THE ROLE OF THE YOUTHS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP) By Otive Igbuzor, PhD Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), Suite 27-28, Second Floor, Tolse Plaza, 4, Franca Afegbua Crescent, Off J. S. Mariere road, After Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, Nigeria. Website: www.centrelsd.org E-mail: [email protected]

A KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT A TWO DAY WORKSHOP AT CITY HALL, NEMBE CITY, BAYELSA STATE HELD ON WEDNESDAY 16TH NOVEMBER, 2011.

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1. INTRODUCTION It has been established that every society has the capacity to develop and all societies strive for development. We have argued elsewhere that the definitions and interpretations of development are influenced by history, discipline, ideological orientation and training.i However, although different scholars have different perspectives on development, most students and practitioners of development accept that it must mean progress of some kind.ii It is seen as a multi-dimensional process, one that changes the economy, polity and society of the countries in which it occurs. Amartya Sen sees development as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy. According to him, development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or overactivity of repressive states.iii In this conceptualization, freedom is central to the process of development and the achievement of development is dependent on the free agency of the people. For the people to be agents of their own development require advancement in five distinct types of freedom namely political freedoms; economic facilities; social opportunities; transparency guarantees and protective security. In a similar vein, the Human Development report 2007/2008 stated that: Human development is about people. It is about expanding people’s real choices and the substantive freedoms-the capabilities- that enable them to lead lives that they value. Choice and freedom in human development mean something more than the absence of constraints. People whose lives are blighted by poverty, ill health or illiteracy are not in any meaningful sense free to lead the lives that they value. Neither are people who are denied the civil and political rights they need to influence decisions that affect their lives.iv According to Pat Utomi, development simply put is discipline. It is about how discipline drives the human spirit to triumph over odds of poverty trap, physical geography, fiscal trap, governance, cultural barriers, geopolitics, lack of innovation and demographic trap.v Kambhampati argues that development requires growth and structural change, some measure of distributive equity, modernization in social and cultural attitudes, a degree of political transformation and stability, an improvement in health and education so that population growth stabilizes, and an increase in urban living and employment.vi From the above, it is clear to us that even though there are different perspectives to development, there is a general consensus that development will lead to good change manifested in increased capacity of people to have control over material assets, intellectual resources and ideology; and obtain physical necessities of life (food, clothing & shelter), employment, equality, participation in government, political and economic independence, adequate education, gender equality, sustainable development and peace.vii There is no doubt that the challenges of development are enormous. But in the last two decades, there has been a lot of discourse on what needs to be done to deal with the challenges. The UNDP has consistently argued that the Millennium Development Goals can be met if there is political will combined with good policy ideas which are then translated into nationally owned, nationally driven development strategies guided by good science, good economics and transparent accountable governance.viii 2

In our view, poverty which is the major challenge of development can be eradicated through three means. The first is to raise income through employment and support to to citizens to engage in small scale business. Income poverty is probably the most crucial becasue it has impact on other forms of poverty. The second approach is to enhance the economic, social and political opportunities available to people to make them come out of poverty. This will involve knowledge improvement, entreprenueral development, organisation of co-operatives and associations and movements of the poor and excluded. Finally is the conceptualisation and implementation of pro-poor policies and mitigation of effects of policy on the poor. Part of this will involve priority to education, health, infrastructure and provision of social services, subsidies to the poor and excluded and implementation of comprehensive social protection measures. In all of these communities have great roles to play in the development process.

In this paper, we argue that youths have great roles to play in community development. We posit that the youths can serve as catalyst for social action and change. But for them to perform this historic role requires leadership and entrepreneurship. With leadership skills, they will cease to become perpetually dependent on politicians for survival and livelihood. But first, we examine the concept of community development and youth.

2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Community development involves organising meetings and conducting searches within a community to identify problems, identify issues, locate resources, analyse local power structures, assess human needs, and investigate other concerns to improve various aspects of the community.ix Community development involves various aspects including community building, community organising, participatory processes, action planning, needs assessment, identification of economic opportunities, sustainable community development and political education.

