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The director general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu on Thursday blamed the insecurity challenges facing the country on the collapse of societal values and loss of cultural identities.
Issa-Onilu spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State at the 10th year anniversary of Royal News online publication and the unveiling of a book titled” Habibat Salman, Said: The Diplomatic Administrator And A Princess Of The Emirate “.
To overcome the numerous social vices and insecurity challenges bedeviling the country, Issa-Onilu emphasised the need for youth social orientation.
“We are a youthful country. By that, I meant the demographics of our country. About 72 per cent of our population is below the age of 35. In other words, not less than 165 million of our estimated 220 million population are within the Gen Z and the millennials. We can see that the most critical challenge we face is orienting our youths to be the best of us.
“More than any time in the life of our nation, the government, our traditional institutions, community leaders, and the clerics must rise to face the future of Nigeria.
“In a constantly evolving world, we must help our youth navigate the complexities of social relationships and interactions. Today’s youth are not tomorrow’s leaders; they already lead in many endeavours. The sad reality is that they are leading without guidance. The leaders of yesterday abandoned the ship even when they did not nurture the youths with the right values. We are now in a society where our youths, ill-equipped due to no faults of theirs, are the change-makers, the innovators, and the torchbearers of our society.
“Like in many other countries, youth in Nigeria are often associated with prevalent social vices. These vices can be attributed to various factors, including poverty, unemployment, lack of education, cultural norms, peer pressure, and societal influence,” the NOA DG stated.
Issa- Onilu who was represented by the director of NOA in Kwara State, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi added that;” To address these security threats, tackling the root causes of youth idleness and lack of training is crucial. This requires effective policies to reduce unemployment, provide skill training, and improve educational opportunities.
“The good news is that it is not too late to redirect the ship. Therefore, our collective responsibility is to provide the youths with the necessary skills and values to succeed and thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.”
In his opening address, the publisher of Royal News online, Malam AbdulAzeez Arowona, expressed delight that the medium
has been instrumental to so many positive changes in the society in the past years.
He said the medium was founded, “out of the divine love, compassion and commitments towards promoting our highly respected traditional rulers irrespective of their classes, ethnicity and religions affiliations with the singular aim of promoting peaceful co-existence in our nation.”
The event was graced by the deputy governor of Kwara State, Mr Kayode Alabi who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, traditional rulers, captains of industry, top government functionaries; past and present political office holders.
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