From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
On the occasion of the 2022 International Youth Day, the Nigerian Youth Union (NYU) has called for unity of purpose in tackling the myriads of social challenges confronting the world. NYU National President, Comrade Chinonso Obasi, in a statement, noted that although the year 2022 opened with the great promise of hope, life in Nigeria has remained traumatic.
Obasi, who is a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said the number of children out of school, child trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and organ harvesting have combined to make life brutish.
Reflecting on the theme of this year’s International Youth Day, which is “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating A World for All Ages,” the NYU President stressed that the time has come for the living to hold hands together in solidarity.
Obasi observed that the climate has unleashed new concerns for human survival, pointing out that it is only by uniting hearts and minds that humankind could solve the existential challenges. He lamented that socio-economic conditions have also tended to make life miserable for senior citizens, noting that governments should think outside the box to cater for senior citizens.
“The world demands of us greater love. We need to spread warm affection toward humanity. Extreme individualism has not helped; the time is now for mankind to show the healing balm of being each other’s keepers..
NYU said demographic differences do not insulate the young or old, male or female from the vagaries of the current travails, assuring that it would use the remainder of the year to upscale campaigns for social harmony while advocating good governance and social welfare policies.