NEEDS 2 AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NIGERIA: JOURNEY SO FAR Nigerian Youth Network on MDGs Development Partnership International

NEEDS1 National Economic Empowerment and development Strategy NEEDS is Nigeria’s home grown Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) NEEDS has been the blue print for driving Nigeria’s economic development in the last four years 2004 to 2007

NEEDS set out to achieve: Employment Generation Poverty Reduction Wealth Creation and; Value Re-orientation

Achievement of NEEDS Gains in the telecommunication sector from 400,000 lines in 2001 to 37 million lines in 2007, representing more than a 400% increase Reforms in the Banking sector: from 89 largely weak banks to 25 strong banks. Aggregate capital base of $3 billion in 2004 to $5.9billion in 2006 Debt Relief: More than $30 billion dollars in debt has been forgiven or paid

Shortfall of NEEDS Economic growth without corresponding level of Economic development Power/ Energy sector Unemployment Corruption

NEEDS 2 The focus of NEEDS 2 is ‘poverty reduction through employment generation’ The aspiration of NEEDS 2 is to launch Nigeria into the league of the 20 largest economies by 2020

NEEDS 2: Vision statement Develop a nation built on strong democratic principles, united, secure and stable, caring, economically prosperous, socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and a key player in the regional and global economy.

NEEDS 2 NEEDS 2 will seek to reduce poverty levels by 35 percent by 2011, with a particular emphasis on employment

NEEDS 2: Process to date (1) Between August and December 2006, DPI, with support from CEDSI and CCAE conducted a comparative analysis of NEEDS and the needs of young people in Nigeria; In May 2007, Nigerian Youth Network on MDGs and Development Partnership International with support from UNFPA coordinated, tracked and mobilised young people in Nigeria to participate in the consultation process of NEEDS 2 draft in the 6 geo-political zones.

NEEDS 2: Process to date (2) The Consultative meetings organised by the National Planning Commission held in six towns; Lagos, Owerri, Asaba, Kaduna, Bauchi and Makurdi In all, about 165 young people participated in the 6 meetings. Presenting 6 youth position papers; one for each geopolitical zone.

Young people have needs In the consultations, young people have identified the following areas of needs: Education needs Agriculture needs Employment/Entrepreneurship needs Health needs Participation needs

Today’s agenda Harmonise the 6 youth position papers from each of the zones together into a final youth position paper Develop a plan of action for the positions that will possibly fit into a proposed youth chapter in the NEEDS 2 Develop a 1 page declaration that will capture the basic issues

Final words Today’s meeting is unique and important. It is possibly the first time that young people are systematically and structurally involved in a PRSP process from the planning stage, a lot of countries will learn from the Nigerian process and example. It is also our individual and collective duty to ensure that we get the policy right so as to ensure that the NEEDS of young people in Nigeria are met

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION