Youth African Leader Initiative (YALI), a US-based Non-Governmental Organization championing a crusade against extremism and election violence, has admonished Nigerian youths to spend their time on useful ventures that would better their lot and that of the nation.
Sir John Benjamin, the State Coordination of the Organisation, gave the advise on Sunday at the inauguration of new executives of the organisation in Lafia.
According to him, the advice became necessary in view of the spate of insecurity and the involvement of the youth in violence, killings, kidnapping, political thuggery as well as other criminal activities.
Benjamin said the time had come for Nigerian youths to denounce their involvement in crimes and engage in ventures that will make them more useful to themselves, their communities and the nation.
He said that YALI was in Nigeria particularly to sensitize the youth on leadership roles that would take them away from being used as instruments of distraction or destabilization by unscrupulous politicians and others who never meant well for the country.
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“YALI has come to ask the the youth to sign up as the next generation of African leaders, to spur growth, prosperity, strengthen Democratic governance, enhance peace and security across Africa,” he said.
He challenged youths to come up with innovative ideas and key into various opportunities provided by the U.S Department of state for experiential learning, knowledge sharing, professional development, networking and mentorship.
Benjamin explained that YALI was an initiative of Barack Obama, Former U.S president, who launched it in 2010, to support young African leaders, adding that the forum was ready to provide the necessary empowerment for youths with the skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant for communication and advocacy on democratic ideas.
“We are ready to develop actionable tools that will assist young people in evaluating such leadership tools as transparency and accountability of their elected leaders”, he said, adding that YALI was all about impacts, aspiring, volunteering and leading, with a clear focus on identifying challenges in one’s immediate community and providing solutions to them.
Also speaking, the immediate past coordinator of the organization, Barr. Emmanuel Kuza said the YALI network in Nigeria had organised a summit designed to catalyze the abilities of young leaders from across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
He said YALI hubs were thereafter instituted to take up initiatives that will reinforce the role of government in creatively providing the needs of people and ensuring accountability at all levels.
“The summit did not only talk about the key issues facing youths in the 21st century in developing countries like Nigeria, but also outlined strategies that can be adopted to address the issues,” he said.