As a part of occasions to mark the Worldwide Anti-Corruption Day, the Minister for Youth Growth, Ayodele Olawande, has introduced the arrange of a Youth Assist Desk, as a platform for teenagers to report circumstances of corruption and search assist when wanted.
The minister made the announcement throughout his deal with at an occasion to mark the Anti-Corruption Day, themed “Uniting with Youth Towards Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity”, held on the UN Home in Abuja on Tuesday.
Olawande, who lamented the statistics of younger individuals denied justice within the Corrections system, stated the objective of the Ministry was to “create a system that protects, helps, and empowers each younger Nigerian”, including that the nation’s financial hardship, lack of alternatives, and weak institutional constructions, usually pushed younger folks towards crime.
“The challenges are clear. Throughout the nation, too many younger folks discover themselves victims of a justice system that usually fails them. A lot of our prisoners are underneath the age of 35, and lots of are held with out trial for years. This troubling actuality highlights a twin disaster: younger folks going through systemic delays in accessing justice and the rising involvement of youth in felony actions.
“Financial hardship, lack of alternatives, and weak institutional constructions usually push our younger folks towards crime, additional fueling the cycle of distrust within the system. In response to those pressing points, the Ministry of Youth Growth established the Nigerian Youth Assist Desk. This initiative serves as a direct hyperlink between younger Nigerians and the help they want. It’s a platform the place they will report circumstances of corruption, search justice, and entry the assistance they want”, he stated.
The minister additionally introduced a partnership with the United Nations Workplace on Medicine and Crime, to strengthen the combat in opposition to drug abuse, noting the prevalence of drug abuse amongst younger folks between the ages of 25-39.
“On the identical time, the rising wave of drug abuse is tearing via our communities. The prevalence is especially excessive amongst these aged 25-39, a core youth demographic. Behind these figures are numerous tales of younger folks scuffling with dependancy, cybercrimes, victims of Human Trafficking, unable to search out assist, and battling stigma that pushes them additional into isolation.
“To strengthen our efforts, yesterday we introduced our partnership with the United Nations Workplace on Medicine and Crime (UNODC). Collectively, we’re constructing a more practical response to the challenges our youth face and we’re creating protected areas and empowering younger folks with the information to guard themselves”, he said.
Additionally talking the Nation Director of the UNODC, Cheikh Toure, stated a current survey disclosed that Nigeria, significantly the youth demography, had made progress in its efforts in opposition to corruption.
“A powerful 70% of Nigerians, together with our youth, have refused to pay a bribe on no less than one event. This statistic is not only a quantity; it represents a rising tradition of integrity and resistance in opposition to corruption. Furthermore, 42% of respondents refused to pay bribes just because it was ‘the appropriate factor to do’. This ethical stance is the muse upon which we should construct our anti-corruption efforts”.
“We’ve additionally seen a big enhance within the willingness to report bribery incidents, greater than doubling from 3.6% in 2019 to eight.6% in 2023.
“This surge in civic duty is partly because of the elevated accessibility of criticism channels, together with social networks, web sites, and apps. The speed of detrimental penalties for refusing to pay bribes has decreased from 49% in 2019 to 38% in 2023.
“Moreover, we’ve witnessed an almost threefold enhance within the initiation of formal procedures in opposition to corrupt public officers, rising from 16% to 45% between 2019 and 2023.”
Whereas commending youth innovativeness, he referred to as on stakeholders to maintain the combat in opposition to corruption, noting that long-term success might solely be achieved “via efficient preventive methods and unwavering dedication”.