Young Yoruba: in danger and to be repositioned, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

Governments have inadvertently been complicit in the decadence of society, due to their failure to develop a strategy for moral renewal. Now is the time to use the levers of state bodies. Public media should develop special civic programs to broadcast. Produced with imagination, they will attract and above all retain the attention of the general public in targeted sectors. If done effectively, the advertising medium will follow.

The hijacking of the #EndSars protests, the reign of 'cult' groups and the accompanying disorientation among the youth of Yorubaland present a vivid testimony to the consequences stemming from the development of a downgraded demographic. We now have layers of people in our hands who lack the skills to subsist, let alone survive in today's conditions.

The downgraded are so numerous that they cannot be classified as "deviants" or "marginal": they have entered the mainstream. It is worrying that they continue to expand and take root as a sub-group due to the current economic situation, given our undiversified economy, our lack of competitiveness and the fact that the terms of the international trade are turning against us.

What happened?

The usual responses are the destruction of the rural agrarian economy, the acceleration of rural-to-urban migration, and a political economy obsessed with low skills and low wages. It's a combustible combination.

What to do?

I believe public enlightenment in terms of civic reorientation will be helpful. A combination of bullying the pulpit – using mainstream faith-based organizations and the mass media, to celebrate excellence, educate and propagate traditional values, will go a long way. While I believe in public enlightenment and civic reorientation, there are limits to what they can both do. These actions will only be effective if they are rooted in real programs. We cannot ask for behavioral changes without creating the atmosphere of an environment that allows for sensible behavior.

Civic reorientation must include the revival and modernization of learning systems. It is open to debate whether those who today obtain "freedom" from various business groups actually have the skills and tools to compete. Added to this is the scarcity of capital. Any repositioning must start with access to capital. The lack of connection between the education system and the learning environment is absurd and must be corrected.

Civic advocacy work needs to get to the roots of structured poverty. The government must provide the basis for the ethical buffers of society before the sectarian gangs and "Yahoo, Yahoo" beggars do. The government should work by using trained referral brigades, just like agricultural extension agents, to impart ethical values ​​by working with business group leaders and providing them with incentives…

One would have thought that the integration of the informal sector would be a key task of polytechnics. Instead, they have become mini ivory towers, missing both the point and a crucial opportunity. Compare that with Germany, where polytechnics are the engine room of the economy. In the German particularity, university education is free but polytechnic education is not. It shows the im...