We would love to enjoy what youths in other parts of the world are experiencing, like having meals in luxurious hotels, driving fancy cars, tour cities and having the time of our lives. Nevertheless, there is more to life than luxury, in fact the simple things in life are what makes life interesting. What could these simple things be? This article sheds light on things the Nigerian youth would like to have access to make their lives on earth more meaningful.

It is important to note that currently, over 33.6 million (16.8%) Nigerians are regarded as youths (aged between 15 and 35). It is obvious that if close attention is paid to these group of persons and their needs are met, it would have a positive influence on the lives of others in the country.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: In 2022, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is estimated to reach 33 %. One would likely conclude that Nigerian youths aren't educated and so don't qualify to be recruited for professional jobs. This isn't really the case. Yearly there is an outflux of thousands of graduates into the job market that doesn't have sufficient job space for them. Yearly too there is an influx of students into the higher institutions who will finally graduate and have limited jobs to be hired for. This has become a cycle yearly.

We have seen situations whereby just one vacant space opening is advertised in an organization, but hundreds of graduates apply to get this job. Even most of the ones available come with a paycheck that isn’t sustainable. This is really appalling. It has become so bad that many persons now use this colloquial expression (School is a scam). They wonder how they would invest 4-6 years of their lives in obtaining a degree and have nothing as a reward for their due diligence. This has led many of these persons to engage in fraudulent practices and been used as tools to achieve the interest of political leaders, all of these which tarnish the image of Nigeria.

Nigerian youths want a country where there are high chances, they would get a job after their dedication to study for years. Jobs that will help them start a life for themselves, raise a family, support their parents and siblings.

Little wonder lately we have a large number of Nigerians leaving the country searching for greener pastures leading to the loss of valuable talents that can be utilized in our country.

ACCESS TO FUNDING FOR ENTERPRENEURAL YOUTHS: If jobs in the market aren't enough for youths, they can pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. A sizable number of Nigerian youths have great business ideas that have the potentials to provide solutions to national and worldwide problems. These ones are willing to work their heart out and their ideas can blow up to become Unicorns. Where is the access to funding to scale up these ideas? These business ideas can even create job opportunities for the unemployed and increase the Gross Domestic Product of our country.

Nigerian youths want easy access to grants, loans, and acceleration programs to build their businesses. They want a situation where a common man can have access to all of these, they don't need to have a family or friend in the seat of power before they get to know of such opportunities and are able to access them. They want to be able to access loans with moderate interest rates and free of bottled neck(delayed) processes.

A SECURE NATION: In March 2022, a medical doctor, Chinelo Megafu lost her life to an ill-fated Abuja-Kaduna train tragedy caused by terrorists who detonated bombs that brought the train to a halt. This is so heartbreaking. Imagine spending years in medical school, hoping for a promising future and her life was cut short. How would her family feel about this sad news? They likely had big dreams for this child but all down the drain. Why? Insecurity! Can the terrorists even be traced? Is there any provision to track them down easily and be brought to justice?

This is just one in a hundred of tragedies that happen in Nigeria, what about the ones that don't get to hit the news headlines? It’s traumatizing that despite living a simple life in Nigeria, no one is ever sure if they will be alive the next minute, hour, or day not because of a disease or an accident but because they can be kidnapped and lose their lives. Is living in a secure nation too much to ask for?

A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF STEADY POWER SUPPLY: It is embarrassing that many times after the close of work or at home, we pray to God that we have power supply and whenever it is restored, little children get to scream in unism words of excitement. Isn’t that laughable? Many parts of the country experience power shortage or low current despite paying high bills and some haven't had power supply for years.

Power supply has a powerful impact on the growth of businesses as these businesses rely heavily on it to carry out day to day tasks for their customers. With the advent of remote work, steady power supply will help persons who work from home to do that free of stress.

We don't want 24 hours of power supply. We just need a reasonable amount of power daily. We want to be able to get home after the day at work and be able to put on our electric fans or air conditioners, stay updated with news on television or be able to relax by watching movies. We want to have a good life before we die.

EASY ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE: Quality health care shouldn't be accessible only to the rich. Quality access shouldn't be available only when we travel out of the country. This is a basic human right. Many persons lose their lives because diagnosis and management of such sicknesses are expensive. For example, the cost of an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan ranges from 50,000 naira for a cranial scan and 800,000 naira for a full body scan depending on the body part been examined. To be realistic, only few persons can afford to get this done and tests like these are crucial for proper diagnosis. How easy would it be for a Nigerian who struggles to have a 3 square meal daily to access this health care and manage the diagnosis afterwards?

Well-equipped hospitals should be made available, and fees subsidized for the common man who struggle daily to put food on his table.

GOOD GOVERANCE: A leader most of the times is responsible for the affairs of a group of people and determines whether things go well or not. The Nigerian youths want accountable, tenable and vision driven leaders to take charge of the affairs of the country at all levels of the government. They don't want leaders who buy their way to the seat of power. They want leaders who will put the interest of their citizens into consideration before enforcing certain governing rules.

This want is saved as the last because it plays a crucial role in achieving most of the other wants of the Nigerian youths stated above.

Truth be told, the request of the Nigerian youths isn’t insatiable or over demanding, they are wants that can be met and will lead to the betterment of the country and the future generations of Nigerians.

A popular idiom says: how you lay your bed, so you lie on it. We can lay this bed of ours well enough for us and our offspring to lie on comfortably.