By Malam Fa’izu Muhammad
It is an indisputable fact that a government that neglects its youths is doomed because the youths are the future of society. The Gombe State Government under the proactive, focused and dynamic leadership of Dan manjen Gombe recognises this fact, hence a deliberate policy to develop the youths of the state to prepare them for the challenges ahead as leaders of tomorrow in whose hands lies the destiny of the state.
Apart from its rich programmes which ensure amongst others; quality education, the Inuwa Yahaya-led government has also established youth-specific platforms, initiatives, funds and schemes for the engagement and empowerment of young persons.
A first indication that the government would not be receptive to the dehumanisation of youths, emerged when the governor voiced out against youths being used as political thugs. This, for him, was the height of dehumanisation of the state’s youth population and, therefore, he vowed not to have anything to do with it.
He soon realised that what may have pushed many of the youths into such dangerous ventures is poverty. It is not in contention that before this time, poverty and unemployment were intertwined in the state and this was largely responsible for the various social vices that the youths were engaged in.
The administration, no doubt, has put in place far-reaching and result-oriented youth programmes that encompass the formulation and implementation of plans, initiatives, strategies, intervention models and specific measures to achieve sustainable economic development, capacity-building, skill acquisition and alternative sources of livelihood in an environmentally sustainable manner in the state.
The Inuwa Yahaya led administration, unlike any other before it, has re-defined a new vision for the youths of the state, a vision founded on ‘youthfulness and usefulness. This, no doubt, was responsible for his uncommon passion and commitment to their advancement and welfare. He is not a leader that delights in seeing the state’s youths waste their usefulness.
As he has repeatedly emphasised; his government had pursued policies and programmes that have a direct bearing on the lives of the youths, with specific emphasis on things that would enhance their productivity. He consistently remained guided by this promise.
As stated earlier, this vision, he has religiously pursued; leaving no gaps in-between his vision and the efforts to see his dream of building a new generation of the industrious, competitive and vibrant youth population in the state is achieved.
In three years, in the life of his administration, this vision has sprouted into practical achievements, bearing visible fruits. This is a clear departure from what was obtained in the past when the youths were fed on phantom promises and rhetoric like the present dispensation. They were deceived into being used as political thugs. In other words, they became tools of destruction in the hands of their paymasters.
The Dan’majen Gombe government has given Gombe youth reasons to anticipate a glorious future; a future that would indeed be glorious. He does not pay lip service to it.
Written by Malam Fa’izu Muhammad For GISTAG.
