National Orientation Agency (NOA) has blamed the insecurity challenges in the country on the collapse of societal values and loss of cultural identities.
So, it advocated youth social orientation as means to overcome the numerous social vices and insecurity in the country.
The Director-General, Lanre Issa-Onilu, stated this, yesterday, in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the 10th anniversary of Royal News (online publication) and the unveiling of the book, Habibat Salman-Said: The Diplomatic Administrator And A Princess Of The Emirate.
He said: “We are a youthful country. By that, I mean 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 orientating 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 clergy must rise to face the future of Nigeria.”
Represented by the Director of NOA in Kwara, Olusegun Adeyemi, the DG added: “To address these security threats, tackling the root 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, AbdulAzeez Arowona, expressed delight that the medium had been instrumental in many positive changes in the society in the past years.
According to him, the medium was founded, “out of the divine love, compassion and commitments towards promoting our highly respected traditional rulers irrespective of their classes, ethnic and religious affiliations with the singular aim of promoting peaceful co-existence in our nation.”
