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          It’s a widely held view that #Youth constitute the bridge between the past & the future, thus a very salient force to reckon with in planning & the actualization in the implementation of policies & programs especially those that precincts on the provision of basic infrastructure; yet, YOUTH are awfully neglected in many issues occasioned & sometimes in representation at all levels of governance.
That importance could represent two major facts, first to become future leaders and that their size is not sufficient enough to attract attention in any plan of action, especially plans aimed at reducing restiveness, criminality, community service and development.


School of thought has it that YOUTH in any given society represent more than half of such a society making this group of young people the largest that enters adulthood. Perhaps, it’s for this reason that United Nations in the pass seven decades has observed the tradition of using the beginning of a new decade of its existence to pencil in attention to the young people in the society.
In the Nigerian setting

But the question may be asked, who is a YOUTH?

What do we mean by “youth”?

“Youth” is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to adulthood’s independence and awareness of our interdependence as members of a community. Youth is a more fluid category than a fixed age-group.
However, age is the easiest way to define this group, particularly in relation to education and employment. Therefore “youth” is often indicated as a person between the age where he/she may leave compulsory education, and the age at which he/she finds his/her first employment. This latter age limit has been increasing, as higher levels of unemployment and the cost of setting up an independent household puts many young people into a prolonged period of dependency.
When carrying out its Youth Strategy, UNESCO uses different definitions of youth depending on the context.
For activities at international or at regional level, such as the African Youth Forum, UNESCO uses the United Nations’ universal definition.
The UN, for statistical consistency across regions, defines ‘youth’, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States. All UN statistics on youth are based on this definition, as illustrated by the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the United Nations system on demography, education, employment and health.

For activities at the national level, for example when implementing a local community youth programme, “youth” may be understood in a more flexible manner. UNESCO will then adopt the definition of “youth” as used by a particular Member State. It can be based for instance on the definition given in the African Youth Charter where “youth” means “every person between the ages of 15 and 35 years”. 

 This question becomes obligatory because the concept ”YOUTH” for now  seems to be very elastic in its characterization, although the generally recognized and often used  terms as the definition of a YOUTH in contemporary economic situation is with the intention of young people between the ages of 18 and 40 years.





          United Nations

                                       on its parts categorize YOUTHS

                                                                                                 to subsist young people

 In accordance with UN's reports

                                                                                     between 15 and 25 years of age.


The PAN African Union Commission in the PAN African YOUTH Chapter has adopted the ages of 15-35 years as range for cataloging of YOUTH in Africa.

According to The Pan African Union Commission

 Which ever group is taken as a matter of convenience; one thing is certain, which is by their nature, people within this grouping are predominantly impatience, adventurous, confuse, thirsty in judgments, rebellious and quit habitually very unpredictable. Social psychologist also agree that YOUH as the most vulnerable to many influences and so deserve adequate attention, basic education and should indeed be viewed as our hope for the future. It is aligned with this backdrop that it has become necessary for institutions and agencies responsible for YOUTH development to appraise some of the fundamental flaws that seems to complicate the social malady that has become the YOUTH crisis of our present age.

wow!
Read about United Nation's Programs Working with the YOUTHS
          Such a review highlighted the fundamental flaws in national policy direction, political leadership, economic considerations, environmental factors and socio-cultural misplacement responsible for the prevailing apprehension over YOUTH inability to contend with their future leadership claim as well as contemporary challenges. Obviously, it is stating the truth that a greater percentage of our YOUTH today lack some prospect to participate fully in the unfolding socio-economic and political development due partly to the collapse of family values, lack of basic education, poverty and absence of gainful employment.


 Specifically, its not out of space to also attribute the challenge facing our YOUTH today to the dwindling ecclesiastical leadership of the church especially now that prosperity seems to have overtaken evangelism in the ever increasing quest for salvation, the church established to preach forgiveness of sin, long suffering, faith, tithe, salvation and love seems to have been bastardized with high propensity for materialism which is also injecting bewilderment, instead of spiritual direction for the YOUTH to follow, or how would someone explain a situation where children who are suppose to be in school are found roaming the street and causing tension and apprehension to the innocent people. In this regard, it become necessary that parents as first teachers and moral foundation of YOUTH, should shun the quest for materialism and other things pursued (if possible), a situation which to an extend has brought about misplaced socio-cultural benchmark in measuring success.

 Obviously, it is the quest to get rich quick that is now pushing many young people to associate themselves with nefarious activities as observed within the Calabar Metropolis.


          The truth is that our society today applaud the thief and scorn honest people creating a situation that merely ignite in the YOUTH the appeal to get rich quick at all cost with little or no regard for procedures, principles and valued orientation. This does not ogre well for sustainable growth and development of the youth, humanity and the country especially if the core values are abhorrently undermined.

 That is why it has become necessary for government and other relevant agencies to endow with enabling environment for the propagation of core values to show off moral standard among our youth who should be groomed to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Nigeria in the west Africa scale has the highest number of salvation seeking facilities, churches/mosques and other spiritual clinics that would ordinarily have taken the burdens of inculcating moral values in our YOUTH, that why all hands should be on deck to eradicate all social menace by what ever means perpetrated by youth in our country, in Africa and the entire world.       

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  1. Tanz over this piece of information, it interesting to actually know how youth can categorised in today's society.

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