3. THE YOUTH The Youth constitutes the backbone and the future of any nation. The progress and future development of any nation depends to a large extent on the youth. This is why most nations have concrete development programmes for their youth. Youth development is the on-going growth process in which all youth are engaged in attempting to meet their basic personal and social needs to be safe, feel cared for, valued, useful and spiritually grounded to build skills and competencies that allow them to function and contribute in their daily lives.x Youth development is a process and requires the support of the family, community and the government. It requires support (motivational, emotional and strategic); creation of opportunities and provision of services (education, health, employment, information etc). The place and importance of the Youth in society cannot be overemphasized. This was adequately captured in Nigeria Youth Policy which stated that: Youth are one of the greatest assets that any nation can have. Not only are they legitimately regarded as the future leaders, they are potentially and actually the greatest investment for a country’s development. They serve as a good measure 3

of the extent to which a country can reproduce as well as sustain itself. The extent of their vitality, responsible conduct, and roles in society is positively correlated with the development of their country.xi There are certain unique characteristics of the Youth which include: I. II. III. IV. V.

They are the future of any nation and serve as the bridge that link the present to future generations. They constitute the most active and productive part of any nation. They constitute the largest part of the population of most nations especially the developing nations. They are relatively inexperienced and impatient but their spontaneity, adventure and daring disposition can be put to productive use. They are very dynamic and can serve as agents of social change especially is societies experiencing moral degeneration.

The persons that fall within the age bracket of Youth is defined differently by different institutions and nations. The United Nations defines the Youth as those within the ages of 15-24 years. The NYSC puts its age bracket as from 18-30 years. But the youth policy defines the youth as all young persons of the ages 18-35 years. It identified the problems confronting the youth in Nigeria to include: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k.

Inadequate parental care Non-availability of suitable sports and recreational facilities Moral decadence in the society Lack of appropriate role models Religious fanaticism Cult activities Political manipulation of youth organizations Unemployment and underemployment Poor education Breakdown of family values; and Indiscipline

Unfortunately, in the last three decades, youth development has been neglected leading to increase in youth restiveness and crime. The youth has become a reserve army of the unemployed used by irresponsible politicians and religious bigots to perpetuate violence and thuggery. Many of the young people have lost confidence on the elders and institutions of government. For Nigeria to progress, there must be change among the youth to develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills themselves and become agents of social action and change.

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4. THE CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME The greatest challenge facing our time today is that of inequality. There is no other time in history that there are a lot of wealth and resources in the world. Yet, there is no time that there is also such a level of deprivation, poverty and misery in the midst of plenty. It has been documented that more than 1.2 billion people, one in every five on earth survive on less that US $1 per day.xii Wealth is concentrated in the hand of a few people while the majority wallows in abject poverty. The UNDP in its 1998 report documented that the three richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the 48 least developed countries. Similarly, the 1000 richest people in the world have personal wealth greater than 500 million people in the least developed countries.xiii Every minute of every day, somewhere in the developing world, a woman dies needlessly in childbirth or pregnancy, and 20 children are killed by avoidable diseases such as diarrhoea or malaria.xiv In the midst of all of these there is political, economic and social degeneration. Politics has degenerated from contest of ideas to murderous and mafia style action by the dregs of society to have access to the collective wealth. We can hardly find the fine politicians of the first and second republics such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Mallam Aminu Kano, Hajia Gambo Sawaba, Chief Margaret Ekpo etc. There is moral and social degeneration. Public officials engage in fornication and adultery with reckless abandon. There are public discussions about homosexuality in high and low places. In the past, mere mention that a public official is corrupt brings shame and public odiom to the public official and the family. Even in the recent past as in the case of Chief Lucky Igbinedion, the persons involved withdraw from public gatherings. But it is no longer like that today. Public officials convicted or being tried for corruption today are celebrated with pomp and pageantry. Meanwhile, there is economic degeneration of the nation. Nigeria, which was one of the richest 50 countries in the early 1970s, has retrogressed to become one of the 25 poorest countries at the threshold of the twenty first century.xv It is ironic that Nigeria is the sixth largest exporter of oil and at the same time host the third largest number of poor people after China and India. Statistics show that the incidence of poverty using the rate of US $1 per day increased from 28.1 percent in 1980 xvi to 70 percent in 1997.xvii It is clear to me that the present socio-political and economic condition is not sustainable. We have argued elsewhere that change is inevitable in Nigeria. In our view: for change to occur in any society requires the presence of objective and subjective conditions. Objective conditions exist when situations are evidently abnormal with huge contradictions which can only be resolved by change. The subjective conditions are the organizational preparations required to bring about change. In our view, the objective condition is ripe in Nigeria. There is poverty in the midst of plenty. There are huge contradictions and gap between the poor and the rich. The country cannot continue in the way it is presently being run. Unfortunately, the subjective conditions are absent. There is no virile political party or movement that is committed to change neither is there a vanguard revolutionary organization to guide that change. There are no well organized 5

