Advice to student graduate

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

My students invited me for their graduation dinner, where I adviced them as follows:

Now you are graduating from University, and there is no guarantee for a perfect job for you, and now you fear that you lack competitive skills and experience required for the labour market. You may not be sure which industry you want to work in, you are full of thougth and facing uncertain life after University. So, I have 10 advices for you:

1.Dont let the world decide for you, pick a career of ur own choice and get a mentor to guide you through. Do have a career plan ranging from short term, medium to long term plan. Identify your strength and build your career on your strength.

2. Never get scared of job interviews, use interviews as a way of getting information and identifying whether the job is right for you or not.

3. Go for something you love over money

4. Education shall not end from University. You have been reading to pass exams, it is now time to start reading to learn. What are those your favourite areas of study? Identify them and broaden your knowledge. Read widely, and be above or exact reflection of your class of degree.

5. Always think positive and aim higher. Be dedicative, persevere and never give up. Best jobs are not suppose to be easy.

6. Dont expect much from government jobs, because only 1% of new jobs come from government. Think about creating jobs. You have choice to make, you can either be a job seeker or job provider. Be an employer not employee.

7. Dont compare your life with that of others, you are meant to be different and follow different path to success. Focus on your goal, identify what you want and concentrate on it.

8. Keep the network of your friendship (alumni) and inspire each other. Hear from the experience of each other. Find out about the career success stories of your colleagues so as to learn from them.

9. Most jobs out there require you to have experience, and if you are not given the job, how would you get the experience? I will advice you to get volunteer job or internship where you will work without or little pay. This will help you get the experience. While working as intern, ask for challenging assignment, and it will prepare you much better.

10. Be simple, humble and help one another.

I will miss you so much, and I hope none of you will be here next year to celebrate another graduation dinner.

Wish you alll the best. Till we meet again!

Commonwealth Youth Council Granted Funds to Youth Organisations: CYC Partnership Grants Initiative 2015

The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) has granted funds to the following youth development projects in four countries from three regions in the Commonwealth, i.e. Kenya and Mauritius from Africa, Pakistan from Asia, and Jamaica from the Caribbean.

1. Community Youth Apprenticeship Project to be delivered by the Kangema Youth Group, Kenya
2. Economic and Social Integration of Youth to be delivered by the Laureate Foundation, Pakistan
3. Dynamic Youth Programme to be delivered by the National Youth Council, Mauritius
4. Realize, Embrace and Achieve your Purpose – REAP Project to be delivered by the Young Women/Men of Purpose (YWOP/YMOP), Jamaica

Announcing the final beneficiaries and projects, Ahmed Adamu, the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council said this pioneer initiative is to ensure inclusive participation and partnership with the CYC member organisations.

“We are glad that these funds have already been disbursed, and implementation of these projects has already commenced. The distribution of the funds are regionally balanced, and we have put in place all monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure efficiency of these projects.” Mr Adamu said.

These youth development projects were selected by the CYC after thorough and rigorous application and selection processes. This aims to ensure that young people in their communities from rural areas to urban areas are empowered to become active participants in their societal development and to improve their well-being and in line with its overall mandate and strategic objectives, the CYC allocated certain amount of funds to sponsor youth-led organizations to implement youth development projects in their communities in partnership with the CYC. As a result, the CYC called for applications from youth-led organizations in the Commonwealth in May/June 2015.

The CYC received 32 applications together with project proposals from 14 countries of the Commonwealth, i.e. Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.

The received project proposals were in five thematic areas such as Education & Skills, Youth in the Post 2015, Employment & Enterprise, Youth Engagement & Governance, and Reconciliation & Social Cohesion.

The selected four applicants were the best project proposals from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. All these projects were in Education & Skills and Employment & Enterprise, some of the thematic areas to which high priority was given by the CYC.

