By Perpetua Onuegbu
GOTNI Leadership Centre has called on youths to prioritise advancement of excellence and promote ethical governance in solving the challenges currently facing Nigeria.
Executive Director of the centre, Dr Linus Okorie, made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the launching of a transformative initiative—”Voice of Peace: Empowering Youth Towards a Better Nigeria” by MyCare Life Foundation.
Okorie, represented by Jonathan Isah, an official of the centre, said youths could not dwell in mediocrity and be expected to come out with excellence.
He described the present state of the society as a reflection of the people’s collective consciousness.
“The Nigeria we see is a report card of the quality of our minds, the quality of our actions, the quality of our engagement with knowledge. We must begin to truly focus on the minds that drive the system,” he said.
Okorie stressed the need for young people’s engagement and new action, not just in terms of observation but also in participation.
He called for collaboration between the aged and the young, tagged: ‘young-aged combo’ where there would be effective use of the wisdom of the aged and the strength of the youth to advance good governance.
On his part, the Founder of MyCare Life Foundation, Thomas Ayeyilo, who is also behind the transformative initiative, said youths were not just the leaders of tomorrow but the catalysts of today.
Ayeyilo stated that with the right support, health, education and empowerment, youths could break the cycle of corruption, challenge bad leadership and demand for a system that would work for everyone.
He said that the Voice of Peace initiative was built on five pillars of awareness, advocacy, accountability, policy reform and peace building.
Ayeyilo was optimistic that through the launch, the foundation would be able to conduct sensitisation, leadership training, media advocacy, mentorship and community outreach.
Also speaking, Dr Ifeoma Ayanwu, Executive Director, Babe Mentorship Centre, urged the government to key into investment in entrepreneurship.
According to her, entrepreneurship creates an atmosphere of equality, hence the need for government to create funds for programmes targetted at entrepreneurs and reduce taxation.
Anyanwu called on youths to be relentless in developing the skills that would make them carve a niche for themselves and contribute positively to their environment. (NAN)
