The director-general, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari, has urged Nigerian youth to avoid being used by “selfish leaders to further their political ambitions in the run-up to the 2023 elections.”
Abari gave the advice in his remarks at a one-day campaign on youth participation in national development tagged, “National Youth Summit 2021” in Uyo on Friday.
The director-general, who was represented by the agency’s state director, Mr. Enoh Uyoh, appealed to the youth to rise up in unison to protect the unity of the country.
Blueprint reports that the theme of the event is, “The Role of Youths in Nation Building.”
He charged the youth to support the government in the fight against corruption, which was the cause of the dearth of infrastructure in the country.
“I wish to use this opportunity to advise the youth to resist being used by selfish leaders to further their political ambitions. These they do by manipulating our people using ethnicity, religion and sectional differences which have brought a lot of harm to our nation.
“Their actions have weakened the unity of our people and turn their attention away from pursuing national economic development and political progress. They have employed religion and ethnicity to get away with bad leadership and corruption that are prevalent in the country,” he said.
In a keynote address, the Akwa Ibom state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Ini Ememobong, appealed to the government to create an enabling environment to allow the youth to contribute their quota towards the development of the country.
Ememobong, who was represented by the director in the ministry, Mrs. Grace Akpan, said the youth played a great role in nation building as they had the power to help a country develop and move towards progress.
“The youth are capable of bringing social reforms and improvement to the society if their energies are harnessed and utilised. No country can grow without the youth component. It is evidently clear that the nation requires youth participation to grow and progress in attaining its lofty goals,” he said.
