By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Nigerian youths have been advised to toe the path of creativity, innovation, and Information Technology, IT, skills in the 21st century to be successful leaders and development drivers of their generation.
The advice was given at the 2023 Youth Leadership Impact Summit Closing/Award Ceremony hosted at the National Merit House in Abuja at the weekend by a Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, the Youth Initiative for Leadership and Rural Development, YILARD, in conjunction with the National Youth Council of Nigeria and Compassionate Lifeline Foundation, with the theme: Leadership Creativity and Innovation: Job Creation and Digital Skills.
Speaking, the director general of the Bureau of Public Reforms, Arabi Ibrahim Dasuki, who chaired the occasion, stressed that the responsibility of leadership and social service delivery rest on all cadres of people, especially the youth who own tomorrow.
Thanking the organisers and congratulating them for choosing a wonderful theme for the event, Dasuki noted that updating in the application of modern technology is the way out in seeking solutions to problems and overcome the changes and challenges of modern society.
“COVID-19 has come to shown us that there will be more changes and more disruptions, and these disruptions will not come with announcement. We’re able to work our ways through COVID-19 with the help of God and technology.
“And lots of innovations are coming up in terms of technology, to see how we can use technology to improve the quality of life. No matter how much we try as a nation to get the best hardware of IT into the country, If we don’t have the skills to operate them to make change and deliver, then it’s useless so the challenge is on all of us not only the youth,” he said.
In his welcome speech, YILARD National Chairman, James Ugochukwu, said YILARD is a project that sets out to encourage the young ones to chart their way to greatness in life while contributing to the overall development of society by embracing creativity, innovation, and IT.
He lamented that from the presentation by the director general, Bureau of Public Reforms, titled: “Current Reforms and the Nigerian Public Service”, it became clear that everything now is about creativity, innovation, and technology, yet most young ones don’t know and are misusing the opportunities they have to study participate in, and even contribute to the process of formulating and executing government policies.
“Instead, they choose the path of ‘yahoo yahoo’, and on a daily basis they are being arrested and locked, mainly because there’s no one to advise them properly and make them see reasons why they should not think of joining the yahoo crime or migrating illegally abroad.
According to him, the youth- focused YILARD project seeks to educate and sensitise to steer youths out of their comfort zone of ignorance and show them the way to bring out their best to bear and be successful in life.
The highpoint of the event was the presentation of merit awards to Nigerians who have excelled in service to the nation in their various capacities.
