Today being the International Youth Day, I have taken few moments to journey back through the memory lane and I have deeply reflected upon the realities of today and the possibilities of tomorrow. I have asked: ‘what is the future without the youth and who is a youth without a purpose? The answer is simple; there’s no future without the youth and the future will be empty without a sufficient presence of purpose driven youths.
My dear wonderful youths of our great state and nation, I enjoin you to accept into the context of this piece the definition of purpose as “your personally achievable set goals for a holistic development of the self, and a human oriented desire to also make a difference in the world by contributing to issues beyond your individuality.” If you have accepted this definition then you have also embraced the fact that you have a duty to yourself and to mankind.
While it is an established truth that young people must themselves make decisions about their lives, I won’t fail to call on parents, guardians, mentors, teachers and leaders in every human sector to acknowledge that we also have a sacred duty of securing the future by showing the light and guiding the young through the right path. Let’s make it a priority to build a system that will enable young people to develop holistically, regain their voice, their influence and place in the society so as to reach their full potential.
We must collectively discourage youth docility, regression to a class of mere stooges, petty engagements, vain pursuits and help pull them out of the little confinements of needless intraparty and inter-party conflicts, communal schisms, ethnocentric biasses, hatefulness and thuggery into more meaningful ventures of global, industrial and humanistic importance.
I stand with the youth in the vision to realize a friendly society with people-oriented government that takes cognizance of egalitarian principles of justice, equity, peace, merit and equal opportunities where no one is oppressed and to uphold the African values of being our brothers’ keepers.
Happy International Youth Day!
