Youth in Transformation Agenda by Boni Haruna, Hon. Minister of Youth Development

OVERVIEW OF THE YOUTH IN THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
In making an ‘Overview of the Youth in the Transformation Agenda,’ it is
important for us to make a conceptual clarification of the term “youth”. Who
is a youth?
While the term “Youth” does not seem to have a universal definition, the
National Youth Policy defines Youth as all young persons between the ages of
eighteen (18) and thirty-five (35) years who are citizens of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
The Nigerian Youth
Whereas youth are often referred to as leaders of tomorrow, I will choose to
refer to the Nigerian Youth as Leaders of today. My simple reason is that
statistically, Nigeria’s population is largely youth based. It is settled that the
youth population accounts for over 65% of the country’s total population and
therefore, a major demographic force in determining the present and future
of this Country. Youth are agents of change and development. The Youth
Demography in Nigeria is undoubtedly an advantage for our national
development.
Transformation Agenda and Youth Development
The President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda was launched in
2010. This is a development Framework to speed up Nigeria’s march towards

Overview of the Youth in the Transformation Agenda
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becoming one of the largest economies in the world. As a roadmap for
securing a better future for the nation, the Transformation Agenda is targeted
at:-
 Creating decent jobs in sufficient quantities to address the protracted
problem of unemployment and reduce poverty.
 Laying the foundation for a robust and inclusive growth of the Nigerian
economy.
 Improving on a sustainable course, the well being of all classes of
Nigerians regardless of their personal circumstances and location.
To achieve the above strategic goals, the government has focused attention
on priority sectoral issues which include Youth development amongst others.
The Policy thrust of the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration on Youth
Development is anchored on the thematic areas in the National Youth Policy,
hence the various intervention programmes that have been put in place to
address youth issues.
Let me use this opportunity to highlight some of the programme areas.

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Intervention Programmes
1. YOUTH AND EDUCATION
The Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan established thirteen (13)
new Federal universities, including the Police University in Kano and gave
approval for the establishment of more privately owned ones. This is to give
our youth more placement opportunities for university education.
Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme For Innovation And Development
(PRESSID): This scholarship scheme was established in 2012 as part of
Federal Government’s efforts to achieve the goals of Vision 20:2020 and the
Transformation Agenda. It is aimed at developing a critical mass of
professionals who would serve as catalysts for change and agents for Scientific
and Technological Advancement, as well as sustainable economic
development.
This scheme is being achieved through the sponsorship of outstanding
students from Nigerian Universities to undertake postgraduate studies in the
top twenty-five (25) universities in the world. A total of 100 youth benefitted
from the maiden edition of the scheme in the 2013/2014 academic session
while 104 benefitted from the second edition for the 2014/2015 academic
session.
2. YOUTH AND AGRICULTURE
The Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) is meant to promote
decent income generation opportunities and livelihood for youth in rural areas.

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The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development runs this
programme in parallel with its ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda
(ATA).
To develop this youth employment strategy, youth and their organizations
were actively involved in every step of the design process. The design of the
Youth Employment and Agriculture Programmes (YEAP) provides a framework
for supporting targeted State-level investments to complement and leverage
on-going programmes for youth employment in agriculture.
The programme will empower two subsets of youth, in a gender equal way:
(1) The first set consists largely of graduate youth who are involved in
the creation of modern agri-business and value chain enterprises.
These are young and innovative medium-scale entrepreneurs active
along priority value chains, acting as intermediaries/pullers and
service providers (knowledge, inputs, mechanization, etc) between
market-oriented producers and large agro-industries and/or
wholesalers.
(2) The second set is the Local Farming Youth. These are young farmers
who are interested in market-oriented agricultural production, small-
scale processing, input supply and marketing.
The target of the Youth Employment and Agriculture Programme is to reach
740,000 market-oriented agricultural producers i.e (20,000 young rural
farmers per State) over a period of over 5 years and 18,500 entrepreneurs

