A guest Speaker at a youth programme organized by the Coalition of Jos North West Concerned Youth, COJOYA, Dr. Salis Muhammad Abdulsalam has emphasized that religious organizations are responsible for the promotion of laziness and social misfits among youths which he said includes engaging in drugs abuse and criminality in the society.
Abdulsalam stated this while delivering a public lecture on the role of youth in promoting peaceful coexistence in the society.
He said Muslim community in Jos North Local Government Area have failed to engage in community service as he said rather they have increased poverty, crime and drug addiction where some parents don’t even know the number of children they have.
Dr. Abdulsalam frowned at the modern world which he said is gradually becoming fragmented with violence, injustice and lack of human tolerance which he also said that it is also threatening the future of the youth who constituted 69% population of the world.
He urged the Nigerian youth to focus more on personal discipline and that they should strive to achieve a free conflict environment by playing a good role and embarking on attitudinal change.
Dr. Salis Muhammad reiterated the need for youths to enjoy cross carpeting of ideas of networking with other religion, tribes and non-governmental organization so as to come together and build synergy in resolving conflict in the state by reuniting with some faiths and spirited individuals to encourage the peaceful coexistence in the society.
The Deputy Chief Imam of Jos in remarks, Hon Ghazali I. Adam disclosed that lack of knowledge about basic decision making increase youth violence activities in Nigeria in the recent times which he said it has become a source of worry to both policymakers and researchers and as it is also retarding progress and therefore results in conflicts.
According to him, youths on the other hand, can play an active role in peace and conflict resolution by forming a new phalanx of peace missionaries and spiritual renewal among children.
In the area of ethnic development, he said the youth of different ethnic groups can forge links between cultural minorities and popularize shared values, shared culture, and traditions handed down from generations to generations, he added.
Adams noted that the youths on the political area of development can engage or join in political awareness building, force reforms in bureaucracy to ensure good governance, accountability, transparency and citizenry participation.
He stressed that, at the international scene, the youth can become peace ambassadors of their respective countries, promoting exchange programmes in education, culture, science and technology, sports and games and in tourism promotions to link all the youth of the region and the world in the pursuit and maintenance of peace and conflict. (Think globally and act locally).
In addition, the youths should learn new skills to deal with conflict in non-violence ways and create a community that lives by a credo of non-violence and multicultural appreciation.
He, however, pointed out that they must be done with the present crop of people whom we have termed as the leaders of ’yesterday’ given the necessary chance and creating the opportunity for the youths to act with their enthusiast.
Adams reiterated that with all this and with every youth having at the back of his mind that whenever he goes, peace is with him because, without peace, he cannot live, the 21“ century would be a century of tolerance, peace, and conflict-free.
He sincerely thanks the organizers for finding him fit to serve as Father of the day, though he is not part of you.