Catholic faithful from all the sub-councils of Catholic Church in Lagos and its environs converged, last week, at the Catholic Church of Perpetual Help, Victoria Island, Lagos, for the 17th Anthony Cardinal Okogie Foundation (ACOF) lecture and to raise fund for the foundation.
With theme, “Harnessing Nigeria’s Youthful Population As A Tool For Nation building,” the yearly lecture had the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, as chief host.
In his speech, Most Rev. Martins disclosed that Nigeria is often described as the giant of Africa because of its’ over 200 million population which includes over 60 per cent youths.
According to him, to harness Nigeria’s youthful population as a tool for nation building, stakeholders, including government, would involve a wide range of actions that comprise education and skillsdevelopment, youth employment and economic opportunities, active political participation and social responsibility.
Martins urged government to revisit the nation’s education system with a view to making it encompass skill acquisition as a respond to thriving global economy.
He said: “We need to transcend rote learning processes to a systemthat fosters critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Again, we must create a society that allows for entrepreneurship and innovation, thereby providing youth employment and economic opportunities.
Also, it has become necessary for theyouthful population to embark actively in political matters; one that should go beyond mere social media banter to involve real physical participation in electoral processes and leadership opportunities.”
The cleric informed that there is a need to inculcate the value of social responsibilityin our youths, such that they must cultivate the character of volunteerism, communal services and civil engagement.
Speaking at the event, ACOF chairman, Peter Amangbo, said the foundation has since inception in 2007, supported the education of indigent students through the award of scholarship in which 157 youths have benefitted, adding that the foundation is currently faced with the paucity of fund, which has made it difficult for it to meet the growing needs of its beneficiaries. He called for givers not to relent at giving in the face of current economic hardship, saying he looks forwarding to raising the N150million earmarked.
Lauding the initiative, the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development,Mobolaji Abubakar Ogunlende,who represented the Lagos State governor,Babajide Sanwo-Olu,said youths are the leaders of tomorrow, which starts from today, adding that young people should strive to contribute theirquota to the development of the nation.
According to him, the state’s TEENS programme has been upgraded to TEENS-plus, adding that youths are the drivers of technology and it is the duty of the government and all concerned citizens, including the church, to equip them with the necessaryskills for nation building.
He said: “Government cannot do it alone, which is the reason Lagos State government is partnering with organisations and corporate bodies to give digital training for free to the youths. We must create spaces for youths to explore and grow. We are also assuring that every child in the state must have access to quality education and healthcare,” he said.
Expounding on the theme the guest speaker, Prof Enase Okonedo, the Vice Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, said the nation’s over 200 million people is made up of about 70 per cent youth, adding that this huge number of young people could either be an asset or a tickling time bomb waiting to explode. She noted that this huge number can be effectively put to good use when engaged in entrepreneurship, in technology and development for the progress of the nation, adding thatthe inability of any nation to engage its youths in the labour market will lead to great social problems.
According to the don, Nigeria has a very high number of youth unemployment and called on the government, captains of industry, youth caregivers and other stakeholders to synergise and come out with the best way to put the youth energies and creativities to good use for the development and growth of the nation.
Okonedo noted that young people have always been in the forefront of social change and enjoined the political class, the lawmakers and the traditional rulers to engage them usefully, rather than using them as battle axe against their opponents or as thugs during elections.
Prof Okonedo disclosed that the nation has 1.3 million out-of-school children, the highest in the world, saying this has made UNICEF to declare the nation as the worst country with out-of- school children.
Proffering solutions to empower the youth, she called for a review of the current school curriculums from primary school to the university to reflect current realities of entrepreneurship, technology and necessary skill acquisition.
She said: “We must rethink our pace in education. We need less of traditional education, but vocational training. We need to raise students that would proffer solutions to our need, rather than creating more problems in the system.”