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(500 entrepreneurs per State). The programme is to be implemented over a
five year period. Two states from each of the six geopolitical zones will join
the programme in year 1, 2 and 3 respectively to allow for all to be on board
in year three. Each participating state will be supported by the programme
for a period of three years and prepare follow-up strategy during the third
year of YEAP implementation.
The implementation of Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP)
will be guided by criteria to assess the readiness of states and to select value
chains, skills training centres and participants for trainings.
3. YOUTH AND EMPLOYMENT
i. Youth Enterprises with Innovations (YouWin)
This is a programme of the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration that
was launched in 2012 and jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of
Finance, Youth Development and Communication Technology, with the
support of the World Bank, Department For International Development (DFID)
and the organized private sector. The ‘YouWin’ is implemented as an annual
business plan competition that culminates in the selection of 1,200 winners in
each cycle. Since its inception, ‘YouWin’ has achieved tremendous success in
the aspect of job creation for Nigerian Youth. As at November, 2013, a total
of 27,000 jobs have been created from the activities of 2, 400 young
entrepreneurs.
ii. Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P)

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This social safety net programme was launched in February, 2012 by President
Goodluck Jonathan. It has two youth related components;
a) Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), and
b) Community Service, Women and Youth Empowerment Programme
(CSWE).
Permit me to briefly discuss these programmes.
a. Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS)
The Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) is aimed at providing Nigerian
Graduates with temporary work experience that will make them stronger
candidates for job openings. Qualified graduates are attached as interns in
reputable public/private firms for a period of one year. The Federal
Government pays the graduates stipends while the employers provide
mentorship.
Objectives
 To enhance the employability of up 25,000 unemployed graduates in
the 36 states and FCT through internship programmes in pre-selected
institutions
 To reduce the vulnerability of unemployed graduates
 To build manpower base towards attaining national development
operations
Employer/Firm Statistics
 5,651 firms have been registered on the web platform
 1,842 firms have been verified and approved to take graduates
Graduate Statistics
 153,420 graduates have registered
 7,356 have been matched and are pending hire;

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 3,028 interns on April, 2014 payroll payment processed
b. The SURE-P Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) Programme
The SURE-P Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) programme aims at
reducing unemployment and poverty in Nigeria through development of skills,
building of institutional capacity, etc. It is a programme that is expected to
boost the capacity of the youth for gainful employment and enterprise, thus
making them financially independent.
Outcome : SURE-P TVET has trained:
 220 Electrical/Mechanical Engineers for Power Industry at the National
Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN)
 1,000 Auto Technicians at the National Automotive Council (NAC)
 1,000 Personnel including Rail Line Inspectors at the Nigerian Railway
Corporation (NRC).
 A total of 18,593 trainees have been registered across the federation in
areas of ICTs, Agri-business, Hospitality, Mechanical/Fabrication, etc.
 2,000 youth on ICT across the nation in collaboration with Galaxy
backbone.
 2,000 youth in collaboration with Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB).
There is budgetary provision to train 500 physically challenged persons.
c. Community Services, Women and Youth Empowerment Programme
(CSWYE): The Community Services, Women and Youth Empowerment
Programme aims to create immediate short-term employment opportunities
for 370,000 youth (minimum 30% women) in labour intensive community

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development services. So far, about 119,000 jobs were created under this
scheme.
iii. State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) Project
In a continuous effort to creating jobs and enabling environment for Nigerians
specifically the youth, the Federal Government in collaboration with the
European Union and the World Bank launched the State Employment and
Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) project. This project has a five-year
implementation timeline for its completion and it has already kicked off in four
pilot States. Its overall objectives are to ensure improvement in standard of
living of citizens and also enhance financial management process in the
country.
The project, which was launched a week ago, precisely on 23rd
May 2014,
comprises of three major components, namely:
 Youth Employment, and Access to Socio Economic Services,
 Public Finance Management (PFM),
 Reforms and Project Coordination and implementation support at all
levels of Government.
It is expected that in the next two years, the project would have created
several jobs for the youth.
iv. National Entrepreneur Development Programme (NEDEP): As part of this
Administration’s drive to creating jobs, the National Entrepreneurship
Development Programme was launched through the Nigeria Industrial Skills
Development Programmes as a major intervention programme that is

