ActionAid Nigeria, an international NGO, has charged youths to embrace agriculture in order to address unemployment and reduce the spate of violent extremism in the country.
Mr Friday Ogezi, Project Officer with ActionAid Nigeria, made the call on Saturday at the 2021 Youth Summit, on preventing violent extremism in Kogi, at Abache and Emekutu in Ankpa local government.
Ogezi said the summit was in commemoration of the 2021 International Youth Day with the theme: Transforming Food System; Youth Innovation in Peace Building Through Climate Change Mitigation.
The summit was organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change In Development (PIBCID) with support from the Global Community Engagement Resilience Fund (GCERF).
According to the project officer, agriculture remains the way forward for the country and the world today.
He, therefore, charged the youths to play prominent roles in the evolving practice of agriculture as business, through their involvement.
Also speaking, Idris Musa, kogi Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, urged the youths to take their destinies in their hands and work patiently toward achieving dreams through legitimate and lawful means.
He called on the youth to reduce their reliance on government for provision of employment, as over dependence in the prevailing circumstances in the country would only result in frustrations.
According to him, for youths to excel, they must have the fear of God and utmost respect for their parents, adding that they must be creative, learn skills as well as embark on fruitful ventures, including farming activities.
In her remarks, Mrs Martha Moses, Vice Chairman, Ankpa local government council charged the youths to build and prepare themselves for leadership positions.
She urged them to be focused, firm, diligent and committed in their endeavours, rather than make themselves willing tools in the hands of dubious persons, to perpetrate electoral violence and other forms of fraudulent practices.
She specifically urged the females to strive to acquire skills and pursue education, to have sustainable livelihood.
The vice chairman also advised them against illicit and unholy affairs saying, “If you rubbish yourself, you will be rubbished.”
Also, Suleiman Yakubu, Coordinator of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Ankpa local government, urged the youths to key into the IYD theme for 2021 and embrace agriculture, especially tree planting and afforestation for their economic benefits.
He decried the deforestation and abandonment of agricultural activities by the youths and enjoined them to embrace agriculture, noting that the practice had transcended the subsistence level, to lucrative agribusiness platforms.
The summit also featured a presentation by Mr Emmanuel Ocheje, an Agricultural Economist, on Youth Involvement in Ecosystem Protection and Involvement in Food System and Market Development.
