Toward Meeting the Needs of Upper Class Youth in Private Universities in Nigeria

Abstract

This study attempted to ascertain the needs of the upper class youth in private universities in Nigeria, using undergraduate students at Babcock University as samples. A self-structured questionnaire, consisting of simple and direct questions, was administered to 400 randomly selected students. The students were asked to rank some general youth needs, identified through review of literature, according to their preferences. The responses were analyzed, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Utilizing the simple percentile and weighted mean score, the needs of the upper class youth in private universities in Nigeria were ascertained, in descending order of importance, as follows: devotion to and closer relationship with God, self discovery, empowerment, affection, attention, involvement, deliverance from evil forces and role models/mentors. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the management of private universities in Nigeria should go beyond the routine academic and social activities and emphasize intentional acquisition of basic life skills as well as character and spiritual development geared toward enhancing deeper devotion to and relationship with God among the students.

Keywords: character development, private universities, self discovery, skill acquisition, spiritual development, youth empowerment, youth needs