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designed to train youth with skills that will immediately make them
employable. So far, 37,000 youth have benefitted.
It is also designed as grassroots intervention to fit the needs in each locality
of the 36 States of the Federation including the FCT. More than 100,000 youth
are expected to benefit annually from the programme.
v. University Enterprise Development Programme (UNEDEP): This programme
was launched in the Universities with the aim of embedding the virtues of
entrepreneurship within the Nigerian youth in the Universities to “Catch them
Young’’. The Project targets over 1000 youth who will be matched with
successful entrepreneurs to coach and guide their development as they start
their businesses.
This is part of the larger National Enterprise Development Programme which
serves as a platform to train, support and finance Nigerian youth starting new
business. The UNEDEP is to be established in Universities across the 6 geo-
political zones in Nigeria.
vi. MDG Supported Programmes
a. The NYSC/MDGs War Against Poverty (WAP) Programme
The NYSC/MDGs War Against Poverty (WAP) Programme is an economic
empowerment programme that targets the corps members in preparation for
post service period. It seeks to empower participants with agro-enterprise
skills and corresponding interest free loans with a view to generating self-

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employment, creating wealth and boosting agricultural productivity for food
security.
The loan facility ranges from N200, 000 - N300,000 (depending on enterprise)
with zero per cent (0%) interest charge having a repayment period of 30
months with first 6 months of moratorium. The NYSC Certificate usually
serves as collateral for applicants.
Other Achievements
 The NYSC/ MDGs Advocacy programme has trained and deployed
104,182 corps members as MDGs Advocates and Corps Development
Knowledge Facilitators (CDKFs). In 2013 NYSC (MDG) trained and
deployed 13,551 corps members.
 The War Against Poverty programme has trained three thousand eight
hundred and sixty nine (3,869) and empowered three thousand and
sixty (3060) WAP corps entrepreneurs. In 2013, the programme trained
three hundred and ninety two (392) corps members.
 The Advocacy Programme utilized corps MDGs Advocates to carry out
“My World” Survey project under the auspices of United Nations
Millennium Campaign Office (UNMC). It is a United Nations Innovative
global Survey that allows people across the world to tell United Nations,
and in particular, the Secretary General’s High Level Panel, the most
important issues they would like the post 2015 agenda to address.

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NYSC schedule officers and corps advocates of MDGs projects carried
out the survey throughout the 774 Local Government areas in Nigeria in
March, 2013.
In appreciation of NYSC’s contribution to the survey, the NYSC was
conferred with the award of “Most Outstanding Contributor” to the ‘My
World Survey’ by the United Nations during ‘My World Partners’
recognition ceremony in New York on 25th
September, 2013.
vii. A Reviewed National Employment Policy
The National Action Plan on Employment was approved by the Federal
Executive Council in 2010. Accordingly, Government will implement a new
National Employment Policy which will ensure equitable distribution of
opportunity for job seekers. This policy will have a stronger coordination
mechanism for employment into all Federal MDAs, including the Para-Military
and armed forces.
Government will put in place an effective and transparent mechanism that is
safe, open, fair and accessible to all Nigerians irrespective of their State, zone,
background, ethnic/cultural affiliation or whatsoever by transforming its mode
of employment.
viii. Other Youth Empowerment Programmes
The Niger Delta Ministry has also engaged youth in various skills acquisition
and empowerment programmes as follows:
 341 in oil and gas
 270 in maritime

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 90 in agriculture
 500 youth are currently being trained on the assembling of smart
phones, tablet PCs. 100 of the trainees have successfully graduated.
 100 youth left the country on May 22, 2014 for a Train-the Trainer
course on Agriculture in Israel.
4. YOUTH AND INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
(Youth & ICT)
a. Student Computer Ownership Scheme
To improve student access to inherit as well as improve market share of
indigenous original equipment manufacturers (IOEMs), Banks and National
University Commission (NUC) developed a joint initiative which is aimed at
enabling students in tertiary institutions to own computers through a low
interest rate loan with repayment monthly plans of between N3,500 and
N5,800 over a period of 18 months. The programme targets one million
Nigerian youth as beneficiaries.
b. Gender and ICT
Under the Transformation Agenda, the Federal Government through the
Ministry of Finance and FMCT developed a gender based programme targeted
at young women under the Girls and Women in Nigeria (G-WIN) initiative in
order to bridge the gender gap in access and empowerment. This programme
includes:
 SmartWomen
 Nigeria Digital Girls ICT Club

