One Project Afrika Floats Youth Agenda Campaign In Kaduna

Participants during OPA, NDI and Media parley on Kaduna Youth Agenda on Friday 17/5/19)

NIGERIA –

In furtherance of Vote Not Fight campaign, a non-governmental organization known as One Project Afrika in partnership with National Democratic Institute (NDI) and support from USAID and DFID, has began another campaign called Kaduna Youth Agenda (KYA).

This campaign is looking at how key policymakers in Kaduna state especially, the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, could take sustainable actions in five thematic areas which are education, health, agriculture, job creation and peace building.

Addressing the opening of media training and establishment of KYA reporters cohort in Kaduna on Friday, Executive Director, One Project Afrika, Zigwai Ayuba, said, the five thematic areas highlight were the outcome of rigorous survey targeting at the young persons and their needs across the 23 local government areas of the state.

According to Zigwai, the need for the policymakers to listen and act in accordance to the identified needs of the young persons in Kaduna state which would in turn, address many of the social vices the state is currently suffering from.

For example she said, youths represents 60 percent of the total population if the country and 51 percent voters, hence, the need to manage them well as a means of managing KADUNA State well.According to her, “this KYA campaign was developed during the last Vote Not Fight in Kaduna.

After that campaign, we began a research to know what we can do to address the issues of youth restlessness and we distributed 20 personnel to each of the 23 local government areas where 460 questionnaires were distributed to youths.

“After that survey, what the youths need are education, health, agriculture, job creation and peace building. So, if the person of Governor Nasir El-Rufai can take a critical look into the nitty gritty of the document development from that survey, then, the state would take the lead in the North.

“Senior Program Manager, NDI, Bem Aga, appealed to media managers, editors, producers and reporters to support the campaign to ensure that things are quickly implemented in the interest of the good people of Kaduna State saying, media need to own the campaign to make it a success.

“This is a unique programme that media should support. One Project Afrika has moved round the state to carry out a survey. The result of that survey gave birth to the five thematic areas she mentioned.

“The Kaduna Youth Agenda theory of change is centred on voice, space and accountability. We need the media in all these areas to make this important campaign a success,” he hoped.

SENT BY SOLA OJO