Nigerian Youth unvailed Abubakar Umar Barde as the choice President for NYCN 2016

                                                 

WHO IS ABUBAKAR DANLADI UMAR BARDE
Abubakar Barde is a youth Ambassador, Activist, Advocate, Leader, and an ardent voice for youth reorientation, emancipation and empowerment in Nigeria, born in 1982 to the family of Alh. Danladi Umar of Donga in Donga Local Govt Area of Taraba State.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication at the prestigious Bayero University, Kano in 2008 and 2013 respectively.
A holder of certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of North Carolina, USA in 2008
BARDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES THUS FAR
Barde as a young man born in the corridor of Leadership has always been imbibed with the desire and aspiration to provide quality leadership in the society, a quality he acquired from his disciplinarian father, Barde indicated interest in various leadership position in the School and youth organisations, based on this premise, he contested and won a number of positions in and out of school. Among which are;

• Speaker, Student Union Parliament Bayero University, 2006
• Member, Peace Building Commission, Model United Nations Conference, Port Harcourt 2006
• President, League of Democratic Students Bayero University 2007
• Programme Officer, Nigeria Model United Nations Society (NigMUNs) Abuja, 2008
• National Organizing Secretary, Youth Movement of Nigeria 2011 till date
• North East Coordinator, Re-orientation Advocates of Nigeria (RAN) 2012 till date
• Co-Chairman, National Youth Summit on Peace and Security 2013
• Co-Chairman, National Youth Summit on Job Creation 2014
• Member Planning Committee, National Youth Reform Conference 2015

                                                           
Having achieved all these among his peers, the desire to attain more in the area of leadership could not be deterred, subsequently; Barde demonstrated a good leadership skill in Youth Activism and was nominated by the Youth Movement of Nigeria with headquarters in Kano to contest for National President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN)
WORK EXPERIENCE
Barde has spent five years in the private sector as a Customer Consultant and Customer relations manager at MTN Nigeria Abuja and MTN Connect, Kano respectively.

MY BELIEF
I believe:
• That faith in God gives meaning and purpose to Human Life
• That no political strategy can make the magic of development without building youths with right orientation, attitude and positive influence
• That to attain the greatest height as a Nation, we must galvanize the energy of the youth to drive our economy and socio-political vehicle towards national development.

MY VISION
Living in a Nigeria where youths are self-reliance and productive to National Development
MY MISION
To work with a team to build a strong and united platform and conducive environment for the youth to achieve a dependable future

OBSERVED CHALLENGES FACING NIGERIAN YOUTH
CHALLENGES
Nigerian youth today faces challenges ranging from unemployment, poor education, insecurity, violence, corruption and all forms of social vices that call for pragmatic solutions. If the situation is not addressed via pragmatic re-orientation and mindset revolution of the new generation, there is even a danger of escalation, at a high political, economic, social and security cost to our country.
However, as important and critical as youth development is to a Nation, there is a lot of odds against fruitful transition of youths into responsible visionary leaders in our country.
• Lack of Unity of Purpose and Common Vision among the Youths:
There are various youth Organisations in Nigeria and various youth leaders have emerged at one time or the other only to sacrifice common goal at the altar of self-interest. There is no common visionary bond among the youths on how to move Nigeria forward. Hence, individual youth leaders take advantage of the situation.

• Lack of Patriotism
It is visible that Nigeria youth needs to be re-energising on patriotic compass in dealing with critical decisions; maybe we should say the spirit of patriotism is lost among the youths and needed to be re-awakened
• A Passive Sector without a Voice:
It is evident that neither the previous government nor the youth recognize the place of youth in nation-building and their roles and responsibilities to Nigeria. The youth are yet to be given their place as recognized by the National Youth Policy, Africa Youth Chatter and other international policies.
• Factionalized National Youth Council:
The National Youth Council of Nigeria which was established in 1964 as the Apex body of Nigeria youth and the umbrella body of all youth organisations serving as the voice of the youth to the government has been in deep crisis since 2011 and currently has four factional groups which has also been politically manipulated to the detriment of the Nigeria youth populace
The crisis in the council negatively affects smooth implementation of youth oriented programmes and projects for Nigerian youth both locally and internationally and prevents Nigeria Youth some benefits from some international Organisations despite the various political and economic challenges facing our country.
• Lack of well-designed Youth Programs:
It is shameful that Nigerian youth has no consolidated and well-designed youth programmes, regrettably some well-meaning Nigerian youths in the past and present have used their resources towards youth development programs with little or no supports from statutory government agency or department even when such provisions have been made in the budget. This has weakened the youth sector, thereby preventing them from fulfilling their roles as the powerhouse or energy-base of Nigeria.
• Lack of Proper Monitoring and Evaluation of Youth Programmes
Many international Donor agencies and NGOs that have shown interest in youth development in Nigeria were discouraged because of the lack of veritable and sustainable platform for monitoring and evaluation of various youth development programmes and project which also prevent the achievement of desired results.

MY MISSION IN THE NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA
• To restore the lost glory of the NYCN
• To consolidate the agenda of various youth organisations in Nigeria into a united front and a common goal
• To strengthen the state and local government chapter of the NYCN for grass-root mobilization and development
• To create a fruitful and rewarding platform for patriotic youth leaders in the country
• To support and ensure that the government achieves a full implementation of the National Youth Development Policy
• To develop action plan that fights poverty among youths through boosting agriculture.
• To promote peaceful co-existence for national development
• To reduce redundancy and unemployment by harnessing talents in entertainment and sports among the youths
• To reposition the NYCN in line with global practice