The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has charged Nigerian youth to imbibe the national core values and be the agents of change in order to make the country a better society.
Speaking at the occasion of national youth submit organised by the agency in Lokoja Wednesday, the Kogi state director, Ambassador Mohammed Othman Abdullahi, said the objective of the submit among other issues was to engage Nigeria on government policies, programmes and activities in the face of COVID -19 pandemic.
Abdullahi averred that the youth who represented 70 per cent of the nation’s population can only be a driving force if they imbibe core values such as patriotism, discipline, integrity, religious tolerance and promotion of dialogue.
He noted that the peaceful protest organised by Nigerian youth last year against the special anti-robbery squad, EndSARS, has raised a number of issues worthy of consideration, saying the protest has clearly showed that Nigeria youth have the constitutional rights to express their feelings on national issues.
He urged the youth to bear in mind that education is not all about going to the classroom to learn, but to improve on skill acquisition and being innovative in their various endeavours.
“By inviting you to this event, we hope that you will return home empowered with new ideas and motivated to become factors of positive change on the level of your communities, friends and family,” he said.
In a paper presented by Comrade Isah Abdulazeez Arivi titled, “The impacts of youth participation and involvement in policy making and governance,” Arivi described youth as the engine of growth and development, adding that the youth provide the labour force for the production of goods and services for nations.
He called on government at all levels to give the youth the opportunity to participate in politics, policy making and governance to enable them create enabling environment to showcase their productive cap
