NIGERIAN youths and graduates of higher institutions across the country have been urged to make use of their creative talents and power to create an enabling healthy environment for the leaders to deliver good governance.
Oyo State Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr Abimbola Adekanmbi who made the call while delivering a lecture entitled ‘DEVELOPMENT, LEADERSHIP AND ROBUST ECONOMY: ROLE OF THE YOUTH’, organized by Oyo State Youth Restoration Team (OYSRET) held at the Assembly Hall of North Campus of The Polytechnic, Ibadan emphasized the roles of youth and the leaders in nation building.
Expressing concern, he charged the youths to wake up to their challenges in other to restore the country’s glory so as to maintain a promising economy. The commissioner maintained that the leaders are saddled with the responsibilities to help societies understand the problems that they face, to aid in the setting of goals and priorities, to work with others in finding paths to those goals chosen, to maintain public morale and motivation and to nurture a workable level of public unity.
Describing the youths as key stakeholders in ensuring the nation’s progress, Adekanmbi said, “our youths must recognize that they hold crucial roles in the development of the nation and live up to those roles expected of them. Youths are partners of today and leaders of tomorrow.
“Therefore, youths must be participatory in today’s happenings, thereby preparing themselves for the time when they will take charge”.
The commissioner continued, ” you do not have to become a President or Governor before you consider yourself a leader. Lead at whatever society, club, and group you find yourself as this serves as training ground for that desired ‘big’ platform. The help we desire, as a country, shall not come from abroad but from within”.
Revealing the efforts of the state government in its bid to reduce the alarming rate of unemployment in the state which has become a menace to society, Adekanmbi lauded the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi for charting way out of youth unemployment in the state through various programmes such as YES–O (Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State), OYSAI – Oyo State Agricultural Initiative amongst others.
He added that the N–POWER programme, an initiative of the Federal Government is another veritable platform for unemployed graduates to be engaged.
He further claimed that the Abiola Ajimobi led administration has made more investments towards providing educational support to students and youths than any government in the history of the state.
The commissioner, however raised an alarm over addiction to social media which is having adverse effects, enjoining the youths to invest their time on educative materials, desist from unlawful activities, saying a law abiding youth will task the leaders in attaining a viable economic growth.