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 The FMCT/HUAWEI 1,000 Girls.
May I take this opportunity to briefly explain each of these:-
i. SmartWoman Nigerian
It is aimed at empowering Nigerian women through provision of affordable
means of receiving accurate and timely information relevant to their socio-
economic need. This will provide women with access to affordable, reliable
and relevant content via daily feeds on their mobile services. These topics
include business entrepreneurship career, health, partnership, will and land
ownership etc.
ii. Digital Girls
As part of efforts to increase the number of female professionals, in the ICT
sector, a special catch them young project called Digital Girls was launched.
It is aimed at developing a pool of IT ready and enabled young Nigerians in
order to secure the future of this nation. This is achieved through formulation
of girls clubs to develop their interest in computers and related career. It will
also increase the number of professionals in the ICT sector, dispel stereotypes
of gender, appropriate new access to role models and mentorships.
iii. FMCT/HUAWEI 1,000 Girls
To stem the tide of unfilled IT vacancies and an abundance of unemployable
graduates, the FMCT has introduced initiatives to build technical and job ready
ICT skills among unemployed youth. 1,000 unemployed secondary school
graduates are being trained by Hauwei in network and telecommunication to
improve their employability in the ICT sector. 200 of the most promising girls

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will receive further training and certification as data centre operators, making
them immediately employable in Hauwei or other data centres across the
country.
c. TechLaunch Pad
This is a programme launched in December, 2012 as a public private
partnership focusing on carefully selected tech start-ups that will provide
training and mentorship programme through heads of ICT and Executives of
private sector. The mentors work with the tech start-ups and young
entrepreneurs to provide input to their software development to ensure
solution and have economic relevance within the targeted industry. Partners
in this project include Total-ELF, Accenture, Chevron, ExxonMobil, First Bank
Plc, Access Bank and Digital Jewel.
d. Naija Cloud
This is a project aimed at creating jobs and economic development with the
objective of reducing unemployment, reversing the country’s brain drain and
creating a market for Nigerian Microworks and E-lancing companies. 2,000
Nigerians were trained and immediate results have been recorded as over
50,000 youth are now earning money on this platform. The Federal
Government is making plans to partner with the Rockefeller Foundation on
their Digital Jobs Initiative. It will facilitate the roll out of the Naija Cloud
initiatives in 36 States and the FCT.

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e. UN/UNDP’s Junior Professional Officers (JPO) Programme
The President Goodluck Jonathan Administration facilitated Nigeria to become
the first African nation and the 20th
contributor to join the partner countries
supporting UN/UNDP’s Junior Professional Officer’s (JPO) programme. The
JPO programme is administered by the UNDP and its affiliated funds and
programmes.
It provides young professionals the opportunity to gain valuable experience in
the international environment. 34 participants have been short-listed for the
first batch of this programme.
5. YOUTH, SPORTS AND RECREATION
The President Goodluck Jonathan Administration recognizes the pivotal role of
sports in nation building, hence its determination to develop and upscale the
sector to an enviable level. Apart from participating in several sporting events,
Nigeria has organized quite a number of sporting activities to engage the
youth. The National Youth Games which was held in December, 2013 was
designed to serve as a platform for the early identification and discovery of
talents.
The National Youth Games was not only a demonstration of Government’s
commitment to create a solid and sustainable platform for all round youth
development through sports, but also to provide an avenue for young athletes
to explore their potentials and foster unity amongst them. 370 special talents
were discovered in 14 sports during the National Youth Games.

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6. YOUTH AND CONFLICT PREVENTION/PEACE BUILDING
The Amnesty Programmes
In the wake of Youth restiveness in the Niger Delta, the Government came up
with a development programme which provided an opportunity for the youth
to express themselves and have a meaningful life. Although the amnesty
programme is a fallout of a bitter national security challenge, its effect on our
youth has been quite profound. It has seen our youth transforming from
militants to wealth creators, employers of labour and skilled citizens. So far,
30,000 youth have benefitted from the programme.
7. YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS AND DECISION MAKING
a. Decision Making and Governance
The President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Administration has demonstrated
strong commitment and support for initiatives that promote youth
participation and social inclusion. This is evident in his appointment of youth
into key government positions including the Federal Executive Council.
At this juncture, let me take the liberty to recognize some of these appointees:
 Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, the Honourable Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs. He was appointed into the Federal Executive Council when he
was 33 years old. May I request the Honourable Minister, to kindly stand
up for recognition.
 Comrade Jude Imagwe, Special Assistant to Mr. President on Youth and
Student Matters. He was also appointed into this position at the age of
33.

