Our YouthsAre Not Lazy Depreciating Unemployment through Sustainable Development Policies in Nigeria

Despite the global adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nigeria has made little

progress when compared to other countries. Specifically, Nigeria has done little in terms of

socioeconomic and political development. This is evident with the low school enrollment of children

and the surge of poverty. Many have argued that Nigeria’s low scorecard on development is

motivated by incessant conflict and recently, by the tragedy of COVID-19. However, the problem is

more the nature of policies enacted and applied. To attain the SDGs-2030, Nigeria needs to review

its developmental agenda and policies and adopt progressive practices that is youth-centered. This

study examines the existing policies and practices in eradicating poverty and attaining quality

education in Nigeria, and the innovative policies and practices that could eradicate poverty and

improve quality education in Nigeria. The study adopted secondary sources for data collection, used

qualitative research technique for data analysis, and applied structural functionalist theory for

smooth interrogation of variables of interest in the disquisition. It was discovered that although the

existing policies possesses some sought of benefits to an extent, little impact of the existing policies

has been felt in the Nigerian economy due to lack of continuity, accountability and transparency,

nepotism, corruption, inadequate funding, selfishness, inefficiency, and bad leadership. However,

there is a need for the government to improve the nation’s infrastructure, reduce corruption and

deploy strategies that will improve the nation’s foreign exchange. This, if done will improve the

nation’s human capital base and position it for sustainable development.