By Bridget Ikyado
Abuja – Nigerian youths and teenagers have been urged to shun all forms of vices and adopt good values that will make them better citizens in the society.
The call was made by Mr James Ibor, the Youth Leader, Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria (CYON) of the St Gabriel’s Chaplaincy, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria at the just concluded 2022 Youth week with theme: ” Go and do Exploits “.
The seven-day event with 900 youths in attendance had both social and spiritual activities displayed.
Ibor said:” God has given the youth so many talents and they were out to explore.
”It is alarming to note that our rich African values and morals are being eroded due to negative influences.
”We cannot afford to fold our arms and allow our values to further deteriorate.”
Some members of Catholic youth organisations at the event.
Ibor urged youths to be productive and be focused to take up leadership roles in the country.
He called on youths to always seek and do something meaningful which would help them to discover themselves for strategic leadership direction and for a greater society.
He added that youths were the greatest assets for socio-economic development, hence they needed to have programmes and frameworks to trigger meaningful skill acquisition, self discovery.
He said engagement and strategic leadership direction for socio-economic development of youths should be encouraged.
The Youth leader also urged more stakeholders in youth value reorientation to join hands in raising the awareness on skill acquisition rather than being dependent on academic exercises and paper qualification.
“We are working with different stakeholders within and outside the church, in winning back our peer from crime and criminality through awareness creation, sensitisation, advocacy, reorientation and mentoring.
The youth week was also meant to enlighten, change and redeem our youths from involvement in substance and drug abuse.
Also , he said, flamboyant lifestyles that could not be backed by legitimate earnings should be discarded.
Ibor called on youths to shun violence and embrace peace for the overall development and progress of the country.
The gathering was to show , particularly the youth, clear examples of alternatives to violence, which are core values that lie in dialogue, tolerance, compromise and accommodation.
According to him, there is the need to educate the youth on the imperative of living in peace with one another and resolving issues without the use of violence.
He explained that adopting peaceful ways of settling issues would make youths to desist from atrocities that could be inimical to their development.
“Peace is one important factor that we need in every facet of life, that is, home, workplace, school, association, small groups and communities.
“When there is no peace, things will not function the way they ought to. Peace, therefore, has a very great strength.
Another aspect, he said youths were enlightened about was electoral violence which was one of the major catalyst of crises and destruction of lives and property in our communities .
He said ‘ we felt we should start tackling it with seriousness now that we are in the season of elections.”
Ibor advised the government to provide enabling environment for the youth and suggested that government should provide capital for the youth with skills to establish themselves after their higher institution.
The youth leader advised youths to engage in entrepreneurship and skill development to prepare them for future challenges.
This he said will refocus youths for greater accomplishments.
He noted that great parents and other youth leaders and resource persons were in attendance and spoke to youths on vote buying and electoral violence.
“Sensitization on cyber security, trafficking in persons, right to Knowledge to make the youth resilient,
”Saving culture and financial discipline, entrepreneur development, premarital sex and its dangers; drug abuse were not left out as well as dangers of cultism.
”There were visits to orphanage homes and IDP camps in Durumi and its environs to donate relief materials such as provisions, toiletries, food condiments staple foods,cereals and legumes,soft drinks and cash donations to the vulnerable, were made,” he said.
(NAN/vitalnewsngr.com)