democratic and popular organizations to support a change process. Although, there are individuals committed to and are driving change, the organizational support required for sustainability and great impact is lacking. The challenge is to build the organizations with dynamic and visionary leadership as well as a committed followership that is dedicated to change. Therefore ongoing attempts to build the requisite organization, leadership and followership for change which must be assisted, nurtured and consolidated for the necessary change to occur in Nigeria.xviii

5. MOBILISING FOR SOCIAL ACTION AND CHANGE In our conception, social change involve changes to the existing structures and social, political and economic arrangements so that they work in favour of the working people and other poor and excluded sections of the population. Social change goes beyond reforms to include a qualitative change in social structure in a way that is beneficial to the people. Social change in Nigeria will involve change from political culture of violence, brigandage, election rigging, godfatherism and mafia style behavior to one of respect for democratic ethos, internal democracy and peaceful conduct. It will also involve change from concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and pervasive poverty in the midst of plenty to combating inequality in all spheres of life. It will mean change from the present state of social degeneration characterized by corruption and immorality to one of integrity, transparency and moral rectitude. As mentioned above, for change to occur in any society requires the presence of objective and subjective conditions. Objective conditions exist when situations are evidently abnormal with huge contradictions which can only be resolved by change. The subjective conditions are the organizational preparations required to bring about change.xix There is no doubt that the objective conditions for change exist in Nigeria today. There is high level of poverty in the midst of plenty. Corruption is widespread, endemic and stifling progress. The wealth of the country is concentrated in the hands of a few. There is social disintegration with high levels of promiscuity and divorce. Rape is on the increase. There are several cases of incest. There is high level of greed, selfishness and nepotism. The state of affairs is not sustainable. The challenge is that the subjective conditions with the requisite organization and platform to mobilize for social change are absent. This is why it is important that we build a critical mass of individuals and provide a platform to mobilize for social change. In other words, social action is required to bring about social change. We have argued elsewhere that in modern world, we cannot allow society to change in a haphazard manner and that there is the need to plan for and organize change. Social action includes all those activities directed to bringing about social change. In organizing for social change, we must take the following into consideration: 

Strategies for the struggle for social change should be historically specific and should reflect the times and circumstances or the material conditions out of which they arise. 6

 

The struggle for change is not a linear progression. It involves advances and reversals; gains and setbacks. Social change is a product of many forces. The youth must ally with other radical and progressive forces.

Boraine identified examples of strategies of change to include:        

Protests and delegations to authorities Participation within formal institutions Boycotts of institutions Withdrawal of labour Alliances Challenge and confrontation Withdrawal of economic support Armed struggle and alternative administrative structures.xx

6. LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE Like most terms in social discourse, there is no universal definition of leadership. Leadership is defined in different ways by several scholars. Myles Munroe defines leadership as the ability to lead others by influence.xxi This includes the capacity to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate, induce, move, mobilize, and activate others to pursue a common goal or purpose while maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence and courage. The most popular definition is that Leadership is influence.xxii Influence here means the ability to move another person in a direction you believe is important. According to Bernard Montgomery, a British Field Marshal, Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. xxiii Leadership is one of the most important variables that affect the performance of any organization/institution or nation. The leadership of any organization determines its success or failure. It is the process of providing guidance to followers- the art of influencing human behaviour to strive willingly for mutually compatible objectives. One scholar once argued that “a leader is a person who knows the road, who can keep ahead and who pulls others after him/her.” The Core Leadership Responsibilities include achieving the task, building and maintaining the group and developing the individual. There are at least three sets of skills required for leadership competence. These are: 1. Conceptual Skills: Analysis, Research, Policy formulation, Reflection. 2. Technical Skills: Project, Office and Financial Management, Evaluation, Technology, Administration. 3. Social Skills: Working with People, Networking, Collaboration, Partnerships, Public Relations, Communications e.t.c Scholars have delineated the key commitments that leaders need to make in order to get extraordinary things done in an organisation.xxiv They are:  

