The Nation Newspaper

Tag: youths

  • Youths urged on nation building

    The Principal Coordinator of Modella Afrik, Raymond Iroham, has urged Nigerian youths to be at the vanguard of promoting the virtues of peace, orderliness and moral rectitude, which are tools for national transformation.

    He spoke at the launch of Modella Afrik at The Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), Milk and Honey Chapel, Mende, Maryland, Lagos.

    Iroham said young people are the leaders of tomorrow and they must exhibit good leadership qualities that will facilitate growth and development.

    He said governments across the world are grappling with wars, inhuman treatments and terrorism, which are mostly orchestrated by immoral and ungodly youths who would have sought redress when aggrieved through peaceful mechanism.

    He noted that God is in dire need of youths who will surrender themselves to Him and help in the campaign for a safe and better world fit for all to live in.

     

  • Monarch makes case for youths

    Monarch makes case for youths

    His Royal Highness, Oba Johnson Olatomide has urged government, the corporate world as well as individuals to evolve more youth-friendly initiatives that will prepare the young for leadership and business opportunities in Nigeria.

    Olatomide made this appeal at the inauguration of the Wesco Pool Limited complex in Ore, Ondo State.

    He said Nigeria is a country full of enterprising youths who need support to explore the emerging opportunities in their country.

    Olatomide said that the increasing wave of crime in parts of the country have been attributed to joblessness and idleness, prevalent among the rural youth which often times lead them to unpleasant behaviour.

    He said there are immense opportunities for potential investors in areas which include information communication technology, agriculture, manufacturing, construction and fashion which can be developed to actively engage the youths.

    Olatomide further lauded the effort of the Wesco Group in providing jobs for over 100 youths in the state.

    He  said: “It is a step in the right direction as its shows how private establishments can be committed in providing good jobs to the rural poor at the grassroots.

    “We need more private investors to invest in areas that will provide jobs for young people who are increasing faced with the problem of joblessness, hunger and other basic needs of life.”

    In his opening address, the Chief Executive Officer, Wesco Pool Limited, Mr. Adewale Osinubi stated that the pool and lottery business is one of the highest employers of labour which government must take cognizance of and provide the enabling environment for the operators.

    He noted that the objective of the company is to alleviate poverty and bring jobs to the generalities of Nigerians.

    Osinubi said that the complex will provide jobs for over 100 youths and agents including women in Ore, Okitipupa, Owo, Akure, Ondo town and its environs.

  • Youths lash PDP leaders for congratulating Mimiko

    •Say election was scientifically-rigged 

     

    The Ondo State Youth Assembly (OYA) yesterday decried Saturday’s governorship election, which declared Governor Olusegun Mimiko as the winner. It said the poll was scientifically-rigged.

    The group, which is one of those under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also condemned the national leadership of the party for congratulating Mimiko.

    It noted that the party’s national leadership had failed to study the election results and listen to the people before congratulating Mimiko, adding that it rejected the result.

    A statement by the group’s Chairman, Rasheed Elegbeleye, described the congratulatory messages as hasty and unacceptable.

    OYA alleged that the election was marred by irregularities in many local governments, including Akure South, Akoko North East, Idanre, Ilaje and Ese-Odo.

    It said: “The election was full of irregularities. In Ese-Odo Local Government Area, the leader of the ex-militants, who has been receiving N30 million every month from Mimiko for more than a year now, led a team of former militants from Balyesa State to disrupt the poll in three wards, the strongholds of the PDP in the area.

    “In Idanre, the Labour Party (LP) thugs thumb-printed ballot papers in the rural areas. There were no security men in those places for reasons we don’t know.”

    The group also alleged that while election materials were not brought to some parts of Ilaje, results of some wards where PDP won were cancelled.

    According to OYA, “some ballot boxes were snatched in Akure South and ballot papers thumb-printed by LP thugs. There was over-voting in some units in Akoko North East and most of the observers were LP supporters, such as FOMWAN.”

  • Preparing youths for the future

    Preparing youths for the future

    TO build a responsible youth population in Nigeria, I-Create Initiative, a youth development organisation, organised a youth summit in Minna, Niger State.

