Policies and policy directions in Nigeria are terribly shallow in terms of welfare considerations for the youths and the sustainable development of the Nigerian state. Adults who have been at the helm of affairs have been superlatively self-centered and this has consequently retarded general development in the Nigerian state in general and detrimentally hampered the development of the youths in particular. This paper makes a case for citizenship and civic education for the youths as a viable option for reversing this unfortunate trend. The paper extols the values of citizenship and civic education as needed innovations to affect the necessary changes and makes a case for urgent pedagogical re-engineering where the interests of the youths can be boosted in citizenship and civic education as a strategy to reverse the ugly trend. The paper proposes and recommends that such pedagogical strategies can focus on sensitizing the youths on the dangers that are inherent in their continued marginalization, making youths to think critically and analytically especially on how their participation in civic and democratic processes can reverse the trends in their favour, making social justice and good governance the focus of educational provision for youths and translating theory into practice by inculcating democratic norms of participation, commitment to learning, agreeing with others and accommodating divergent views of others.
Keywords: Citizenship Education, Civic Education, Democracy, Nigeria, Pedagogy, Policy, Politics, Youths
