An educationist, Dr. Olajumoke Akere has called on parents and government at all levels to invest in youths so as to guarantee the country’s future prosperity.
Akere, who is the Director of JSAY Prevarsity, stated this while receiving a National Outstanding Leadership Award presented to him by the Southern Youths Assembly of Nigeria (SYAN) on Thursday in Ibadan.
Recall, it was reported by newsmen that SYAN is an organisation of young peace builders, activitists and leaders in 17 states of the Southern region that support pro-youth policies in the National Assembly and entire country.
According to her, parents, governments and other stakeholders must believe in the youths and assist them in the areas of the 24th Century skill acquisition, education, training and Information Technology (IT), amongst others.
She said that youths, as the future generations of any country, must be adequately groomed to acquire leadership skills for the task ahead.
Akere argued that many people looked at the youths as lazy, leading to government and other stakeholders giving them less attention.
She said: “This is not good for the country’s future.
“We need to be passionate and concerned about our youths by giving them quality education and other skills that will enable them to compete with their counterparts globally.”
Akere said that JSAY Prevarsity was established 15 years ago “out of my passion to bridge the gap between secondary school leavers and university and my passion about young people acquiring standard education and other skills, especially IT.”
“The transition from secondary school to university is very important.
“So, students of JSAY Prevarsity are well trained because we don’t want children that are not prepared to be in the university.
“The youths need to have structured programmes for the future of the country, so government should give them the opportunity by investing in them.
“Give the youths quality education that will give them the competitive edge to compete globally,” she said.
Akere also said that the SYAN award would encourage her to do more.
She described the award as an attestation to some of the things she had done in terms of helping young people acquire leadership skills and many other programmes.
Earlier, the Chairman of SYAN, Mr Fashiru Ameed, said the award was conferred on Akere to appreciate her immense positive contributions to society.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, GOTOCOURSE, Dr. Sucess Ojo remarked the awardee deserved the award.
Ojo noted he had known Akere for the past 20 years for her commitment to youth development.