    The event, held at the Ahmadu Bahago Secondary School Hall, was in commemoration of the Independence anniversary.

    Participants came from the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA), College of Education (COE), Minna and Ibrahim Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai. Also, some Corps members serving in the capital city graced the event with the theme Youth and nation building.

    In his address, the guest speaker, Mr Olamide Adeoye, said nation building was used in the past by nations that had just assumed full sovereignty. He said nation building has gone beyond that, adding: “Youths are the nation that need to be built.”

    Adeoye said the energy in today’s youth should be channelled towards engendering development in the nation, saying Martin Luther King Jnr was youthful when he started his struggle in the United States. He charged the participants to be open to change, courageous, idealistic and innovative.

    Another resource person and The Nation’s correspondent in Niger State, Mr. Jide Orintunsin, went down memory lane when a secondary school leaver chose from the options of either proceeding to the university or accepting the offer of employment by the government or multinational companies. He said the challenges facing the youth of the period were nothing compared to the problem facing today’s youth. He advised the participants to dream big and to never allow any obstacle that would make their vision unrealisable.

    Miss Faith Aminu, another speaker, said: “Nigeria we celebrated on Independence Day is in disarray, but we are out to make a statement that pointing fingers and apportioning blames will not solve the mess the country is in today.” She told the participants that they were the change Nigeria needed to toe the path of development.

    Pastor Emmanuel Ohere of the Transformation Chapel, Minna, pleaded with the participants not to follow the footsteps of their forebears, saying a country where a citizen would vote and be voted for regardless of religion, background and tribe should be their agenda.

    A participant, Perfect Pius, 300-Level student of FUT MINNA, told CAMPUSLIFE: “I learned a lot from the statement of the keynote speaker. Our leaders should not prepare the future for the youths but rather prepare the youths for the future.”

    Another participant, Kevin Chukwuyem, a Corps member, stressed the need for unity in Nigeria before the issue of development could be addressed. He said the youth were the stock of a nation’s potentials and charged his colleagues to erase ethnic and religious differences and forge a common front to build the nation.

    The brain behind the initiative, Faith Olaniran, who is a CAMPUSLIFE reporter, gave the closing remarks. He thanked the invited guests and the participants.

    He, also charged the audience to always contribute their quota in the journey of building Nigeria.

  • Council gives loans to youths, women

    Faskari Local Government in Katsina State, says it has empowered 600 youths in the council with N10,000 interest-free loan each to set up micro businesses.

    The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the council, Alhaji Isiyaku Faskari-Ahmed, disclosed this at a reception in honour of the council’s football team, Dandurami FC.

    The the club was honoured for emerging the champion of the just-concluded Senate President Soccer Youths Championship in Abuja by beating Paiko FC of Niger 4-2.

    Addressing the players, Faskari-Ahmed added that 300 women had also benefited from the scheme.

    He said the council had engaged auxiliary teachers and community health officers, who were being given monthly stipends to supplement existing manpower in the education and health sectors.

    “This is to supplement the existing manpower needed in education and health departments in the council and the state.

    “Many others were also assisted to attend vocational training schemes in bore hole drilling, mobile phone and electronics repairs, while some with certificates were fixed at various establishments to promote self reliance.”

    The chairman cautioned youths in the area against all forms of negative tendencies, advising them to engage in useful ventures.

    Faskari-Ahmed praised the club for its wonderful performance, saying they were a pride to the entire local government.

    He pledged the council’s continuous assistance to the team so as to attain more successes in other national competitions.

    Also speaking, the Chief Coach of the team, Bishir Ibrahim, expressed appreciation for the honour and said it would motivate the players to do more.

    Bishir assured that the team was ready to win more trophies and solicited for maximum support from individuals and the council.

    Umar Barau, the Team Manager, also praised the council for its support to the team and other youths in the area.

  • NDE trains 500 youths

    NDE trains 500 youths

    The Cross River Office of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has said that it trained 500 unemployed youths under the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme in 2011.

