A Passionate Call for Robust Social Welfare:
Prioritising Our Youths and Elders
My dear compatriots, especially the energetic young men and women stepping out of NYSC camps across Nigeria and our respected elders who have given their prime years in service to this nation,
I write to you today with fire in my spirit and unwavering conviction in my heart. For too long, we have watched our most vulnerable fall through the cracks of governance, and I refuse to remain silent.
Social welfare is not a luxury or an afterthought; it is a non-negotiable foundation of any nation that claims to value its people. It is the covenant we owe to every citizen who has contributed, or is ready to contribute, to the greatness of Nigeria.
Let me speak plainly: I see our youths who have just completed their NYSC as a special treasure. These are not statistics; they are doctors, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs and future leaders who have served their fatherland with discipline and patriotism. Yet, many return home to empty hands, mounting bills, and a job market that offers little mercy. The transition from service to sustainable livelihood must never be left to chance. We have demanded over time, a deliberate, well-funded social welfare package that includes:
- Structured post-NYSC unemployment support and skills-enhancement stipends for at least 12 months.
- Massive entrepreneurship grants and soft loans tailored for NYSC alumni.
- Mandatory one-year paid internship or apprenticeship programmes linked to both public and private sectors.
- Free or heavily subsidised vocational and digital training that matches today’s economy.
Let me be very honest with you. Government has initiated some programmes that sound good on paper. For our youths fresh from NYSC, there is the Nigerian Youth Academy with its “One Youth, Two Skills” initiative, startup grants under the Renewed Hope Agenda, and efforts to create jobs through digital and entrepreneurial schemes. For our elders, there have been talks of implementing free healthcare for low-income retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, pension increases, and clearance of backlogs. These are steps in the right direction, and I acknowledge them.
But… and this “but” is very loud in my spirit – many of these programmes have been entrusted to people who failed woefully in executing them. Delays upon delays, money disappearing, ghost beneficiaries, political favouritism, and promises that never reach the grassroots. Our youths finish NYSC and still roam the streets jobless for years. Our retirees queue endlessly for pensions that come late or not at all, while some battle sickness without medicine. And what does the government do to those who failed? Nothing! No sack, no prosecution, no punishment. This is the painful truth. There has been a serious lack of political will to make these things work the way they should. It is not enough to announce programmes; we must demand full, transparent, and timely implementation.
These young people are not liabilities; they are Nigeria’s greatest asset. I will fight relentlessly until every youth finishing NYSC knows that the system has their back, not just with words, but with concrete, immediate provisions. This is my passion, and on this I do not bend.
Equally dear to my heart are our elderly retirees; the fathers and mothers who built the civil service, the police, the military, the schools and the hospitals we enjoy today. Many now battle hypertension, diabetes and untreated ailments because their pensions arrive late or not at all. Some sleep with one eye open, still saddled with the responsibility of solving issues for their children even though they are graduates. This is unacceptable. A nation that forgets its elders has lost its soul.
I insist on a strengthened, dignified social welfare framework for retirees that guarantees:
- Prompt, inflation-adjusted monthly pensions.