By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Chief Commissioner of Scout Nigeria, Mr Dave Awunah has moved to reposition the association to achieve its core mandate which is the prevention of occurrences of crisis or issues that can cause war by raising good citizens.
He informed that scout Nigeria prevents war from occurring by trying to teaching the younger ones so that they grow up to be good citizens and try to make the world a better place. “If you want to get it right, you have to mold the way of the children.
Dave who disclosed this in his Abuja office while fielding questions from newsmen, also gave insight as to how what was formerly known as the “Boys Scout” metamorphosed to Scout Association of Nigeria.
He informed that scout Nigeria has launched what he called Campaign Against Drug Abuse (CADA) to affect the peer age model. The idea is to galvanise head boys and head girls of all the secondary schools across the country on how to influence their peers in school against drug abuse. Same is also being planned for the principals of the secondary and Headmasters of the Primary schools.
The Commissioner informed that Scout Nigeria is also in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency for quick intervention in cases of disaster even as it has written to the National Security Adviser infrming of its intention to carry out a campaign against drug abuse. Scout Nigeria also plans to partner with NAPTIP againt child trafficking and abuse.
The commissioner who went down memory lane recalled that Boys Scout was popular because it has a history of being more formal builders of a lot of person and work force of Nigeria – the military, police and even the para -military. Most of these have the foundation of scouting, he added.
However, it was the Bergin conference that took very strong position on women inclusion in participation of every activity in the world and scout happens to be the foremost singular bIggest organization in the world. But what we do basically is to try and attempt to prevent occurrence of crisis or war. It was because of that that former president Olusugun Obasanjo, a Queen’s Scout (that is the highest level scout) and a qualified corps trainer that trains scouts between the ages of 6 and 10.
According to him, after the first world Scout jamboree job in 1977, he created what is called “a man of war – Man O War was scotched from scouting.
He informed that Scout association is the only no-governmental organisaton established by act of parliament which is under amendment to include women and adult. Therefore the inclusion of the old and young cannot be over-emphasized, hence the “Scout Nigeria Association”. But we all know that if you want a society to get it right, you not only build the children because adults usually stand as role model to the young ones. So you try to shape the society with the adults and through that guide the younger ones, the children towards becoming better citizens as they grow.