YMCI Petitions President Yar’Adua of Nigeria over Ratification of African Youth Charter

Posted September 3rd, 2008 by ymci

The Youth Media and Communication Initiative (YMCI), an umbrella organisation of Nigerian children and youth has petitioned President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Nigeria on the need for Nigeria to ratify the African Youth Charter (AYC).

The petition is part of a continental campaign coordinated by Speak Africa, an African Union recognised children and youth communication and advocacy platform.

On November 1, 2008 -- Africa Youth Day -- Speak Africa will be using mainstream media channels to publicize the countries that have ratified the African Youth Charter.

In a letter sent to President Yar’Adua and signed by the coordinator of YMCI, Chido Onumah, the organisation noted that “as Nigeria joins the rest of Africa in celebrating 2008 as the Year of the African Youth, it will be a great disservice to Nigerian youths, the future of the country, if the year ends without Africa’s most populous nation ratifying the AYC”.

“The fact that Nigeria was recently elected Chair of the revitalized Pan African Youth Union (PYU), means there is an added importance that Nigeria serves as a good model by ratifying the AYC,” Onumah said. According to him, “Nigeria and, indeed, African youths, won’t have this kind of glorious opportunity to make their voices heard nationally and continentally, perhaps for another decade”.

African Union Heads of State and government endorsed the AYC at their 7th Ordinary Session in Banjul, The Gambia, on July, 2, 2006. As of August 2008, while 29 countries had signed the Charter, only six (Mali, The Gambia, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, and Rwanda) had ratified it.

The Charter will enter into force (30) days after the deposit of the 15th instrument of ratification. The AYC is a comprehensive continental charter that addresses critical issues confronting African youth, including employment and entrepreneurship, participation in decision-making, HIV&AIDS and access to information technology.

YMCI is an international organisation registered in Nigeria, the UK and Canada whose aim is to train children and youth, using media, as agents for social mobilization and social change; to develop their capacity for effective communication and self-expression so that they can positively impact their schools, communities and society.