The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has attributed Nigeria’s security challenges to the collapse of societal values and loss of cultural identities.
Issa-Onilu spoke on Thursday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the 10th year 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”.
To overcome the numerous social vices and insecurity bedeviling the country, Issa-Onilu stressed the need for social orientation for the youths.
He said: “We are a youthful country. By that, I meant the demographics of our country. About 72 percent 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 millennial. We can see that the most critical challenge we face is orienting our youths to be the best.
“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.
“In a constantly evolving world, we must help our youth navigate the complexities of social relationships and interactions. 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 faults of theirs, are the change-makers, the innovators, and the torchbearers of our society.
“Like in many other countries, youth in Nigeria are often associated with prevalent social vices. These vices can be attributed to various factors, including poverty, unemployment, lack of education, cultural norms, peer pressure, and societal influence.”
Issa-Onilu, who was represented by the Director of NOA in Kwara State, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi, added that: “To address these security threats, tackling the root causes of youth idleness and lack of training is crucial. This, he said, requires 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.”
In his opening address, the Publisher of Royal News online, Mallam AbdulAzeez Arowona, expressed delight that the medium
has been instrumental to so many positive changes in the society in the past 10 years.
He said: “The medium was founded out of the divine love, compassion and commitment towards promoting our highly respected traditional rulers irrespective of their classes, ethnicity and religions affiliations with the singular aim of promoting peaceful co-existence in our nation.”
The event was graced by the state Deputy Governor, Mr Kayode Alabi, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, traditional rulers, captains of industry, top government functionaries; past and present political office holders.