Onyekachi Eze 
The Federal Government on Tuesday said it recognised the circumstances that made many Nigerian youths leave the country in search of greener pastures abroad.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, at a press conference in Abuja, stated that many youths who emigrated would have stayed if the situation of things in the country had been favourable to them.
Alhaji Idris who used the occasion to receive the blueprint for the National Values Charter, which will soon unveiled to the Nigerian public, added that the government is aware that many Nigerians have become skeptical and disenchanted with things in the country.
According to him, security challenges, unemployment, corruption, failed promises, lack of social amenities and illiteracy, are some of the challenges that made the youths leave the country.
“We acknowledge this grave dilemma that continues to confront many of our people. We will never be tempted to minimise the pains and challenges and frustrations that Nigerians face.
“At the same time, we will also always seek to emphasise that making our way out, and advancing along the path of lasting greatness, is a collective responsibility,” he said.
The minister however stated that the Federal Government was not seeking to shift the blame or its responsibility, adding that the government is only seeking, through the National Values Charter, to map out the various rights, roles and responsibilities of all Nigerians, both leaders and followers, public and private sectors, on the quest for national greatness.
“Everyone has a part to play; and I must say that the government, made up of elected and appointed officials, will always have a very important burden of leadership responsibility upon it.
“The premise of the National Values Charter is that the government, as represented by elected and appointed representatives, must fulfil basic non-negotiable promises in return for fundamental commitments from the citizens,” he stated.
He explained that the National Values Charter contains “seven core promises of the Nigerian state to the citizens, followed by the seven commitments of the citizens towards their country.
“This is a significant difference between past efforts and the present.”
The minister noted the previous programmes of successive governments, such as ‘Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation,’ ‘Change Begins with Me’, and the publication in 2020 of a National Ethics and Integrity Policy, among others, geared towards building a nation with positive values.
He stated that the National Values Charter takes into account “the fact that we are a youth-centric and technology-driven world,” and therefore, “we are determined to ensure that the young people of Nigeria own this social contract, and are allowed to take the lead in using it to build, in concert with older generations, a better country, and a better world.”
Alhji Idris disclosed the National Orientation Agency (NOA), has assured that “various innovative approaches and socialization strategies will be employed to ensure that the Charter becomes part and parcel of our personal and collective existence as Nigerians.”