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I will further crave your indulgence to mention the following youth who,
through various leadership development programmes of this Administration,
today occupy positions of leadership:
 Hon. Luke Onofiok, Pioneer Speaker, Nigerian Youth Parliament,
currently an Honourable member of the Akwa –Ibom State House of
Assembly;
 Hon. Abdullahi Maibasira, second Speaker, Nigerian Youth Parliament,
now National Youth Leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party;
 There are 18 Youth currently participating as members in the National
Conference.
Apart from appointment of youth into government positions, President
Goodluck Jonathan Administration has also demonstrated strong commitment
and support for youth participation in our democratic process including youth
led initiatives through civic education. The government has been partnering
with civil societies and United Nations Agencies and other development
partners in youth development sector towards providing the opportunity to
participate actively in democratic process.
Just few days ago, the Government through the Federal Ministry of Youth
Development signed a letter of Agreement with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)/Democratic Governance for Development
(UNDP/DGD) for the implementation of the “Enhancing Youth Participation in
the 2015 General Elections Project”. This partnership is developed in
consideration of the critical role and place of the youth in Nigeria’s capacity to

18
conduct free, fair, peaceful and successful General Elections in 2015. Earlier
this year, the Federal Government partnered with the Commonwealth Youth
Council (CYC) on a similar project.
b. Nigerian Youth in Global/International Organizations
The President Goodluck Jonathan Administration encourages and facilitates
the participation of Nigerian Youth in international organizations to sharpen
their leadership skills and provide them with opportunities to compete with
their peers in the global arena.
In Colombo last year 2013, during the Commonwealth Heads of States &
Governments Meeting, a Nigerian Youth, Ahmed Adamu (a PHD Student in
London studying on PTDF Scholarship Programme) was elected as the
inaugural chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC). You may
wish to know that the Commonwealth Youth Council is the largest youth-led
organization in the world and the recognized voice for more than 1.2 billion
young people of the Commonwealth.
Another Nigerian Youth, Jude Imagwe, the Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Youth and Students Affairs, was elected Deputy Secretary-
General, (West Africa) of the Pan-African Youth Union (PYU) at its 3rd
Congress
in Khartoum, Sudan from December, 2011. The Pan African Union (PYU) is
the youth body of the African Union.
Mr. Marvin Yobana, another Nigerian youth is the African Representative in
the Executive Committee of the World Assembly of Youth (WAY)

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Francis Anyaegbu is another Nigerian Youth currently representing West
African Youth on the United Nations Habitat Governing Council in Nairobi,
Kenya. He was elected in 2012 at the Annual General Council Meeting of the
UN Habitat in Nairobi Kenya.
Only recently, the Nigerian Government added its voice to the call for the
establishment of a Youth Agency in the United Nations system at the World
Conference on Youth (WCY) in Colombo Sri Lanka and suggested Nigeria to
serve as the host of such Agency if and when it is eventually established.
It may interest this assembly to know that because of the prominent role this
country has played especially in mainstreaming youth issues in the post 2015
Development Agenda, Nigeria under the leadership of President Goodluck
Jonathan has been given the hosting right of the next World Conference on
Youth.
CONCLUSION
Having briefly highlighted the modest investments in youth development
under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, it is worth
mentioning that the Transformation Agenda provides the framework for the
accelerated development of the country.
Its particular emphasis on job creation and recognition of the need for social
inclusion of youth in governance perfectly situates the Transformation Agenda

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within the current global debate on mainstreaming youth issues in the post
2015 Development Agenda.
This too, is proof that President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration is
committed to giving Youth Development the much needed attention and is
willing to increase investments in the youth sector.
To underscore this commitment, you may wish to note that Youth
Development components are adequately captured in all MDAs which are
running robust programmes that provide skills, employment and
empowerment for youth.
Finally, it is our view that if every state in the country were to take a cue from
the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by
mainstreaming youth issues in their development agenda, through sustainable
programmes, the nation would have attained a reasonable milestone
promoting youth empowerment and overall excellence.
I thank you all.

Youth in Transformation Agenda by Boni Haruna, Hon. Minister of Youth Development

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