To Challenge the process (search for opportunities, experiment and take risks) To inspire a shared vision (envision the future and enlist others into the vision) 7

   

To enable others to act (foster collaboration and strengthen others to be able to act) To model the way (set the example; plan small steps to promote progress( To encourage the heart (recognise individual contributions and celebrate accomplishments) To support the public and the community (recognise the impact of products and services on customers and the community; and be ethical and reach out)

It is important to point out that we must not mystify leaders. Leaders are not super humans. They are ordinary people who accept or are placed under extra-ordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential, producing a character that inspires the confidence and trust of others.xxv This is why Amandla, the cultural wing of the Africa National Congress (ANC) stated that leaders are not born; they are produced during the course of the struggle. Great leaders are usually ordinary people who are prepared to sacrifice and do extraordinary things because circumstances made demands on their potential. True leaders are not selfish and have no interest in themselves or position but committed to influencing others for the common good. In addition, it must be pointed out that there are different kinds of leadership required for different eras. Scholars have pointed out that the period of crisis requires charismatic leadership with a combination of intelligence, purpose, grace under pressure and consideration for followers.xxvi The period of change requires transformational leaders who are courageous, value driven and visionary people who are uncomfortable with uncertainty while steady times require transactional leaders who maintain the status quo and strengthen existing structures, cultures and strategies. We are in a period of crisis and change and we need charismatic and transformational leaders.

7. THE ROLE OF THE YOUTH The Youth have great roles to play in the development of nations. In Nigeria, young people have been relegated to the background. In the first republic and during the first phase of military rule, young people played active role in the governance of Nigeria. Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri became Federal Ministers in their 20s. Matthew Mbu became an ambassador in his early 20s. Col Yakubu Gowon became head of state at the age of 28. In 1976, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became the head of state. I was in primary six. In 1999, he became the President of Nigeria. I had left the university for thirteen years. Nigerian Youth must reject the cliché of being the leaders of tomorrow. That tomorrow may never come. IBB made the point when he argued that the youth are not ready for leadership. Nigerian youth must prepare themselves for leadership by acquiring the knowledge and skills required for leadership. More importantly, they must become agents for social change by organizing and mobilizing for change. In the 1960s and 1970s, the students under the platform of National Association of Nigerian Students and the Youth under the platform of the Patriotic Youth Movement of Nigeria were the conscience of the Nation. They fought against the Anglo-Nigeria defence pact that would have mortgaged the independence of Nigeria. They fought against unpopular anti-people policies such as increase of school fees (Ali must Go in 1978); structural adjustment programme and increase in the price of petroleum products. But today, student bodies have become specialist is giving awards to thieving Governors. 8

In pursuing social change, the youth should consider the following strategies:             

Building, nurturing and promoting radical change agents Waging war against opportunists and sell outs within youth organizations and platforms Building capacity for organizing Building alliances with other radical and progressive forces and agreeing on a minimum Programme Increase political education of members. Stimulate awareness among young people of their rights and options for action open to them. Encourage participation of young people in the development works and decision making affecting their lives. Mobilize and reject the neo-liberal economic policies that continued to impoverish the masses and turn young people into cultural, ideological and social slaves. Attack all barriers which prevent or obstruct young people’s participation and development. Building structures for social change Engaging in actions- campaigns, advocacy, protests, boycotts etc Speaking to power, challenging power and altering power relations in favour of young people Building a movement for social change