    The State Coordinator, Mr Edem Duke, gave the figure at an orientation workshop for trainees under the Advanced National Open Apprenticeship Scheme in Calabar.

    “We trained a total of 500 unemployed youths across the state last year on different vocational skills under the Vocational Skills Development Department of the directorate,’’ he said.

    Duke said the youths benefitted from various skills training programmes on computer, fashion designing, catering and electrical installation.

    He said that 25 unemployed youths were selected to pilot the advanced scheme in the state.

    “This year, we are recruiting 212 unemployed youths in addition to 88 unemployed from the spill over from last year,’’ he said.

    According to him, the intention is to develop their professional skills to enable them get good jobs or go into self employment in their areas of competence.

    The coordinator said the advanced scheme was designed to upgrade the experience of those who had already gone through the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme.

    Duke said that the training would take place in organisations for three months.

    “It is our belief that as participants of this orientation workshop, you will observe the working ethics of the various establishments which you are sent to or attached,’’ he said.

    He urged the participants to show high sense of discipline and adhere strictly to the rules and regulations of the training centres.

    “If you are found wanting, you will be sanctioned and withdrawn from the programme,’’ he warned them.

    Duke urged the participants to be more committed to the training and exhibit high sense of discipline in the training centres.

     

  • Nigeria’s future is in your hands, Aregbesola tells youths

    Nigeria’s future is in your hands, Aregbesola tells youths

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the country’s future lies in the hands of youths.

    Aregbesola spoke on Monday in Osogbo, the state capital, while receiving the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) youth leaders from the 36 states of the federation.

    The youths, led by the ACN National Youth Leader, Mr. Miriki Ebikibina, were in the state for the party’s Third Annual National Conference.

    Aregbesola urged youths to be the vanguard of democracy and good governance.

    He said youths are the future of the country and they must be agents of change.

    The governor urged the youth leaders to reflect on the fortune and future of the country with a view to offering good leadership.

    He said youths cannot afford to resign to fate in the face of bad governance as the present and past depend very much on them.

    Aregbesola said: “We look up to you as the fighting arm of the party. You are the most vibrant, dynamic, dependable and resilient of any political party.

    “The present and the future depend on you. How you understand your roles in the party goes a long way in shaping the future of our party and the country.

    “This is with a view to promoting the cause of democracy and wrestling power from those misgoverning us, so as to guarantee effective and good leadership, as well as freedom for all.”

    The youths and some government officials accompanied the governor on the inspection of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) station in Osogbo and the Model Middle School in Alekuwodo.

    Aregbesola hailed the level of work done at both sites.

    He said the administration is living up to its promise to improve the state.

    The governor said: “We will build 50 of these model middle schools, 100 elementary schools and 20 high schools across the state. These schools, when completed, will be such that can stand the test of time. Our students will have the opportunity of having qualitative education in a conducive environment.”

    At the railway station, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Transport, Mr. Oladepo Amuda, said: “This government is trying to use railway for the movement of raw materials from Osogbo to Lagos and finished products from Lagos to Osogbo. A cement company partnering the state has agreed to be bringing in cement at factory price to Osogbo from its plant.”

    Commissioner for Land and Urban Planning Muyiwa Ige said: “The train station will be an epic centre where people can come to relax and recreate. The plaza will complement the on-going beautification of the state. The park to be built at the station is fashioned after Kings Park in the United Kingdom.”

    Deputy Governor Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori; Secretary to the State Government Moshood Adeoti; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola; Acting ACN State Chairman Adelowo Adebiyi; ACN Gboyega Famodun and members of the State Executive Council were on the governor’s entourage.

