By Ene Osang
Abuja
Minister of Youth and Sports, Bar. Solomon Dalong, has said youth programmes failed in the past because young people were not fully allowed to participate in such programmes, and so they did not see the programmes as theirs.
Dalong, stated this in Abuja during a maiden meeting with the management staff of the ministry, where he received a comprehensive hand over note from the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Christian Ohaa.
He assured Nigerians that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would avoid those mistakes that crippled lofty ideas behind the various youth empowerment programmes in the past.
According to him, the challenges of youth development are critical, and they must be resolved wholistically.
He said it was unfortunate that Nigerian youth had excelled in all things both the bad and the good things, adding that some of them joined the bad group due to frustration arise from neglect by the past governments.
He said: “We (as government) are responsible for their predicament because they were being neglected, but the present administration is not guilty of their situation.
“I think the question of Youth development is very critical looking at the problem the country is facing either from insurgency, armed robberies, baby production industries, kidnapping, drugs among others.”
Continuing, he said: “Governments have been in place this country and the youth have been neglected. It was because the youth have been neglected that they became frustrated. They said the youth are the leaders of tomorrow, but they have waited patiently, but tomorrow has not come, so frustration sets in.
“The challenges of youth development in the country are not only crucial, but also critical. It is crucial because at this point of our national history the youth are generally frustrated. Because they are frustrated, they have in their respond to their understanding what leadership should be, gotten themselves involved in things that are counterproductive to national development.”
He appealed to youths to collaborate with the government of President Buhari in building a better future for them.
“I appeal to Nigerian youths to, as custodians of the new mandate of change, have confidence in us; they should trust us, they should collaborate with us that we can build a better future with them.”
On the crisis in Plateau state, where he hails from, he said it was imperative for the people to cooperate with the present administration for peace to reign in the state.