2014 International Youth Day (Aired Newstalk)

A CLARION CALL FOR AWARENESS AS THE WORLD MARKS THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY, TODAY TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014

It is generally noted that the youth is the productive class of any nation. In the same vein, anyone in a youthful stage sees himself as one of the main parts of the engine room of any society he belongs.

     
Suffice to say; any existing society that cannot boast of at least a youth is not unlike a tree that is being deprived of its major root. This is why any country that has lost its youths to social vices lives like a blind man and as well sleeps with both eyes open.

Though the definition of the youth regarding the age bracket varies from one school of thought to another; but in a nutshell, it could be defined as a group of young people who are in their adulthood stage. Thus, a youth is simply an adult or a fully grown person that is young.

   
Considering the above definition, you would agree to the fact that the youth is indeed the engine room of any nation. On the contrary, it is pathetic to see a society comprising youths that have lost their sense of judgement or reasoning. It is no longer news that presently, about ninety percent (90%) of the overall youths in most countries in the world have intensely derailed thereby constituting series of inconsequential cacophonies as well as societal menace.

      
Taking Nigeria for instance: during the post-colonial era and thereabouts, virtually all the political positions in the country were occupied by the youth ranging from Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Chief Tafawa Balewa, Gen Murtala Mohammed, Gen Theophilus Danjuma, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, Gen Sani Abacha, Gen Shehu Musa Yar’adua, Gen Aguiyi Ironsi, Gen Chukwuemeka Odumegu-Ojukwu, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, Gen Mohammadu Buhari, and many others too numerous to mention. But today, the reverse is totally the case. Frankly this profound apathy coupled with complete loss of vision among the youth which occupies about one-third of the world’s population, calls for an outcry.

       
Today being August 12, the world is commemorating the 2014 International Youth Day. The International Youth Day is annually held on August 12 to celebrate the achievements of the world’s youth and to encourage their participation in enhancing global society. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions in their respective communities.

  
The idea for International Youth Day was proposed in 1991 by young people who were gathered in Vienna – Austria for the first session of the United Nations (UN) World Youth Forum. The forum recommended that an International Youth Day should be declared, especially for fund-raising and promotional purposes to support the United Nations Youth Fund in partnership with various youth organizations.      

       
In 1998, a resolution proclaiming August 12 as International Youth Day was adopted during the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth Affairs. That recommendation was later endorsed in 1999 by the UN General Assembly. The International Youth Day was first observed in the year 2000; one of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the United Nations’ World Youth Awards to the eight Latin American and Caribbean youth and youth-related organizations in Panama City.

       
Many activities and events that take place around the world on International Youth Day promote the benefits the world derives from young people. Many countries participate in this global event, which encompasses youth seminars cum conferences on issues such as education and empowerment; other activities include concerts promoting the world’s youth, as well as various sporting events, parades and mobile exhibitions that showcase young people’s achievements.

       
As the world over marks the International Youth Day today, I’m soliciting for awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that all the youths are fully sensitized in order to revive the ongoing alarming rate of moral decadence, docility, laxity, and mediocrity found among them. I therefore, call on the governments, non-governmental bodies, religious institutions, stakeholders, the media, and what have you, to join hands in this enticing crusade so that in no distant time the world over shall boast of a global society filled with only resourceful and conscience-driven youths.

          COMR. FRED NWAOZOR

Public Affairs analyst & Social activist

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