The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has called on Nigerian youths to champion the ongoing efforts towards reversing the ugly trend of hate messaging in the social media which, recently, has been a source of concern to many in the country.
NOA Director General, Dr. Garba Abari made this known when he received the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN) led by its Global Coordinator, Achaleke Christian in his office.
Representing the Director General, NOA’s Director, Human Resource Management, Mr. Solomon Ado condemned the pervasive hate narratives in the Nigerian cyber space and urged all well-meaning youth groups in the country to, as a matter of urgency, work toward nipping the situation in the bud in the interest of peaceful coexistence, harmony and patriotism among Nigerians. While noting that conflict is inevitable in human society, he insisted that amicable solutions rather than confrontations are always the best.
He described young people as versatile and knowledgeable, stressing the importance of their participation in national development. According to him, “Once the creative energies of our youths are positively channeled, there is no limit to what we can achieve as a nation”. He therefore commended the Network’s activities which he said were in tandem with current local and global trends and praised the Commonwealth for supporting youths to play key roles in the development of their countries.
In his remarks, the CYPAN Global Coordinator, said the visit was aimed at building synergy with NOA with a view to leveraging the strength of young people and the spread of the Agency for peace building across the country. He said the Network was set up as fallout of the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, operates in 52 Commonwealth countries and aims to ensure that young people are integrated into peace building initiatives.