Int’l Youth Day: Lawan, Omo-Agege Hail Nigerian Youth

Daily Metro News NG

President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan and the deputy Senste president, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, have felicitated with the Nigerian Youth on the occasion of the International Youth Day 2020.

While Lawan noted the importance of the Day which was set aside by the United Nations (UN) to draw attention to issues concerning the youth at the community, national and global levels, Omo-Agege on his part, said Nigerian youth have continued to demonstrate tremendous courage and resilience thereby giving hope for a better future.

The felicitations were contained in separate press statements signed and sent out to journalists by Ola Awoniyi and Yomi Odunuga, the special advisers (media and publicity) to Lawan and Omo-Agege respectively on Wednesday.

The Senate President specifically said the youth deserve special attention as a vulnerable group but also as the future of the nation.

“The education, knowledge, technical skills and character of the youth will determine the future conditions and character of the nation. Therefore,  government must endeavor to create a system that nurtures the talents of the youth and ensures their robust development as they grow into the leadership of the society,” Lawan said.

He added that government owes the youth an environment that encourages them to unleash their potentials and realise their dreams.

The Senate President said the National Assembly passed the Not-Too-Young-to-Run Bill, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law in May 2018, to avail the Nigerian Youth the opportunities to fully participate and aspire to any role in politics and governance.

Lawan added that the current global health pandemic had made the Youth even more vulnerable because of its havoc on  social infrastructure, business and the economy in general.

“It is therefore imperative for us to take extraordinary measures to assuage the effects of the pandemic on the youth, especially as these concern employment and business opportunities,” he said.

Lawan, therefore, assured the Nigerian youth that the National Assembly will always promote legislation that promotes their best interests.

For his part, the Deputy Senate President Omo-Agege, in a message to mark the United Nations’ International Youth Day, urged all those elected on the populist platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to renew their people-centred comitment towards a better future under which Nigerian youth can, with better safety, dignity and opportunities, contribute to societal growth and development through the exercise of their fullest potentials.

He noted that this year’s theme, “Youth Engagement for Global Action” draws attention to the need for the youth to be more involved at the local, national and global levels in initiatives targeted towards sustainable growth and development.

“As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said: ‘One of the greatest liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions’.

“Today, we must all identify with the Buhari administration’s reform initiatives because our very survival and development depend on our collective ability to stay awake, adjust to new ideas,  remain vigilant and face the continuously evolving challenges of change,” he stated.

According to Senator Omo-Agege, his personal effort for empowerment and development must necessarily include a strong focus on the youth population in his constituency, adding that no serious society can underestimate the vibrant potentials of its young people.

“As Margaret Mead, the late American author and cultural anthropologist once said: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has’.

“This profoundly resonates with me and my mission at the Senate where I have fully embraced opportunities to work with my colleagues, party members and aides, including a large number of young people drawn from various parts of the Federation.

“Many young Nigerians have become sterling examples in sports, education, technology and numerous other areas of human endeavours and as we observe the International Youth Day, I urge all of us to renew our commitments towards empowering the younger generation and creating a better future,” he stated.