By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
Ilorin, Dec. 7, 2023
Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Director General (DG) of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), has advocated youth social reorientation as a panacea to national insecurity.
Making the call on Thursday in Ilorin at the 10th anniversary of Royal News online publication and the unveiling of a book titled: “Habibat Salman-Said: The Diplomatic Administrator And A Princess Of The Emirate,” Issa-Onilu attributed the insecurity challenges facing the country on the collapse of societal values and loss of cultural identities.
The director general, who was represented by the director of NOA in Kwara, Mr. Olusegun Adeyemi, observed that to overcome the numerous social vices and insecurity challenges bedeviling the country, there is need for youth social reorientation.
“We are a youthful country, by that, I mean the demographics of our country. About 72 per cent of our population is below the age of 35.
“In other words, not less than 165 million of our estimated 220 million population are within the Gen Z and the millennials. We can see that the most critical challenge we face is orienting our youths to be the best of us.
“More than any time in the life of our nation, the government, our traditional institutions, community leaders, and the clerics must rise to face the future of Nigeria,” he said.
The director-general stated that in a constantly evolving world, we must help our youth navigate the complexities of social relationships and interactions.
He observed that today’s youth are not tomorrow’s leaders; they already lead in many endeavours.
“The sad reality is that they are leading without guidance. The leaders of yesterday abandoned the ship even when they did not nurture the youths with the right values.
“We are now in a society where our youths, ill-equipped due to no fault of theirs, are the change-makers, the innovators and the torchbearers of our society.
“Like in many other countries, youths in Nigeria are often associated with prevalent social vices,” he said.
Issa-Onilu added that these vices can be attributed to various factors, including poverty, unemployment, lack of education, cultural norms, peer pressure and societal influence.”
He emphasised the need to tackle security threats and the root causes of youth idleness.
He said this required effective policies to reduce unemployment, provide skill training and improve educational opportunities.
“The good news is that it is not too late to redirect the ship. Therefore, our collective responsibility is to provide the youths with the necessary skills and values to succeed and thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.”
Earlier, Malam AbdulAzeez Arowona, the publisher of Royal News online, expressed delight that the medium has been instrumental to so many positive changes in the society in the past years.
He said the medium was founded out of the divine love, compassion and commitment towards promoting highly respected traditional rulers irrespective of their social classes, ethnicity and religious affiliations with the singular aim of promoting peaceful co-existence in the nation.”