These projects would mainly focus on capacity building, enhancing leadership, improving entrepreneurial skills and thereby reducing the unemployment rate especially among vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged youth groups that includes youth living with HIV/AIDS, the disabled, internally displaced youth, the homeless, abandoned single teenage mothers, sexually and physically abused, drug addicts, and youth heading households.
 
The CYC has granted 2500 GBP to each of the selected four youth development projects, i.e. in total 10,000 GPB was granted. The Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between the CYC and the selected youth-led organizations were signed and in accordance with the MOUs, the youth development projects would be implemented by those youth-led organizations in partnership with the CYC.

The CYC believes that this is a significant investment and partnership in enhancing employability, leadership and thereby the life standards of those vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged youth groups in Kenya, Mauritius, Pakistan and Jamaica.

From the CYC Secretariat, Commonwealth Youth Council on 19th January 2015

The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) has reacted to the 2016 Nigerian budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the outgoing chairperson of the youth council, Ahmed Adamu, who spoke with Naij.com, he said the 2016 budget proposal has further reinforced the confidence and hope of the Nigerian youth, as it was clearly designed to reposition the young people in the country as economic and national development partners.

“Despite the 4% reduction in budget allocation to youth and sports sector compared to previous year, the 2016 budget has proposed additional allocation to other critical development sectors that correlate to youth development, which include Education, Works, Housing and Power etc,” he said.

Speaking further, he added: “These economic sectors if fully developed will provide millions of jobs to the young people, and enhance their employability. We therefore commend and welcomed the 2016 budget as tagged “budget of change”. As this administration is committed to fighting corruption, we hope that the budget will be implemented beyond 70% and all financial leakages will be blocked. We also hoped that young people will continue to take the centre stage in the implementation of the change agenda"

Adamu raised concern over the merger of the youth development and sport ministries.
“Young people are concerned that the youth development sector may not receive the specific and robust attention it deserves. The ministry of youth should therefore be supported and complemented by a government department or commission that will specifically be addressing youth development issues. This government institution should be led by the youth and for the youth. The youth development work requires specific professional experience and it has to be youth led, therefore, there should be a structure that will optimise speciality and professionalism in the youth development sector."

“That is why the young people are solidly in support of the legislative bill that has passed the first reading at the national assembly, which proposed for the creation of the youth development commission. This kind of initiative will enhance sense of inclusion and participation of young people, as it will provide a systematic engagement of the young people, and ensuring that professionalism and relevant youth development policies and programmes are reinforced,” he stated.

Adamu added that the government should create a platform that will create and coordinate networks of young professionals that will volunteer in the implementation of the change agenda.
“The youth development sector requires synergy devoid of duplication and isolated intervention. There should be clear understanding of the context of youth development issues and from which specific youth policies and programmes can be prioritised. All youth development funds from various government institutions should be consolidated and coordinated by the competent and responsible government organisation responsible for youth development,” he told this newspaper.
https://www.naij.com/681513-commonwealth-reacts-2016-budget…

Ahmed Adamu emerged as the winner of the African YOUNG PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (MALE)

African Youth Awards Winners for 2015

2015 winners

CATEGORY	WINNER	COUNTRY
YOUNG PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (MALE)	Ahmed Adamu – Commonwealth Youth Council	Nigeria
YOUNG PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (FEMALE)	Bitania Lulu Berhanu – YALDA	Ethiopia
LITERACY EXCELLENCE	Richard Paa Kofi Botchwey	Ghana
MEDIA EXCELLENCE	Amaka Onyeagoro – Hot FM Abuja	Nigeria
NGO OF THE YEAR	Dolly Foundation	Ghana
PUBLIC SERVANT OF THE YEAR	Bibaa Lundi Anne – Omam Reach Out Cameroon	Cameroon
YOUNG FASHION ICON	Janerose Gatobu – Jagari Designs	Kenya
GRASS ROOT TRANSFORMATION	Divine Komla Kpe – Teen Age Build Ghana	Ghana
STUDENT ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR	National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS)	Ghana
TERTIARY INSTITUTION OF THE YEAR	Kenya Methodist University	Kenya
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR	Kelvin Macharia Kuria – Sunrise Tracking	Kenya
CONFERENCE OF THE YEAR	Leaders After God’s Own Standard	Nigeria
ADVOCACY	Hikmat Baba Dua – League of Young Female Leaders	Ghana
YOUNG FILM PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR	Umar Krupp	Ghana
EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP	Damola Morenikeji – All for Development Foundation	Nigeria

