There are no surprises with respect to the responsibilities of youth stewardship. My aim in proposing ‘Youth Stewardship’ has been to situate these responsibilities in relation to certain domains, and in light of other issues.

I state that we, the youth, have the right to undertake certain responsibilities within and regarding our domains of stewardship. And, that our effectiveness depends on how well we live our values, as well as on tackling the challenges which make cooperation and solidarity among the youth difficult.

Here’s my shortlist of responsibilities

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF YOUTH STEWARDSHIP

*To accept and exercise our rights.
*To respect and honour our dignity as individuals and citizens.
*To appreciate and celebrate our identity
*To envision and work to become the best we can be.
*To mobilize for greater youth consciousness and support youth causes.
*To claim and protect the best heritage of our past.
*To discuss, evaluate and criticize our society.
*To confront the challenges we face within our domains of stewardship
*To create a better future by changing and reforming the present.
*To build peace in our society
*To promote social justice among ourselves.
*To show solidarity with each other and to add substance to our solidarity.
*To be knowledgeable and informed.

It’s never enough to write a list. There are 5 points worth making about the nature of these responsibilities.

THEY ARE SELF-EVIDENT

THEY ARE NOT SIMPLE

THEY SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED

THEY WILL SHAPE THE VALUE OF OUR LEGACY

SUCCESS IS WITHIN OUR REACH

1. THEY ARE SELF-EVIDENT.

By this I mean that as literate individuals, we easily recognize them as responsibilities. The evidence is all around us. We learn about them and we understand that we are expected to live up to them.

2. THEY ARE NOT SIMPLE

Being self-evident should not be mistaken for simplicity. The depth of these responsibilities explains why there are career youth advocates and experts on youth matters. It is also the reason why there are so many ways for individuals to participate. This depth requires that we take a conscious, studied approach. This is why communicating and organizing our effort is very important.

3. THEY SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED

The limited resources at our disposal and the reality of our needs require that we prioritize. This shouldn’t mean that all effort be centrally controlled or that there be strict consensus on what is done, when and how. But a shared understanding of the available means of pursuing our aims and our needs, should guide our projects. The best consequence will be a synergy of effort and results, creating real change and the perception of progress.

4. THEY WILL SHAPE THE VALUE OF OUR LEGACY

These responsibilities don’t simply state what we ought to do. They are the measure by which our work or success will be assessed. It is important that we use this fact to our advantage. Whether we assess ourselves or are assessed by the succeeding generation is irrelevant, My point is simply this: there is a standard and, it is self-evident as such.

5. SUCCESS IS WITHIN REACH

Many young Nigerians deserve credit for the work they do. This year has seen youth participation and consciousness increase significantly. The latest effort being that of the Youth Alliance on Constitutional Review. These are encouraging signs. But, there is still so much to do!!!