As the world commemorates this year’s International Youth Day (IYD) the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Student Affairs and Social Mobilisation, Comrade Kehinde Ayantunji has advocated concerted efforts in sustaining enduring and all-inclusive youth agenda that will make life more abundant for the people.
He said the society must begin to raise consciousness in advancing the cause of the youth towards nation-building, national integration and development.
Ayantunji emphasised the need to properly harness the potential embedded in the youths for greater productivity, saying “the time has come to bridge intergenerational solidarity gaps and address the missing links of building a virile, healthy and workable nation.”
He spoke at a One-Day Symposium in commemoration of the 2022 International Youth Day organised by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Osun State Chapter held at the NUJ Press Centre, Osogbo.
The Governor’s aide reiterated the need for government at all levels to rise to the contemporary challenges confronting the youth globally.
He identified youths as the most productive and energetic segment of the world population and attributed the lack of societal virtues and values as missing link and clog in the wheels of progress among the youths.
According to him, the society can only be redefined and made conducive for all particularly youths to thrive if social vices ranging from moral decadence, lack of quality education, family integration, virtuous values among others were decisively addressed.
“In response to the theme of this year’s celebration, we must situate properly the provision of quality education at all levels as this will help to consistently producing sound minds of educated population in the quest to addressing social vices.
“Since we can’t separate a generation from another, there is need for us to be more patriotic and develop consciousness to national interest. We must all be committed to the project called Nigeria.
“So also, the virtue of hardwork and virtuous values must not be compromised. As we all know, the society has lost sense of hardwork that is why many are so desperate to get rich at all cost.
“One generation cannot survive without the support of other generation hence the need to go beyond solidarity. There must be synergy in terms of political culture, economic development, innovation and ideas, security of lives and property of the citizens, and we must bridge this gap to the level that Nigeria will become the best place for us to be and one to be proud of by all and sundry”, he said.
Speaking further, Ayantunji said: “I want to reiterate that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola recognised the position of the youth in the society and that is why most of our policies on education, economy, mining and agriculture revolves around youth development, it is not in anyway by accident it is a conscious effort to build a brighter future for Osun State.
“I can assure you, despite the current electoral temporary setback, we shall continue to strive hard to sustaining our interventions on youth development to reduce crime and poverty in Osun State.”
Earlier in his address, the State Chairman of NYCN, Comrade Abdul-Azeez Ismail said the organisation decided to celebrate this year international Youth Day with workshop to interrogate various global and national challenges confronting youths.
Dignitaries at the event include Mr. Funsho Babarinde; Former Executive Assistant on Students Affairs to former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Mr. Charles Adeyemi, SSA to the Governor on Strategic Communications, Adenike Arinola, a female entrepreneur, among others.