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ADEOLA [ Profil ] |
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REPOSITIONING AFRICA YOUTH FOR GLOBAL RELEVANCE, BY ADEOLA OGUNLADE
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Feb 20th, 2009 - 14:42:52 |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MARTIN (at) TAIRO.TK
WWW.TAIRO.TK
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Congratulations to you fellow advocates in Nigeria and beyond. I am happy sending this monthly piece to you as a motivation for our continued struggle to ensure a better and safe world. Thanks a lot for replying my emails.
Hi, my name is Chinelo Ata, I receive your mail often, I studied mass communication. I must commend your work, you are a dedicated writer. I couldn’t attend your programme last year; may be this year will be possible. Hope you do more this year.. All the best.
chineloata (at) yahoo.com.
The piece is necessitated by the socio-economic challenges facing Africa, coupled with the belief that youth has an important roles to stimulate growth in the society.
Of importance is the current global financial melt down that is having negative imparts on the major economies such as United State of America (USA) and Europe respectively. Also the global financial crises is affecting Nigeria, among others countries in Africa.
Ironically, the western countries are providing stimulus package to address the problem caused by the melt down while African countries are not taken proactive measures to address the issue.
For instance, in Nigeria, (Western Africa), the stock market is failing and people are losing their hard earn money there. The downside in the companies are getting worse; some of our banks are failing; the continued outflow of capital by foreign investors; the foreign reserve is being affected, among others. This equally is the trend in southern Africa. A distinguished journalist from Zimbabwe, Wallace Chuma, “The feared global recession is beginning to bite South Africa, but the country is nowhere near changing course, at least not yet”.
However, I will not fail to laud some Africa leaders who have risen to the challenge, but the intervention is rather coming too late. Besides, the intervention packaged is not exhaustive, comprehensive, coordinated and is half hearted, to use the words of a columnist- Idowu Akinlotan, (The Nation Newspaper). The people are not carried along and to me the package is like another white elephant “paper”.
Sad enough, when an issue of this magnitude is not addressed in time, the upcoming generation suffers most. Just like when HIV/AIDS was discovered in 1981 and there was prompt response by the West to step the tide, which they vigorously did and to a large extent they have help in mitigating the tide, but Africa started to respond sometime in 1990. And the effect is that even the children who are the beginning of the future in any society are the missing face in HIV/Aids in Africa, with over 100,000 children in need of HIV treatment in Nigeria.
But the question one would want to ask is this; is it that we lack the man power or machinery to properly stir the affairs of the continent to the promise land, I would say no. We have them but we don’ t have the right crop of leaders, leaders who have foresight, vision, purpose and plan for the people alive today without including the yet unborn generation. Though, it starts from the home, the smallest unit of government.
However, as young people across the continent of Africa, we cannot sit down and watch
“Some self-inclined individuals (leaders) who are not sincere and proactive in stemming the present global recession. Just like in my country, they are busy planning to share our foreign reserve to build some white elephant project.
“Sit down and watch some people give us conflicting reports about our place in the present recession all because they want to remain in office against public interest”.
Thus, it should be noted that the battle cannot be won through arms struggle but we must reposition ourselves to be seen as:
Responsible; responsive; determined; diligent, forthright, discipline, proactively involved in the democratic process even at the micro-level; ready to challenge the status quo through intellectual contest; prepared to form a formidable synergy of young people that will speak as a voice to the voiceless youth in Africa
Thank you for reading. Please continue to send in your suggestions and comments. Kindly spread the message to people in your homes, streets, market places, motor parks, churches, mosques, town halls. Through this means, Africa will become a better place to live in.
Adeola Ogunlade
Coordinator
Youth Advocate for Change (YAC)
08083127847
godslovever (at) yahoo.com
youthadvocate-adeola.blogspot.com
About me
I am Adeola Ogunlade, a Journalist, social activist, commentator, mentor, volunteer, coach and a voice for the voiceless youths in our society. I am committed towards the emancipation of Nigerian youths for whom I have dedicated my time and talents in my reports in one of the leading National dailies in Nigeria , The Nation Newspapers, with a focus on Youth Development in Nigeria . I equally founded a Community Youth Development initiative called Youth Advocate for Change (YAFC) in Akute, Ifo Local Government, Ogun State, South West, Nigeria, in 2006 with the vision to educate young minds at the community level with the right value and equally help harness their skills productively and profitably for themselves and the nation at large.
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