Omu-Aran (Kwara) – An Education Counselor, Mr Peter Aransiola, has advised Nigerian youths to be at the fore front of efforts to attain United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Aransiola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Omu-Aran on Thursday that the attainment of the goals, to a great extent, depended on younger citizens’ ability to hold their leaders accountable.
NAN reports that the 17-point goals to be achieved by 2030 included: poverty eradication and hunger, food security and sustainable agriculture, among others.
The goals, which were adopted by World leaders in September 2015, officially came into effect on January 1, 2016.
Aransiola, who is attached to Irepodun Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) in Kwara, said that since countries globally were expected to mobilise resources in less than 15 years, youths were expected to play prominent roles.
According to him, youths must be actively involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the SDGs.
He said that youth activism was on the rise globally due to unchecked access to social media, adding that such could be an added advantage in disseminating information on the goals.
Aranisola described youths as critical thinkers, innovators and change makers.
“Youths are capable of bringing fresh ideas with direct knowledge of issues and insights that are not accessible to adults.
“Youths have the capacity to identify and challenge existing power structures and barriers to change, and to expose contradictions and biases.
“Young people can be partners in communicating the agenda to their peers and communities at the local and state levels, as well as across districts and regions.
“If countries are to succeed in achieving the SDGs leaving no one behind, governments must engage youths from diverse backgrounds,”he said.
Aransiola urged youth organistions to channel their resources to ending all forms of poverty, inequalities and tackle climate change, which were part of the SDGs.
He described the goals that emphasised ending poverty and hunger, food security, sustainable agriculture, among others, as very critical to Nigeria’s development road map. (NAN)