Jos- The Federation of Muslim Women Association for Nigeria (FOMWAN) is advocating youth empowerment as criteria for
total peace in the country.
Mrs Mairo Sani, the leader of FOMWAN in Plateau, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Jos.
She said government has a key role to play in increasing employment opportunities in both the private and public sector, as most youths have lost their jobs because of the present economic recession while some have been lurking around without jobs over the years.
She added that “there is hardship in the country because of the closure of many organisations which were primary in employing a large chunk of
youths, but now they can be more easily co-opted into evil things.
“Government has a key role to play in creating enabling employment to address this massive unemployment if it wants total peace in the country and success in implementing its developmental projects.”
The FOMWAN leader also said that unemployed youths were mostly frustrated to taking hard drugs as a get-away for their current predicament,
thus causing more harm to themselves and menace to the society.
Sani said that the International Peace Day, which has “Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace” as its theme for this year,
could only be feasible if poverty, hunger and social inequality were addressed in the society.
NAN reports that the International Peace Day is celebrated annually by the UN to strengthen the ideals of peace, both within and among all
nations and people.
The 2016 theme hinges on the UN Sustainable Development Goals to achieving peace as development and peace are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.