The
theme for this year’s celebration, “The Road to 2030: Eradicating
Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Production and Consumption” comes
handy as the search for sustainable goals and development intensifies.
In this theme, the youth are reminded of a significant target.
Fighting
poverty among young people has been brought again to the front burner
with a 2030 target, but with the caveat that production and consumption
must be carried out sustainably. This is to avoid building with one hand
and destroying with the other.
I
must say that education remains one of the most sustainable ways of
eradicating poverty among the young population. This understanding
drives our education and other pro-youth policies as a Commission. To
achieve that, the NDDC has maintained a scholarship line that has
continued to build manpower. In 2016, we upped that stride by striking
the gender parity cord through instituting the Girls in Engineering,
Mathematics and Science Competition, GEMS, Competition. This competition
invites girls of the Niger Delta region to greater involvement in
STEM-related courses. So, ahead of time, NDDC is working to position our
youths in the competitive edge. We believe that our young people must
occupy their slots in labour and economic markets through intense
academic engagement. Here our module is that which accommodates healthy
competition among the youths and challenges their potential creativity.
The NDDC is raising a community of young people sharpened and horned to
achieve greatness through education and mentorship. We are building a
culture that redefines dignity among the youths through hard work.
As
we particularly celebrate the youth and draw attention to their place
in building a world of sufficiency and growth, I enjoin Niger Delta
youths to queue in the re-orientation that abhors rent culture and
embrace industry which NDDC is building; to emulate worthy patriots
whose commitment to collective good of the region defined the shape and
rhythm of the region’s geography and history. I task our youths to use
this year’s celebration to engage in self-appraisal, to do a self-audit
as to how they have participated in the current negatives pestering our
region. We have always been proud stock whose progenitors were familiar
with mutual respect and civility.
I
consider this occasion critical to a rebirth to the approach our youths
have adopted, especially lately, in seeking broader national inclusion.
I challenge the youths in the region to use dialogue in their quest for
development. Let us not destroy our future for sake of today’s
agitation as that would amount to cutting the nose to spite the face.
*Being
a press statement by Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Ag. MD/CEO, Niger Delta
Development Commission, NDDC, on the occasion of the International Youth
Day 2016 on Friday, August 12, 2016.
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