BEING A POSITION PAPER ON SOUTH-SOUTH IBO YOUTH: CHALLENGES & PROSPECT FOR
GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT,PRESENTED AT ENUGU,ON THE OCCASION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION ON 12TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2012 BY
SOUTH-SOUTH IBO YOUTH ALLIANCE (SSIYA)
South-South Ibo Youth Alliance
(SSIYA) is a regional youth membership organization, that serves as a positive
force and collective voice for young persons of the Ibo ethnic extraction
within the South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria.
The Alliance serves as a rallying or
say belting point for these Ibo Youths, their families and Communities, the
Alliance seeks to use her well established natural ethnic distribution within
the core south-south Ibo- Resident States of Delta State, Rivers State, Edo
State, with some marginal small tribes that can trace their ancestry to Ibo home-lands,
culture and civilizations in the South-south states of Bayelsa, Cross-River and
Akwa-Ibom, just as we have recently established through research that, we have
distant relatives of Asaba decent in Kogi State, who have grown so big as to
cover two Local Government Areas in that State.
Our Youth Member Organizations as
benefits are supported to have access to key decision makers, access up to date
legislative and executive development and governance information, these
information enable our member organization fruitful representation on key
policy issues, as well as an opportunity to represent the regional youth
population on major key policy committees that affect the regional youths.
SSIYA functions asa network on behalf
of all local youth development groups. We work for positive changes in youth
service system Which affect young people’s quality of life and their families.
The
Alliance in an effort to x-ray the challenges of the South-South Ibo
Youths have limited her search-light at five crucial areas, which include the
following:
·
Collaboration and Networking
·
Investment and Industrialization
·
Economic Cooperation
·
Political Synergy
·
Youth Development Welfare Scheme
COLLABORATION AND NETWORKING
SSIYA is actively focused on issues
around collaboration and networking, through community outreach, training
opportunities, shared fundraising efforts, data sharing initiatives and
community based events.
SSIYA supports member organizations
to serve youth at their fullest potientials.
We hold periodic low profile
networking meetings, where speakers are brought to present papers on relevant
and timely topics, their presentation serve as a training opportunities, member
organization use the opportunities to share current and up-coming projects and
events.
INVESTMENT AND INDUSTRILIZATION
The Alliance with great dismay
through findings from recent baseline online studies discovered that the lack
of the presence of Foreign Direct Investment in the Region is the root cause of
much idleness among youth population, unemployment and loss of youth capital
resources, thereby creating a willing and ready ill-directed youth population
that anti youth schemers manipulate to serve their youth destructive
tendencies.
We maintain that to curb this ugly
trend, we will address these monsters by seeking and running an effective
public private partnership initiative, that will attract both Foreign Direct
Investment and Industrialization of our Region for the positive development and
advancement of our Youth Population.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION
In all our partnership deals with
other geo-political zones, international agencies and global bodies, the
Alliance has committed to emphasis for the interest of the Regional Youth
population these economic thematic issues, which include: Entrepreneurship;
Micro-Financing; Vocational Education; Job/Wealth Creation, Team Spirit, access to funding, grants, loans and other
youth friendly development endowment opportunities.
POLITICAL SYNERGY
That historically, our region has
suffered great loss of the best human resources through various unrighteous
political domination in this country, is no longer a lie, and thanks to
democracy and technology, these once unpublished human right abuses and war
time crimes are gradually becoming not only a national issue, but as well
attracting international attention.
To this end, the Alliance will employ
every positive democratic measures at seeking a right-based post conflict
reconstruction process.
To strengthen our democracy, the
Alliance will sustain a healthy culture where Voters Education, Grass-root
Civic Participation exercises, Youth Rights Protection Initiatives, Community
Sustainable Development Goals, Leadership and Good Governance Projects
Promotion will be strengthened and youth participation actively sought and
encouraged.
We are not ignorant of the heated
political wave nation-wide with respect to the south east agitation for their
due rights to the nation’s number one political seat, currently the Alliance
believes in this noble mission and is currently open to work with any such
minded interest group, ready to build stronger networks with both south-south
Ibo youths and south-east youths working and residing in our Region, we are
prepared to go this extra miles for the south east when we are convinced of the
south east’s preparedness to trust us and make the necessary sacrifice in terms
of resources, materials and supports to make their dreams come true in our
Region.
History has countless records where
our fathers have worked hard for the interest of the good of the south east, we
their children have such records and are ready to continue in the same spirit,
I hope south east youth leaders within the wave length of my work and speech
will be ready to work with our Alliance at achieving this noble task.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT WELFARE SCHEME
The constant protests raised by many youth
development bodies, youth activists and made public by the media is a pointer
to the fact that there exist a huge anti
youth development gap and blockade hindering the Regional Youth Population from
benefiting from all the political, economical and social-cultural opportunities
our democracy avails our youth population.
That our Regional youth population is
either ignorant or hindered from benefiting from abundant democratic
privileges, rights and opportunities is constantly a naked truth staring us in
our face, hence, the daily media reports of the various social vices and
criminal involvement our Regional Youth population are identified with.
To this end, the Alliance has
committed itself to seeking out, establishing and sustaining all opportunities
that will guarantee a positive capacity development welfare scheme.
The political system as they stand
today has left the Regional youth to fend for themselves without any form of
support in them of resources or mentorship to face future challenges.
It is the Alliance position, that a
social safety net scheme be established for our youth population, of which we
anticipate will incorporate the tenets of public private partnership and will
provide social welfare benefits that will cover Education, Health, Agriculture,
Housing, Transportation, Recreation, Sports and Entertainment needs of our
Regional Youth Population.
CONCLUSION
At this juncture, we solicit the
support, partnership and collaboration of the South East Youth leaders, as the
above five thematic areas of partnership are mutual areas of concern, we
equally are aware that this meeting will not be sufficient for us to consummate
these thematic areas of collaboration, we know that after now you may want to
work out other areas of partnership and collaboration with us, we are
constantly open to that, as well as, ever ready to hold more constant meetings
with your leaders to fine-tune all points of agreement and synergy.
Great south east youth leaders I hope
to receive today positive response from you, so I can communicate back home
your positive response, as our commitment to work with you is as firm as it was
when our fathers held strong ties with your fathers both at times of nation
building and at the times of pogrom, war time crimes and massive genocide were
committed against us at both sides of the great River Niger.
Thanks for your attention.
COMRADE OKONTA EMEKA OKELUM
NATIONAL COORDINATOR,
SOUTH-SOUTH IBO
YOUTH ALLIANCE.
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