http://www.africayouthawards.org/2015-winners/

Dr. Ahmed Adamu met wih the UN Secretary General, Banki Moon, Nigerian President, HE Muhammadu Buhari and other Prime MInisters and Presidents of the Commonwealth Nations

Dr. Ahmed Adamu with the United Nation's Secretary General, Ban-Ki Moon


Dr. Ahmed Adamu with the Nigerian Presdient, H.E. Muhammadu Buhari


Dr. Ahmed Adamu presenting token of appreciation to the President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Maithripala Sirisena for the support government of Sri Lanka gives to the young people.


On behalf of the 1.2 Billion young people of the Commonwealth, Dr. Ahmed Adamu Presented token of appreciation to Prime Minister of Malta, H.E. Joseph Muscat for hosting the 2015 CYC General Assembly and CYF.


Dr. Ahmed Adamu with the President of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta


Prime Minister of Cameroon, H.E. Philémon Yang and Dr. Ahmed Adamu. They exchanged pleasantries and contacts and had some few discussions while the Nigerian minister of state for environment keenly listens.



The Prime Minister of Samoa, H.E. Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi with Dr. Ahmed Adamu



The Prime Minister of Grenada, H.E. Keith Mitchell with Dr. Ahmed Adamu


Dr. Ahmed Adamu with the Prime Minister of Lesotho



President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca with Dr. Ahmed Adamu


CYC Chair, Ahmed Adamu, in hand shake with the Speaker of parliament Malta, Hon Anglu Farrugia


The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau also joined Dr. Ahmed Adamu and other youth leaders during the breakfast youth interactive session with the Heads of Government.

Dr. Ahmed Adamu speaking during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Youth Council's General Assembly and CYF, sharing the stage with him is the Prime Minister of Malta and the Commonwealth Secretary General

The first business session of the Commonwealth Youth Council's General Assembly ‪#‎CYCGA‬ at the ‪#‎CYF2015‬ ‪#‎WhatNext

Dr. Ahmed Adamu bagged 3 international Awards in Malta

During the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta, Dr. Ahmed Adamu, the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) received three international awards for his outstanding achievements and service to the young people of the Commonwealth. These awards are:

1. Outstanding Service Award by the Commonwealth
2. Global Achievers Award by Global Achievers Award
3. Award of Excellence by the Commonwealth Youth Council Secretariat

Dr. Adamu also presented awards to some selected Presidents and Prime Ministers of some Commonwealth nations, which include; Prime Minister of Malta, President of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

Speech delivered by Ahmed Adamu, the Chairperson Commonwealth Youth Council during the Opening ceremony and plenary session at the 10TH Commonwealth Youth Forum and 2nd Commonwealth Youth Council General Assembly, Malta, November 2015.

The Prime Minister of Malta, other Presidents and Prime Ministers here present, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, youth delegates, ladies and gentlemen!