     

  • A new tide in the politics of Ondo youths

    A new tide in the politics of Ondo youths

    Sunday Dare, a journalist, writes on the interactive session the youths of Ondo State had with Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate Rotimi Akeredolu in Akure…on Monday

    Thousands of Ondo youths on Monday, held an indoor interactive session with Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN). The youth forum tagged: Youth Vote for Change attracted a massive turn out of over 2,000 youths from the 18 local government areas of the state and Akure. The BTO hall where the event was held filled up quickly as a member of the House of Representatives Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa took over proceedings. The shouts of Action Congress! Democracy for Justice rented the air. The screams for change and the singing of the campaign slogan soon enveloped the hall with rhythmic rendition of “Gba Won Danu” “Gba Won Danu-Gba won si canal- Sweep them away. Sweep them into the Canal. If the presence of Abolore Akande, the youthful Pop artiste popularly known as 9ice rocked the youths, the presence of nollywood actress Funke Akindele-Oyedele, who later took the stage excited the crowd and cracked them up without faling to deliver the central message-” Vote Right. Vote Action Congress. Vote in Akeredolu for change.Vote out Labour Party”.

    The arrival of Akeredolu worked the youths up into a frenzy as the music by 9ice, urging the youths to vote serenaded the hall. Goodwill messages came in torrents as the youths reveled in the attention they were receiving. The youth leader, Enas spoke eloquently about the desire for change and how the youths were ready this time to work for the victory of the party they trust. Enas, who read a prepared speech listed the issues the youth were concerned about and how the government of Olusegun Mimiko has disappointed them. He announced that the youths were prepared not just to embrace change, but to work and mobilise for change to ensure that Rotimi Akeredolu is voted into Alagbaka House and Mimiko is voted out. Even as he spoke, the youths chorused along in agreement. Perhaps, the most interesting thing about the forum was the diversity of the youth that assembled in the hall. Students from higher institutions, youths in vocational schools and practice and the physically challenged. They all participated and were fully mobilised. For instance, two of the disable graduate female youths who five years after graduation were still jobless, lashed out at the Mimiko administration for treating them like beggars each time they asked for jobs. One of them sent the entire hall into laughter when she kept calling on the governor to provide jobs and help them and insisted she was referring to Rotimi Akeredolu the incoming governor.”My governor is Rotimi Akeredolu. He is the one I am referring to and not the governor who is there now”.

    Party leaders and activists spoke eloquently about Akeredolu’s credentials as a progressive and a crusader for justice. They all extolled the positive orientation of the party and charged the youths to vote wisely come October 20. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, national Publicity secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria took the youths down memory lane on how youth under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) organised, mobilised and became the backbone of the party. The youths then took active part in politics and did not need to be urged on. He challenged them that now is the time to participate, to vote wisely and be part of the change we all desire. He marketed the ACN so powerfully such that he held the youths listening in rapt attention for almost 10 minutes.

    Hon. Dabiri-Erewa was at her professional best, bringing back the days when she was an ace broadcaster. She had capsules of admonition for the youths turning the radar on herself as if to say to the youths-”look at what ACN has made of me, you can become something also if you vote wisely”.

    The highpoint was when Akeredolu took the microphone and spoke for 10 minutes extempore. He was quite comfortable with the microphone and indeed with the youthful crowd. In campaign mood, he broke into songs and paced the floors in gyrations as he sang one of fela’s famous songs, Vagabonds in Power. The youths got up in excitement and screamed out the lyrics with Akeredolu as the lead vocalist. As the crowd settled, ACN candidate announced that it was time to drive out the vagabonds in power and help the people enjoy good governance. He spoke about his plans to create thousands of jobs, industrialise the state and run a people-oriented government. The interactive session was quiet dynamic as the youths asked challenging and forthright questions about his them and how he will solve their problems. Akeredolu responded in measured, but convincing sentences. As the questions and answers went on, more youths trooped into the hall, perhaps having watched the live transmission, they decided they wanted to be part of the event. One of such youths, Tunji said: “This is very interesting. This says a lot about this man-that he recognises the importance of the youths in politics. I will vote for him”.

    After about three hours, it was time to draw the curtain. As everyone stood for him to exit, shouts of Gba won danu, Gba won danu, again rented the air. 9nice took over the stage and treated the crowd to great music. It was a day most Ondo youths would not forget in a hurry. It was the beginning of a new partnership with the youths. For Action Congress, it was the fillip they needed to march on Alagbaka House.