President Bola Tinubu in his inaugural address, made unequivocal mention of his commitment to prominently feature the youth in governance, as one of the cardinal guiding principles of his administration. Although we’ve heard similar words a dozen or more times from previous leaders at the different tiers of government, we can surmise with much confidence judging from the antecedents of Mr. President and the swift pace of his administration in the last two weeks, especially the clarity of his policy thrusts and appointment thus far of round pegs in round holes, that he is truly a man of his words.
Indeed, the expectations of the citizenry from the Tinubu Administration are quite high, as are the stakes. Nigeria is currently navigating the most horrendous period in her evolution. Previous blunders in policy formulation and implementation amid the myriad other wrong choices we’ve made, have plummeted our country to the very depths of brazen corruption, insecurity, terrorism, secessionism, a fragile economy due largely to lack of diversification and crash in the global price of crude oil; and an avalanche of other woes. Unfortunately, the youths are more at the receiving end of a malfunctioning social system.
Therefore, as we aspire to a positive change in our national polity – where unity, peace and progress will define our mutual coexistence and excellence, hard work and honesty will be elevated above mediocrity, incompetence and primordial sentiments; and where our government offices and public institutions will not only be a revolving door for the high and mighty but a floodgate of equal opportunities for progress and prosperity to all citizens, it’s very important for us to appreciate the immense roles that youths have to play in creating this new Nigeria of our dream.
In any case, a formidable youth constituency is a prerequisite for generating the wind of consciousness that will properly and permanently reposition the psyche of Nigerian youths. Sadly, the Federal Government has historically not accorded youths the due attention they deserve. While the Federal Ministry of Youth Development has existed more as an appurtenance of other ministries; such as the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs or the Ministry of Sports, the core aspect of youth development has received far less attention over time.
Hence, we earnestly hope that the current administration’s pledge to accord more space for youth participation in governance will be given impetus by the appointment of a Minister of Youth who is truly very passionate about youth development. In addition to being very educated and versatile in administration, the Minister of Youth Affairs must have a thorough understanding of the diversified, complex and dynamic youth structure of Nigeria. The ideal Youth Minister must be eminently capable of mobilizing and organizing the teeming youths to key into the laudable policies and programmes of the administration. We need a Minister of Youth who commands the respect and admiration of the generality of Nigerian youths.
I have been a key player in the global youth movement for over two decades, spanning the period of my active participation in student unionism as an undergraduate, through my involvement in the knotty politics of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, and even up to my incursion into partisan politics. As a seasoned youth leader both at home and abroad, I can boldly attest to the fact that of all the eligible hands in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to steer the Federal Ministry of Youth in the current dispensation, there’s none better qualified and deserving than Comrade Daniel Donald Onjeh.
Without fear of contradiction, there’s no other young APC member who is more intellectually grounded, selfless in service and equipped with in-depth knowledge, experience and unremitting commitment to tackling youth restiveness in Nigeria than Comrade Onjeh; a two-time APC Senatorial Candidate for the Benue South Senatorial District and former Chairman, Governing Board of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu.
Comrade Onjeh and I first crossed paths prior to 2002; when he was the Zonal Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone ‘A’, comprising about 17 northern states. He was then a student of the Federal University of Technology, (FUT) Minna, Niger State. We subsequently met at the NANS National Convention of 2002, where we both contested and won elective positions into the National Executive Council of NANS. While he won the Presidency, I was elected the National Sports Director.
Onjeh eventually became one of the most celebrated NANS Presidents in the chequered history of the apex student body. He was the first and the last NANS President to secure a befitting National Secretariat for the organization in Abuja, located then at Oran Street, Zone 1, Wuse. He equally introduced IT-consciousness into the national student movement by floating a dynamic website and other social interactive tools that facilitated effective communication between the student leaders and the larger community of students. He also devised an innovative way of curbing the disruptive tendencies of cultists during NANS Conventions, by bringing the annual event from the obscurities of campuses to the public arena of the Eagle Square, Abuja.
Posterity will forever be kind to Comrade Onjeh for being one of the few NANS Presidents that fought relentlessly with sterling achievements; to roll back drug abuse, violence and cultism and other social vices from our campuses. He organized an unprecedented Alternative to Violence Project (AVP) workshop, which brought together a horde of key youth and student leaders from across the country, as part of preparations for the 8th All Africa Games (COJA) at Abuja in 2003. Onjeh equally fought for the inclusion of genuine youths and students in the Commonwealth Youths Training Programme, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003, and ensured that they were trained incisively on citizenship and responsible leadership.
Onjeh’s relentless quest for justice for all Nigerian students led to his eventual suspension for the umpteenth time, from FUT Minna barely few months after his election as the NANS President in 2002. He was victimized for boldly speaking the truth to the school authority and the then political leadership in Niger State, following the gruesome killing of a young female student of FUT Minna named Funmilayo Fashona, by trigger-happy policemen. But undeterred, Onjeh was rather inspired to publish a book titled, “SEED OF UNITY…MUTUAL TRUST” in 2003, wherein he declared his total forgiveness for all those that conspired to suspend him from the university, while equally advocating for national cohesion.
Comrade Onjeh later enrolled at the University of Ghana, Legon, where he not only graduated with flying colours bagging a B.Sc. (Double Honours) in Economics and Political Science, but was also elected and served as the First President of the rejuvenated West Africa Students’ Union (WASU) between 2005 and 2006.
Upon his return to Nigeria, while most of us, his contemporaries, were already partisan politicians and members of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Onjeh opted to join the defunct opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), from where he later joined the APC after the merger of major opposition parties in 2014. He subsequently worked as an Executive Director at the Community Centre for Development (CDD), a community-based organization; and as Programmes Director at the Transparency and Anti-Corruption Campaign in Africa (TRACA), a nongovernmental organization.
In 2011, the young Onjeh kept his promise of liberating the average Nigerian youth from the mental slavery of the political bourgeois class by taking a bold shot at the Senate to represent Benue South Senatorial District on the platform of the defunct ACN, although he was finally impressed upon by party elders to step down his ambition to the House of Representatives, which he vied for unsuccessfully. But Onjeh rekindled his quest for the Senate in the 2015 General Elections, culminating in a keenly contested re-run election against the then President of the Senate, Senator David Mark. He vied for the senate again in 2019, but lost out at the APC Primaries. Onjeh aspired for the Senate yet again in the 2023 General Elections, where he was the Senatorial Candidate of the APC for Benue South.
Having excelled in character and leadership as a former student/youth leader, there’s no doubt that with the prevalent question on youth empowerment, Nigerian needs the type of quality leadership and direction that Comrade Onjeh is poised to bring to the table, to ensure inclusiveness and fair participation of our youths in the administration of President Bola Tinubu. It is one sure way of channeling the tremendous energies, inventiveness and numerical strength of our teeming youths towards nation building and socio-economic development.
Pharm. Ike Chinedu Klinsmann, a Former National Sports Director of NANS, wrote in from Stockholm, Sweden
