The National Association of Polytechnic Students has used the Democracy Day commemoration to demand sweeping reforms in security, education and economic policy, warning that Nigeria’s democratic gains are at risk if young people remain unsafe, undertrained and economically distressed.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, NAPS President Eshiofune Oghayan said the association, which claims to represent more than 28 million students in polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of technology in Nigeria and the diaspora, felt compelled to speak “as a patriotic duty” on issues threatening national stability.

Oghayan described insecurity as one of the gravest dangers to Nigeria’s democracy, citing persistent attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, and highlighting the recent abduction of students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda in Zamfara State as evidence that campuses and host communities have become soft targets.

He disclosed that NAPS had engaged the Office of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to press for the safe rescue of abducted students and broader protection for schools. While commending recent successful rescue operations, the association urged the federal government and security agencies to invest more in intelligence, surveillance technology, border control, rapid response units and community-based security partnerships, with special focus on educational institutions.

NAPS also proposed converting parts of Nigeria’s forest reserves into regulated military and paramilitary agricultural settlements, arguing that such projects could boost food production, create jobs and establish a permanent security presence in remote areas often used as criminal hideouts.

On education, Oghayan welcomed initiatives such as the Nigeria Education Loan Fund and tuition-free learning in Federal Technical Colleges but condemned what he called entrenched discrimination against polytechnic graduates. He renewed calls for full implementation of a Bachelor of Technology framework in polytechnics, insisting that graduates who complete five years of rigorous academic and practical training should not be forced into “top-up” programmes to attain parity with university degree holders.

He urged government to reposition polytechnic education as a central pillar of industrialisation, innovation and technological advancement, warning that nations that neglect technical skills will lag in the global economy.

Oghayan further raised alarm over rising fuel, diesel and cooking gas prices, saying the burden falls heaviest on students, workers and low-income families. NAPS called for measures to stabilise energy prices, strengthen domestic refining and ease inflationary pressures.

Concluding, the association challenged young Nigerians to reject political apathy, obtain their voter cards and play a decisive role in shaping the country’s future, insisting that active citizenship is essential to protect and deepen democracy.