On behalf of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), the official voice of the young people in the Commonwealth, I would like to welcome and congratulate all the youth participants to this historic Commonwealth Youth Forum and the Commonwealth Youth Council’s General Assembly, the first official youth meetings parallel to the CHOGM that the young people ourselves are co-convening.
The young people’s strength and potentials are increasingly been recognised and appreciated in the Commonwealth. This is demonstrated by the active and inclusive participation of the young people in every process of decision making at various levels in the Commonwealth, and this forum is one of the big examples.
And with these I would say in Maltese language: Merhaba Gio Malta
This forum is historic for us, because it is during this forum that the CYC’S second general assembly is taking place, where young people for the first time will receive feedback on the interventions made in response to their calls from the preceding forum. There have been 9 series of this forum, but there have never been a formal democratic transition of youth leadership except in this 10th series, so this is historic.
It is Historic because it is for the first time a country is hosting the forum twice and for the third time it is hosted in Europe. The inaugural youth forum was held in Edinburgh, UK, 18 years ago. Since then there have been increasing spaces for the young people to participate in this high level decision meeting.
This forum is also historic, because it is for the first time we have young people without the connection, and without being nominated by their country, but by virtue of their competence and commitments they are here through the open selection process that allowed every young person to apply to participate in this forum.
This is historic as the first Commonwealth Youth Council’s transition from one democratically elected executives to another will take place.
It is also historic, as this is the biggest Commonwealth Youth Event taking place since the adoption of the successor development goals i.e. SDGs , and therefore, it is opportunity for the young people from the Commonwealth, who formed more than half of the global youth population to reflect on these development goals as well as other current and past global, regional and national declarations and commitments and develop an implementation and action framework that will ensure success of these commitments.
The recommendations coming from this forum have been widely consulted for over a year, and young people are here once more to further discuss on these various thematic areas with a view to putting forward a practicable recommendations.
So these recommendations will answer the question of what next? What next after SDGs adoption, what next after CHOGM, and with the Commonwealth having the largest youth generation and with adequate spaces like this, we are confident that young people of the Commonwealth will play effective role in implementation of these commitments.
One thing we can do better is not to only place the young people in place, but make them in charge, and this is the area the Commonwealth needs to improve at all levels. There is difference between being in place and being in charge. And the Commonwealth Youth Council is the appropriate platform through which we can make the young people become in charge in their countries and at regional levels. Commonwealth can only add global value if the young people will continue to be in charge especially in matters that affect us.
As the first ever CYC executives, we have received our mandate from the last Commonwealth Youth Forum/Commonwealth Youth Council General Assembly in Sri Lanka, and we are here to report back to the young people on what we have done on their behalves toward ensuring effective implementation of their recommendations.
There is nothing for the youth without the youth, any youth-less decision is useless, and we are convinced that Commonwealth’s decisions process are useful as it has been youthful. The bond of friendship and brotherhood of the Common family is further bonded among the largest ever youth generation in the Commonwealth.
Attending this forum enable us to further broaden our networks of friendship and partnership, essential elements for success in the modern world. And this has given us confidence for the better future of the Commonwealth.
This is the only international forum in the entire world where young people interact with the heads of government and make direct inputs in to the heads of government’s commitments.
I therefore welcome all you of you to the 2nd Commonwealth Youth Council’s general assembly, and I can imagine how excited it feels that the campaign for the executive positions are getting hot now, and we all looking forward to the election. We hope that the new executives to be elected will build on the foundation and the institution we set for the Commonwealth Youth Council.
Ahmed Adamu

President of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) Ahmed Adamu has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for discriminating against young people in his cabinet appointments.

Adamu who is the first ever Nigerian to be elected to chair the Commonwealth Youth Council, said cabinet posts are increasingly being reserved for the much older generation and youths between 18-35 as per Nigeria’s Youth Policy, are being neglected despite being qualified and capable.

He said Nigeria, as a commonwealth country, was not upholding the charter it signed up on youth participation in politics.

He argued that the continued exclusion of youths will interrupt sustainability and cause disengagement and frustration among the rising number of youths in the country.

“According to the Nigerian constitution, a young person cannot be a senator, a young person cannot be a governor, and over 70% of the young people in the country cannot aspire to be members of the House of Representatives,” Adamu lamented.

He suggested the country’s constitution should be reviewed because failure to mix the opinions of the old and the new generation could hinder the country’s ability to adapt and progress with the changing times.

