Bishop Sunday Onuoha, Executive Director, Nigerian Interfaith Action Association, has advised Nigerian youths to stop celebrating corrupt leaders and avoid being used by politicians for their selfish gains.
Onuoha gave the advice in Abuja on Friday at the Christian Youth Conference with the theme: “Setting an Agenda for the Christian Youths in Nigeria.”
He said that young people should be encouraged to see that it was good to do right things and have confidence in the system, all that people should be punished when they commit an offence.
“We don’t need to celebrate corruption and evil. It is wrong for youths to celebrate and demonstrate on behalf people who have stolen their money.
“Youths need to tell them to return our money, build industries and factories because if 20 or 30 of Dangotes are in Nigeria there would be employment everywhere.
“People stole this money and banked them in foreign countries, something is wrong with the system.
“When you celebrate sin and evil to the extent of giving titles to corrupt people even in churches and villages shows that something is wrong.
“Young people want to see that when people commit a crime, they are punished for it,” he said.
The cleric said that Nigerian youth were intelligent people who could match their mates anywhere in the world if given the opportunity.
He added that youths needed to be given opportunity to showcase their capability, stressing that the older people were not allowing the younger generation to have the opportunity to express themselves.
According to him, young people need to reclaim their destiny. When youths show responsibility, elders will give them roles to function.
Mr Daniel Kadzai, President, Youth Wing, Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN), said the conference was to reawaken the consciousness of the Christian youths on the need to set agenda for the government.
Kadzai said the programme was also borne out of the desire of the youths to seek a redress to the prevailing situation in the country.
He said youths would be able to contribute their quota to the development of the nation through faithfulness to the teaching of the Bible.
According to him, a situation where young people celebrate people with questionable character is not good for the progress of the country.
“Today in Nigeria, even churches appoint people to positions on the basis of the material or financial contribution to the church not minding their character.
“The church must go back to the drawing board by teaching the fundamentals of the Bible and act according to the provisions of the word of God”, he said.
YOWICAN president called on the political leaders to always have the interest of the masses at heart while formulating policies and programmes.
He called on youths to rise to the challenge of rebuilding the nation by learning how to hold their leaders accountable in order to discourage corruption. (NAN)