The founder of Chido Cargo and Maritime logistics services Limited, Dr Chidozie Collins Idoko has felicitated with Nigerian youths on the occasion of the 2022 International Youth Day.
He expressed his felicitation in a statement issued on Friday.
“The youth is a concept that is been widely debated, with some people contending that the youth is merely a transition from childhood to adulthood, while others consider it a stage in life that should be recognized for having its own set of complex issues and experiences,” he said.
Idoko called on the youths, especially those of Southeast to be smarter and engage only in meaningful ventures.
Mr Idoko, who is also the founder and Director General Chido Group (formerly known as Gburugburu is a Goal but now Good Goal continues), observed that having a significant amount of young people out of work, could have negative impact on nation’s economic growth and development.
He added that “if left unchecked, youth unemployment can have serious social repercussions because unemployed youth tend to feel left out, leading to social exclusion, anxiety and a lack of hope for the future.”
He however called on the youths to equip themselves with relevant skills in order not fall into the category of millions of young people floundering in poverty and frustration.
Dr Idoko further admonished the youths to avoid picking last minute appointments by the two major political parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) which have allegedly weaponised hunger and poverty to the detriment of the Youth.
According to him, “Good governance is not tradeable; therefore I challenge every Youth to jettison their Greek gifts being shared like snacks at this eleventh hour.
“Till this day, young people have limited voice in meetings; there still exists a wide gap between younger and older generations.
“When shall the youths understand that these guys holding us at bay are not wiser or smarter than all of us but because as a generation, we have been chasing shadows and that made them dictate the tunes for us he said.
Idoko called on the government, corporate bodies and private business owners to be supportive of the youths and not to exploit them.
He also called on ASUU and government to reach a negotiation and Enugu state government to as matter of necessity, pay up the arrears of salaries owed the primary school teachers who have been pressing home their demands.