8. THE IMPERATIVE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP One of the greatest challenges that our young people have faced in the last one decade especially in the Niger Delta is corruption of the youth in the name of empowerment. Politicians and oil barons dish out handouts to young people in the name of empowerment. The young people are not engaged in formal employment neither are they given skills to either develop a career or given entrepreneurial skills to start their own businesses and become employers of labour. The end result is that the young people now become perpetually dependent on their “masters” and therefore unable to perform their historic role of being agents of social action and change. There is therefore the great need to build the skills of the youth on entrepreneurship to enable them have good means of livelihood. There are enormous opportunities in Nigeria as a whole and the Niger Delta in particular. The local content bill has opened up a lot of possibilities. The Youth must be trained to exploit the opportunities not only for their own individual benefit but for the benefit of society.

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The practice is that politicians and oil barons dish out handouts to the young people and call it empowerment. This practice is actually disempowering because the persons involved are not supported to secure meaningful employment or to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The end result is that the young persons involved become perpetually dependent of their “masters.”

9. CONCLUSION From the above, it is clear that young people are the greatest asset of any nation. They are the future of any nation and serve as the bridge that link the present to future generations. They are active, dynamic, and adventurous and can serve as agents of social action and social change. However, there is no doubt that the elders have failed to put in place effective development programmes for the youth. It remains to be seen whether the youth will fail themselves and refuse to develop themselves and become agents of change. Leadership for change and entrepreneurship are imperative for young people to perform their historic role of being agents of social action and change in society. It was Frantz Fanon who said “every generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.” The past is gone. The future is a clean slate. Nigeria is at a juncture. The choice is yours- fulfill your mission or betray it.

ENDNOTES

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Igbuzor, O (2005), Perspectives on Democracy and Development. Lagos, Joe-Tolalu Associates. Kambhmpati, U. S. ( ), Development and the Developing World. Uk, Polity Press iii Sen, A. (2008), Development as Freedom. Oxford, Oxford University Press. iv UNDP (2007), Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a divided World. Human Development Report 2007/2008. New York, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) v Utomi, P. (2006), Why Nations are Poor. Lagos, Centre for Applied Economics, Lagos Business School. vi Kambhampati, U. S.(2004), Development and Developing World. Uk, Polity Press. vii Igbuzor, O (2005), Op cit viii UNDP 2003 Op cit ix http://wikipedia.org/wiki/community_development x www.cyd.aed.org/whatis. xi National Youth Policy (2001). Federal Republic of Nigeria. xii United Nations Development Report (UNDP) (2003), Millennium Development Goals: A Compact among Nations to end Human Poverty. Oxford University Press. xiii Shetty, Salil (2005), Millennium Declaration and Development Goals: Opportunities for Human Rights in International Journal on Human Rights, Year 2, Number 2. xiv Green, D.(2008), From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States can Change the World. Oxford, Oxfam International. xv Obadan, m. i. (2002), Main Factors in the General Deterioration of the Poverty Situation in Nigeria and Effective Exit Strategies. A paper Presented at the Interactive Participative Session of the Office of the Vice-President of Nigeria with Civil Society Organisations and Labour Unions held at Abuja from 7-8 November, 2002 ii

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xvi

Federal Office of Statistics(FOS), “Poverty Profile in Nigeria, 1980-1996 Central bank of Nigeria 1999 p.95 xviii Igbuzor, O (2005) Perspectives on Democracy and Development. Lagos, Joe-Tolalu & Associates. xix Ibid xx Boraine, A. (1989), ‘Strategies of the Democratic Movement” in Fourie, S. (Ed),. Strategies for Change. Cape Town, the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa. xxi Munroe, M. (1993), Becoming a Leader. Lanham, Pneuma Life Publishing. xxii Collier, K and Williams, M. (2004), Biblical Leadership: Becoming a Different Kind of Leader. Greenville, Ambassador International xxiii Quoted in Maxwell, J. C. (1999) The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Nashville, Tennesse, Thomas Nelson Inc. xxiv Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. F. (1987), The Leadership Challenge. Jossey-Bass xxv Munroe, M. (1993) Op cit xxvi The World’s First 21st Century Leader xvii

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