NOA, Youth Group Collaborate to Elevate Youth Empowerment and Governance
…..Inaugurates Committee on National Interest
The ongoing government initiatives and policies on Youth empowerment and efforts to entrench good governance recently received a boost as the National Orientation Agency(NOA) and the Society for Youth and the Downtrodden(SOYD) are in synergy to elevate the national discourse to the next level.
Towards this end, the collaboration has given birth to the inauguration of the National Committee for the Interest of the Nation (N-COIN) to further amplify the initiative and eventual realization.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony which witnessed stakeholders from various parts of the country, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Dr. Garba Abari said the initiative was a welcome development considering the level of insecurity in the nation noting that the youths and the downtrodden are indeed vulnerable.
Dr Abari who was represented at the occasion by the Deputy Director in the agency, Mrs Theresa Maduekwe noted that youth employment and empowerment, and how to tackle out-of-school children have before now been the focus of government adding that the timeliness of this collaboration was apt.
“The youths population are the biggest or largest and they need to be taken care of. This Society for the Youth and Downtrodden is now a national project to cater for the youth and downtrodden. Government has considered it as noble and important to achieving the goals of providing better lives for youths and the downtrodden”.
She commended the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development for keying to this initiative by the Society, stating that the development will go a long way in galvanizing resources to improve the livelihood of the youth and the downtrodden.
In his speech at the occasion , the National President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for the Youth and the Downtrodden(SOYD), Comrade Gabriel Ogwuche lamented the growing insecurity in the country, which has paralyzed both social and economic spheres, stating that, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for any government to guarantee peace and security in a nation where over 40% of youthful population have no means of livelihood to meet up with the hand-mouth working class status as Nigerians.
“This is our major concerns and now poised to take responsibility with actions in order to salvage the situation through this initiative”, he said.
According to him, the worsening security situation and other social vices in Nigeria are mere symptoms of a major ailment and we believe that if it is treated, the symptoms will varnish, positing that the country cannot continue to fight the symptoms and expecting enduring relieves.
“It is pertinent to note that what we have in the society today is not the battle of cancer, tuberculosis, HIV/ AIDS or other illnesses it is the battle or feeling of hunger, poverty, joblessness, the battle of dejectedness and corruption. This necessitated the creation of this initiative in the interest of the nation.
“The society sues for peace and there is nothing to hide, the society is for the betterment of living conditions of the youth and downtrodden. Our activities and actions are in the seeking of indivisibility of Nigeria and of the growth of our nation’s economy. The country’s economy is characterized by consumption and not production” he noted.
He said the stakeholder`s committee have designed a program to aggressively pursue and tackle the major problem of the country, with emphasis on developing the potentials of young people. Our partnership with National Orientation Agency{NOA) and other development partners is to create sustainable economic environment where youths and households have access to basic opportunity that will help them to take responsibility for themselves, members of family and future. This is the only way to realise peace and stop Nigeria economy from being driven by criminal activities associated with young people.
“Consequently, the initiative is part of our organization`s mandates to support and ensure full implementation of people-oriented government policies through collaborative effort with relevant development partners. It focuses on young people and vulnerable society with much emphasis on poverty reduction through wealth creation”, he said.
He further noted that the committee shall continue to undertake prompt and emergency response toward providing solution to problems of national interest, especially as it relate to poverty reduction, plight of the vulnerable society, worst humanitarian crises situation, peaceful co-existence and democracy.
Earlier in his address at the inauguration ceremony, Chairman of the Committee on N-COIN, Barrister Elvis Adah, a notable legal practitioner, lamented the conditions of the Nigerian youths and the downtrodden in the midst of plenty and called for concerted efforts to reduce the growing poverty, stressing that if not checked would snowball to dire consequences.
Highlight of the occasion was the inauguration of the 16-member Committee to be chaired by Barrister Elvis Adah.
Members of the Committee include: Barrister Elvis Adah(Chairman), Barrister Frances Iwuchukwu, Salisu S. Pawa, Eric Onyeama, Simon Abah, Ewache John Ajefu, Mrs Chinwe Opara, Barrister Thaddeus Mbaliam, Jerry Olioha.
Other members of the Committee are: Mrs Theresa Maduekwe (NOA), Obinna Nwosu(NOA), Mohammed Umar( Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development), Belinda Victor(NOA), Professor Otokpa Agada, Victoria Isu and Alhaji Umar Datti.
