By Christian Ogbonna
Abakaliliki – Some parents and youths in Abakaliki, Ebonyi capital have urged governments at all levels to enliven the youth with skills as a way of tackling crime in the society.
They made the call while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Wednesday in reaction to the World Youth Day celebration.
According to them, skills acquisition will also support the moves by all tiers of government to ensure meaningful engagement of the youths.
One of them, Sunday Nweke, a youth and Shoemaker commended the setting aside of a day to celebrate the youth.
He said that such a day should be used to re-orientate the youth on the need for hard work and self-reliance, saying, “hard work reduces crime in the society”
“ I refused to be idle, I learnt to make shoes, doing so, has helped me and my family so much. We need to collectively preach the gospel of self-reliance.
“The government should lead this crusade, the mindsets of the youths have to be properly re-oriented and developed,” he said.
Another youth, Okoafor Ano, a Carpentry apprentice told NAN that engaging the youths in skills acquisition would create empowerment opportunities for them.
“When people are busy with something, they stay committed to it and stay away from crime and violence,” he said.
Also speaking to NAN, Mrs Joy Nwachukwu, a parent, told NAN that youth empowerment was necessary for nation building and economic growth.
She said that the need for skills acquisition had become crucial with emergence of Coronavirus, saying,“ the economic impact of the pandemic is harsh on the younger population and something has to be done urgently,”.
In his remarks, Mr Charles Akpuenika, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Youth and Sports said the state was committed to youth empowerment.
“We have always preached that youths should avoid crime and violence, we need all support and efforts to develop our minds,” he said.
NAN reports that the theme for this year’s edition of the `World Youth Day is “Youth Engagement for Global Action”.
(NAN)
