Baywood Foundation (BF) has attributed youth restiveness in Nigeria to non-inclusion of youths in governance in the country.
The non-governmental organisation urged Nigerian leaders to involve youths in governance for even development and avert youth restiveness.
The organisation made this call in the wake of the #EndSARS protests in Africa’s most populous nation.
Director of the foundation Chukwudi Ojielo called for 30 percent affirmative action for youths in Nigeria as he condemned the recent looting and destruction of public and private property.
Protests, with hashtag #EndSARS, were triggered by the killing of a young man by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos on 03 October.
The police unit, which has been disbanded by the Nigerian government, had long been accused of harassment, unlawful arrests, torture and killings.
Thugs were reported to have taken advantage of the protest, with police accusing people ‘posing’ as protesters of looting weapons, and torching police buildings.
‘Many of our youths have become toys under the elderly politicians, participating in dangerous political vices such as kidnapping, thuggery, election rigging and this has drastically impacted the quality of our democratic governance’, Ojielo said at a press briefing in Enugu.
Source: The Guardian
Photo source: The Cable
