Youth Leadership Programs and Socio-Economic Development: The Case of Nigeria

For a long time, the notion that youth are the bedrock of the society and leaders of tomorrow has been a widely adopted belief by many, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria; however, only limited development has been experienced regarding improvements in the socioeconomic status of Nigerian youth. This research exposes some of the socio-economic issues affecting youth and highlights potential approaches to mitigating them. Moreover, the research acknowledges the impact of government initiatives and non-governmental youth leadership development programs have on the socio-economic condition of Nigeria. Findings from the literature review conducted revealed that present youth leadership development programs are narrow-focused, specialized majorly on food security and agriculture with lesser emphasis on non-agricultural sectors, and with short-term impacts. The authors recommend that youth leadership development should be deliberately and comprehensively planned and structured in a way that long-term impacts for both the individual youth and the nation are achieved. This poster presentation is a final research project completed by participants of a leadership research training program organized by the Teens and Youth in Leadership (TYIL), a leadership education focused non-governmental organization based in Nigeria.