From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Stakeholders across the nine states of the Niger Delta have urged President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, to develop a new approach that allows the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to train and empower more youths so that poverty, unemployment and criminality is effectively tackled in the region.
The stakeholders, made up of civil society groups, youth activists, politicians and traditional rulers stated this after a one-day meeting held to chart a way forward for the region under the chairmanship of Mr Onyema Omenuwa.
They said Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown had further impoverished millions of people in the Niger Delta and urged Buhari to direct Akpabio to ensure that the NDDC urgently embarked on human capacity development in order to bridge the poverty gap..
Omenuwa who spoke on behalf of the stakeholders said the recent state of poverty and employment in the region called for government assistance through empowerment initiatives like small-scale retailing, crop and animal farming, artisanship and information and communication technology.
“Youths unemployment is a major development challenge with implications for conflict in the Niger Delta. The oil producing states of the Niger Delta Region have some of the highest levels of youths unemployment in Nigeria, about 38.4 per cent in Bayelsa and 27.9 per cent in Rivers, compared to the national average of 21.1 per cent. Like other parts of the world, youth’s unemployment in the Niger Delta is driven by demographic, educational and economic factors.
“Two-thirds of the population of the Niger Delta is below the age of 30. With pervasive poverty and unemployment in the region, many youths are such as armed robbery, oil bunkering, prostitution and hostage taking for ransom. The persistent tension in the region further encouraged more youths to prefer quick gains from crime and conflict over longer term and frequently unavailable returns to investments in education and training. Youth restiveness and persistent conflict in the Niger Delta hurt both the national economy and the local people,” Omenuwa said.