The recent appointments to President Buhari’s cabinet revealed that the youngest person is 48 years of age, more than 10 years older than the cut off mark for someone to be considered a youth, while the oldest person is 68 years of age.

This, Mr Adamu points out, is a poor representation of the current generation who are equally qualified.

Adamu said, “the history of Nigeria showed that young people have participated actively at the highest decision making level, and this record has been kept until the last administration in the country,” adding, “we, the youth, are disappointed that none of the nominated ministers in the country is a young person within this age bracket despite the apparent and unprecedented sacrifice made by the Nigerian youth in this year’s elections. Not to mention their undeniable competence and integrity.”

Meanwhile, it seems that trouble is not over for Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers state who is set to be screened by the Senate tomorrow, October 20. The Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions may have advised a stay of action on Amaechi’s screening.

http://www.nigeriadailynews.news/news/212088-commonwealth-slams-buhari-for-excluding-youths-from-cabinet.html

Old Breed Without New Breed, Breeds Break

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

The definition of a young person in the Nigerian Youth Policy and African Youth Charter is someone between the age of 18 and 35.

In the history of this country, we have had many young people within this age bracket that performed well in Nigeria’s leadership. These include people like Yakubu Gowon who became Head of state at the age of 32 and Shehu Musa Yar’adua who became what is equivalent to Vice President at the age of 33.  Mathew Tawo Mbu became minister of labour at the age of 23, Nurudeen Mohammed became minister of state Foreign affairs at the age of 33 to mentioned but a few. In other Commonwealth nations, young people still play active role in the leadership of their countries.

Nigeria is an important Commonwealth country and it needs to take a cue from other Commonwealth nations in line with the Commonwealth charter and commitment to young people that emphasized on the importance of youth participation. The history of Nigeria showed that young people have participated actively at the highest decision making level, and this record has been kept until the last administration in the country. With the apparent and unprecedented sacrifice made by the Nigerian youth in the March/April, 2015 national elections as well as their undeniable competence and integrity, the youth must be included in the federal cabinet. We, the youth, are disappointed that none of the nominated ministers in the country is a young person within this age bracket. All of the nominated ministers are above 41, the age at which President Muhammadu Buhari became head of state in 1983, some 30years ago.

And if President Buhari could lead well as young person as he was, then the current young generation may even do better. The current young generation on average is more qualified, wiser, and more experienced than the then youth generation. This was made possible by the amazing improvement in technological advancement and education since then till now.

All over the world, young people participate in high level decision making processes, young people are beyond being subordinates, and we are active players and partners in sustainable development. If they say we are inexperienced, then how could one become experienced if s/he is not given the job? If you want to teach someone how to drive a car, you have to bring him inside the car, on the front seat, unfortunately, the youth in Nigeria are out of the car for now. The change agenda in the country must include actualisation of the larger proportion of young leaders, the change must not be the reverse of the past but improvement.

It is erroneous to assume young people do not have what it takes to lead. We have among young people in Nigeria, professionals and technocrats in all sectors of the economy. According to the Nigerian constitution,  a young person cannot be a senator, a young person cannot be a governor, and over 70% of the young people in the country cannot aspire to be members of House of Representatives. That is enough discrimination already for young people. Despite this discrimination, the young people are still left out of the federal cabinet. The country’s constitution should be reviewed to allow more participation of the youth to meet up with the drop of life expectancy rate in the country. If the youth are not prepared now, how can we in the future have a young president in the country? The country’s president himself has once acknowledged that his old age sometimes limit his performance to some extent, and this should have informed him of the needed vigour that young people will bring in his administration that they fought hard to make a reality.

The youth did not make the change possible because they want positions, but it's doesn't require rocket science to understand the importance of young people in leadership.  The elderly people who could not withstand the stress to protect the ballot boxes are now enjoying the change victory. Loyalty and friendship should not be the only yardstick in choosing the cabinet. If the ministerial selections were to be made through rigorous competency interview (like in corporate organisations), many Nigerian youth will beat some of the nominees.

