Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, has called for a collaborative approach to harness the potential of the state’s youth. Speaking on Sunday during the 2024 International Youth Day Thanksgiving Service at Christ the Light Chapel in Alausa, Ikeja, Ogunlende emphasized that the responsibility of nurturing the younger generation is too great for the state government to handle alone.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Monday by the ministry’s spokeswoman, Adeola Olabisi, Ogunlende stressed the importance of involving all stakeholders, including parents, communities, religious organizations, and concerned individuals, in the effort to secure a better future for the youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe task of building our youths is too enormous to be left to the state government alone. It should be seen as a shared responsibility in which everybody must be involved,” Ogunlende stated. “We need every parent, community, religious organization, and everyone who truly cares about the future of our youths, especially those whose futures are being endangered by drug abuse. We cannot do it alone as a government. All hands must be on deck to salvage our youth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Commissioner lauded the efforts of Christ the Light Chapel in combating drug abuse among youth and called on other Christian organizations to emulate such initiatives. He highlighted the critical need to address the issue of drug misuse, which he described as a significant threat to the future of many young people in the state.<\/p>\n
“Drug abuse is a scourge that continues to jeopardize the potential of our youth. It is a challenge that we must confront head-on, with the support of all sectors of society. The church, communities, families, and government must work together to provide the guidance and support our youth need to stay on the right path,” Ogunlende added.<\/p>\n
In line with these efforts, Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, introduced a new Skill Acquisition Program during the service. This initiative aims to equip teenagers with the necessary skills to secure livelihoods and engage in productive activities, thereby reducing the allure of negative influences such as drug abuse.<\/p>\n
Oke-Osanyintolu encouraged parents to build close, trusting relationships with their children to prevent them from seeking advice and guidance from potentially harmful sources. “Parents must be the first line of defense for their children. By maintaining open lines of communication and fostering trust, we can help steer our youth away from destructive behaviors,” she said.<\/p>\n
Reverend Oladele Ajayi, the Presiding Chaplain of Christ the Light Chapel, affirmed the church’s commitment to partnering with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development in the fight against drug abuse. He expressed the church’s dedication to continuing its outreach and support programs aimed at eradicating drug misuse among adolescents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, has called for a collaborative approach to harness the potential of the state’s youth. Speaking on Sunday during the 2024 International Youth Day Thanksgiving Service at Christ the Light Chapel in Alausa, Ikeja, Ogunlende emphasized that the responsibility of nurturing the younger generation is too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":45496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45495"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45500,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45495\/revisions\/45500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}