Empowering Our Youths for the Future
BEING AN ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE, ALH. (DR.) ABDULLAHI ADAMU (SARKIN YAKIN KEFFI) ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA (NYCN) HOLDING AT THE IBRAHIM ABACHA YOUTH CENTRE, LAFIA, 14TH AUGUST, 2003 It is my honour and privilege to welcome all of you to Nasarawa State. Let me confess to you that the opportunity to host youth from all parts of the country at this time is both a thing of pride to us as a Government and a good omen for Nasarawa State and the Nation in general.
I say this with all sense of seriousness, because I believe that youth are the most active segment of any society. Imbued with relentless energy, vigour and drive, the youth are the major catalyst for development in any given society. As future leaders and key determiners of the peace and stability of society, youth are indeed the greatest asset of any nation.
However, it is regrettable that a great chunk of the Nigerian youths are fast becoming something else rather than a ray of hope for their generation and the nation.
No society can be proud that its most vibrant group is the most visible in scenes of riots, cultism, violence and crime.
No country in the world, poor or rich, will be comfortable that its youth are into drug abuse, advance fee fraud, examination malpractice and violent crimes. No parent will be happy that his child is involved in cultism and armed robbery. But these are merely a few of the vices which a significant section of the Nigerian youth have fallen into.
It is sad that the ones to whom the torch of struggle for a prosperous and great nation will be passed to, are not yet prepared to take up responsibility for their nation.
It is never too late to change. The youth must realise that they have both the potential and the responsibility to give the country their best. Our youth have a chance to change their life-styles and conduct for the better.
There are times when you meet a young man or woman, whose life is totally committed to hard work and determination to succeed. And you begin to wonder why the difference with the others. The truth is that some of these malaises take their roots from the family background. We must teach our children good values and entrench a culture of self respect, respect for others, love of their country and above all the fear of God, the maker of the Heaven and the Earth. A child that is lucky to be raised by a strong moral upbringing and tutelage of good family orientation, is truly the asset of his society and an epitome of the development and progress of his nation.
I have no shred of doubt in my mind that we can have a complete re-orientation of our families that will impact more positively on our attitude to child upbringing. I have no doubts also that the youth gathered here are not only responsible but they can be a vanguard of change for the turn around of the youth in Nigeria.
I believe one of the purposes of a conference such as this, is to cast a look back and see the progress and challenges and to project for the future with a view to correcting and perfecting the social order. It is in this connection that I tell you, you have not just a job, but a tough one on your hand. However, I am a strong believer in the old dictum that there is always a way out. If you try hard enough, you certainly will achieve the feat.
The emerging leadership from this congress must evolve multi-dynamic strategies to counsel their peers against deviant acts and behaviours that are antithetical to societal orderliness, national cohesion and development.
Government is not unaware that the perennial problem of youth unemployment constitutes one of the causes of youth unrest, and subsequent involvement in crime. In this wise, the introduction of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) by the Government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is one strategic initiative to address the problem.
The renewed emphasis on Youth Development and Youth empowerment by the Federal and State governments since 1999 is a testimony to the fact that no matter its deficiencies, is far better than dictatorship. The new National Policy on Youth Development which was developed in participatory fora with youth across the country has given focus and direction on issues crucial to the future of our youth. The President is completely committed to the programme and both the Federal and State Governments are determined to ensure its success. I call on Nigerian youth to cooperate with federal and state governments to ensure its hitch free implementation in order to reverse the current drift, moral decay and widespread unemployment and low utilization of our human capital.
On our part, our Administration in this State, since the past four years, has consistently accessed a great number of our youth to credit facilities in addition to youth employment cutting across every Local Government of our State. Just three weeks ago, I ordered for the employment of Sixty youth from each of our twenty-nine Local Government Areas, totalling One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty youth (1,740) in all. We intend to sustain the Youth Employment Scheme as a yearly project that is aimed at reducing the army of the unemployed and attacking poverty which has become a cankerworm in our society.
The State government has invested heavily in education and skills development in order to prepare our youth for gainful employment and self-actualization. We have set up three skills acquisitions centers in the state which are operating with technical support from Germany. The centers will train young school leavers to acquire basic skills to support our economic development efforts.
In education, we have put in at least 28% of our annual income in this sector. We have set up 77 new secondary schools in four years. We have renovated hundreds on secondary and primary schools. We have established a School of Nursing and Midwifery, a School of Health Technology, a Polytechnic and a University. All these institutions have taken off on a sound footing. We believe the best way we can equip our youth for national development and self-fulfilment is through the provision of adequate opportunities for sound education. We challenge the youth to utilize the opportunities to equip themselves for a better future for our state and our country.
On this note, I wish to declare this congress open, and I wish you the best of deliberations. I will not forget to pray that the best candidates among you emerge as Executives of the National Youth Council of Nigeria to pilot the affairs of our nation’s youth into a brighter future for our country.
Thank you, and God bless.
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