The youth are not happy for being excluded in the ministerial nominations, and we always ask them (the youth) to be respectful and loyal, and if they become more agitated, no amount of persuasion will stop them. Of course, we need the old hands, but it has to be mixed with energy and innovation, and the youth can bring that in the country. So, old breed without new breed, breeds break. If youth are not mixed, there is going to be disconnect and interruption in sustainability of whatever legacy the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration might leave behind. The youth are the ones that may live to uphold the APC legacies and tell the stories to the country’s future generation, just like the way the current leaders tell stories of their ancestors who gave them the opportunities to became what they are now. So this chain must not be broken. It has to be sustained.

Therefore, we the youth are not happy for being excluded in the ministerial nomination, and we call on the Nigerian president and his party to appoint young people in the cabinet, and ensure that 30% of all political appointments in the country are given to the youth. For the ruling party in the country to enjoy further support from the youth, it has to show commitment toward youth participation in its administration, otherwise 2019 is around the corner. It may just be a game changer.

Ahmed Adamu

President, Commonwealth Youth Council

London, UK

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/youth-council-slams-buhari-for-excluding-youths-from-cabinet/115500.html

SPEECH DELIVERED BY AHMED ADAMU, PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH YOUTH COUNCIL DURING THE 55TH NIGERIAN INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, UK ON OCTOBER 2, 2015.

Nigeria is home to a quarter of the African population. After being colonised for over 60 years, the country gained independence 55 years ago. Young Nigerians of different generations have contributed to every remarkable milestone the country has achieved. The young people of 1960s fought hard to secure independent Nigeria. For instance, young people laid down their lives to preserve the oneness and unity of Nigeria during the civil war. The young people were brave enough to endure the military rulers and struggled for a true democratic nation. The young people are the propellers of the Nigerian economy, which is the largest in the continent. Young people were instrumental to the success of the recent historic democratic change of gaurd where for the first time in the history of Nigeria, a democratic transition from one political party to another at the centre was made possible. This is a sign of growing maturity of democracy in the country and sense of patriotism by the young people.

Change in political party is not the only change the Nigerian youth are seeking, but it is the gateway to achieve the real change, and that is what has motivated the Nigerian youth to vote for change in the last election. Nigerian youth didn't vote for a particular party, they voted for the vehicle that will drive them to the promised land. A promise land where access to quality education is equal and affordable to all within the Nigerian borders, a land where success is determined by how hard one works and how competent one is, a land where access to basic life requirements, power, health care, and potable water is equal for all economic classes. The promised land we dreamt of was the one where lives of young people sleeping in their dormitories or in worship places or in parks or market places or in their homes are safe and secured.

The road to the promised land could be steep, but with the same resilience, patriotism and sense of responsibility from the young people, Nigeria will get to the promised land. Young people’s role in achieving the real change is therefore inevitable, and the young people have all what it takes to make the real change happen. As we celebrate the 55th independence, we should reflect and assess ourselves to know how far away we are to the promised land. And what, individually, can we do to push the train a bit forward. Every single push matters, every person’s hand is needed. It moves faster with more hands, and this call for more inclusive governance and sense of responsibility.

Responsibility is what all Nigerian young persons need to have; everyone needs to think that he/she is responsible for the security of his neighbourhood. If you notice a suspicious stranger or movement, you have to take the responsibility to notify the relevant authorities. If you see your neighbour’s child not going to school, you have to feel responsible and help put the child back to school. If the waterways of your neighbourhood is dirty, take responsibility and clean it up or organise a local fund raising to seal off all sewages in your area. If you engage or allow little corruption, you have to take responsibility to stop it. If you see someone in difficult circumstance, feel responsible and offer a helping hand. We have to be our brothers’ keepers. Feeling and acting responsible are the initial pushes and necessary steps to the promised land.

