Mr. Ishaya Durkwa.
Nigerian youths will be better positioned to take political power aimed at leading the country out of the woods, if they receive the right orientation devoid of ethnicity and religion. A group under the aegis of International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ), made this ascertain, stating that Nigerian youths were intelligent enough to pilot the economical, social and political dynamics of the nation.
However, because the political class only wants to use them as thugs, the group said, they devised a means to perpetually keep them impoverished, uneducated and jobless.
Speaking in an opening ceremony of a three-day summit in Jos on Thursday, tagged: “Maiden National Conference on Social Justice”, the Executive Director, International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice, Mr. Ishaya Durkwa, said politicians were only using the youths to gain political power and were comfortable to keep them that way.
Durkwa who gave a remark full of a propelling force to change the thinking of the youths in the ongoing PSJ Youth Ambassadors for Peace Building And Social Justice Summit, said PSJ was only focused on changing the narrative where the Nigerian youths are only seen as a tool in the hands of politicians who only seek to exploit their talents for their own selfish gains.
Said Durkwa: “We want to use youths to cause positive change. The day youths will rise to the occasion, the nation will be transformed.
“This is why we want to start mobilising the youths for a better tomorrow by educating them with the right knowledge for a positive change. Our youths are gifted and can be useful in any sector of the economy only if they are properly channeled.
“The rate of youth migration to other countries in Europe and America is as a result of the decay in the society caused by political leaders, but if this is fixed they will go nowhere but use their God-given energy to drive a better society for the country”.
Durkwa said in his speech, he would break the lecture into ‘3ps’ for better clarity which were: (1) Potential, (2) Promise and (3) Problems.
He explained that the country’s youths were full of potentials that could be harnessed even by the international communities, while if properly put into usefulness the promise would be a bountiful country.
He regretted that the problem of insurgency, kidnapping and banditry were embarrassing and driving the country in the wrong direction.
Noted he: “Instead of our security agencies killing bandits, bandits are the ones killing them, meaning that insecurity cannot be fixed.
“Education has fallen and is in a state of collapse. If these ugly trends are not fixed, generations unborn will inherit a bleak country”.
On his part, a Director in PSJ, who was a former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former National Assembly Member, Hon. Emmanuel Ibeshi, said the 2023 elections had clearly shown that the youths were ready for change and were the driving force of a new tomorrow.
However, participants at the event, Mr. Stanley Ebuka all the way from Enugu State and Brenda Onazi, said a take-home for them was to learn more positive ways to impart youths in their catchment areas.
