NGO Tasks Govts On Youth Empowerment

The Founder of Friends of the Poor International, a non-governmental organisation, Chief Cosmos Ezeobi, has urged the government to map out strategies to empower the youth.
Ezeobi told newsmen in Ezinifite, Anambra that such strategies were necessary because the moral decadence among the youth was enormous.
He said that the empowerment of youth would create self-reliance to guarantee the future prosperity of the nation because the youth would take over the affairs of the country in the future.
“This is because the youths are the ones who will take over offices and other functions in the country in the future.
“Empowering the youth is like saving in a bank that cannot be affected by theft while the benefit of such savings cannot be consumed totally.
“Youth empowerment is the mirror with which the health and economic statuses of a country can be measured,’’ he said.
Ezeobi added that human capital development should not be left for the government alone to shoulder; but should rather be the burden of all well-meaning Nigerians.
“Here, we believe that the youths must be supported and encouraged to grow because their unique position in a society is like great treasures whose greatness makes a nation great.
“The organisation restores the youth to greatness and recognises their potential, capabilities, treasures in nature and moulds them to greatness,’’ he said.
Ezeobi said that the organization operated through savings from family businesses without any form of external help from the government or other individuals.
He said the savings were solely for the purpose of partnering with the government to control youth restiveness.
“The body annually holds a programme for youth enlightenment during which not less than 50 unemployed youths from the 10 communities of Nnewi South Local Government Area are selected for empowerment through random balloting.
“The selected ones are trained in several skills for six months and are empowered with equipment for their trades after the training,’’ he said.
The founder called on all the tiers of the government to take a serious look at youth development as the country could not maintain a healthy society without its youths fully empowered.