Ogun State - Ogun Reaffirms Commitment To Youth Development

[OgunState]

 The Ogun state government believes that if properly tutored and positioned, the youths of today will grow up to become useful adults ready to make meaningful contributions towards developing not only the State, but the country in general.     The government will therefore spare no cost to train and prepare them for the daunting task of becoming responsible leaders of the future.     The State’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Gbenga Otenuga made this declaration at the Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu Ode while declaring open a 3-day peer education training on HIV/AIDS for leaders of voluntary youth organisations in Ogun East Senatorial District.     Otenuga disclosed that it is against this backdrop that government has decided to bankroll the programme to create awareness and sensitise them on the ways of contacting and preventing the deadly virus so as to ensure that they are healthy.     “Ensuring a healthy future for the youths who are the beneficiaries of all the enduring legacies being put in place by this government is the motivational strength behind this training for Peer Educators on HIV/AIDS. We will stop at nothing to ensure that our youths who are our heritage and future are protected against the scourge at all times” Otenuga noted.     He said going by their characteristics which include pleasure-seeking, dynamism and adventurism, the youths constitute the group that is most vulnerable and susceptible to being infected with the virus, positing that all hands must be on deck to protect them at all times.     The Commissioner said records have shown that owning to its proximity to Lagos, high student population and presence of long distance drivers, the senatorial district has one of the highest prevalence rates in the State, he therefore enjoined participants to understand and assimilate the lectures in order to impart same at a future step down training for others.     Earlier in her welcome address, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Moyo Olowonmi disclosed that government in collaboration with the State Agency for the Control of AIDS and support from the World Bank put the programme together to sensitise youths in the senatorial district for them to better understand basic facts and myths about HIV/AIDS.     In their remarks, two of the participants, Ridwan Oduneye, Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria in Ijebu Ode Local Government and Oluwaseun Osinbanjo from the Youth Progressive Vanguard appreciated the State Government for the gesture, pledging to make judicious use of the training programme and help to spread the message that AIDS is real to other youths in the senatorial district.