Whatever we celebrate today as a nation, it is a celebration of collective individual success stories of citizens who became and felt responsible.  Talking about the size of the economy, the success of every economy or nation lies on individual success of the people who felt responsible and became entrepreneurs, who felt responsible for their unemployment and thought of a business idea to solve an existing problem. Economies and nations can never prosper when their teaming young generation think only of government's responsibility for their unemployment or other plights. People have the power to change government by changing their collective attitude and instilling an unyielding sense of responsibility.

This is the first independence celebration since that historical democratic change, and it was easy for the young people to make it happen, because they believed it should be different that time, and they took responsibility to make it happen. This has taught us that once we collectively believe in something and feel responsible for it, we can achieve it, and there is no time more important for the young people to strengthen the spirit of belief and responsibility than now, because the journey to the promised land just begun, and I have no doubt in my mind that we as young people will get there.

Most of us here are Nigerians, and we are here in a foreign land. Many of us are here to pursue our dream for quality education, and we feel proud and happy for that. For me, my coming here made me feel guilty and responsible, I always ask myself, what about my brothers and sisters in my community who could not have the rare chance of securing a foreign scholarship? Would this mean they will not have it even if they want it, because they can’t go abroad? Access to quality education should not be an optional, it is a necessity, and lack of it is the root cause of Boko Haram, cultism and kidnapping. While providing equal access to quality education, you are by extension tackling millions of issues. That is why in every religion, education is the number one priority, and it is through education that nations prosper. Nigerian educational institutions are not up to the standards because they are not the first and only option. 

Because, the rich people and people in government always have option of sending their children abroad to acquire quality education, they will always do that, but if they don't have that option, everybody will feel responsible and contribute toward making our educational institutions better. I think it is high time for Nigerian government to stop feeding foreign institutions. We create jobs for others at the expense of our people. We can do most of our learning back in our country. Going abroad to study should be for special courses or programmes only and when necessary. Let us build our institutions so that British people will also go to Nigeria to study. 

As we celebrate 55th independence anniversary, its been estimated that Nigeria's oil reserves will dry up in 53 years’ time. So, what are we preparing for our children? Nigeria must diversify its economy and we should enhance our agricultural and mineral resource sectors to cure the lingering resource curse. In 1960, one dollar was purchased at N0.71, and today it is purchased at N199 officially that is. In 1960, Nigerian external debt stocks was zero, and as at the end of last year (2014) it was around $44 billion (N7 Trillion). In 1960, inflation rate in Nigeria was 6%. It has now doubled (12%) and  in 1960 tooo, unemployment rate was barely 3%, and in 2014 it was 25%. So it is time for us to deeply reflect on why these indicators keep rising, and we can return to 1960 or even better. This is the purpose of this celebration; to reflect on the labour of our heroes past, and how we can strengthen unity and patriotism to maintain their legacies. 

We are confident that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will lead us to the promised land. General Buhari should never assume that the job will be easy. To make the job easier, Nigerian youth must embrace the spirit of patriotism and sense of responsibility and work together as a people to build the nation. However, to build the nation, the youth must be built. A youth-less development is a useless development.

The political fight is over. Nigerians must come together irrespective of political affiliations, ethnic and faith persuasion to fight for the country we all love and be ready to sacrifice for its success.

I enjoin every Nigerian to put the country first before any other interest, and let us all be champions of peace. As we celebrate the country's independence, let us do so with love, brotherhood and tolerance to enjoy the beauty of this nation.

Finally, I want to use this opportunity to call on President Buhari to actively engage more young people in his administration. With the reported first batch of ministers sent to the senate for confirmation, we look to see a young person, but we have not seen any young person within the defined youth age bracket. Therefore, we look forward to the second batch, and the youth must constitute at least 30% of political appointments at all levels. 

Happy independence anniversary Nigeria! Long live Nigeria!

Youth task Buhari on inclusive governance: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/youth-task-buhari-on-inclusive-in-governance/113742.html