The General Superintendent of Deeper Life Christian Ministry, Pastor Williams Kumuyi, has decried the spate of drug abuse among Nigerian youths in the country, charging them to break away from the bondage of drugs.
Kumuyi who charged the youths during his ministration at a one-day Impact Academy programme organised by the Deeper Life Bible Church, with the theme “The Great Change” held in Ondo town as part of the six-day crusade in the state, said that abuse of drugs will lead to addiction and destruction of dreams.
The clergyman who lamented over the adverse of drugs and the rate at which the youths are involved in drugs of all kinds said “l want to appeal to our youths to break away from the bondage of drugs, it limits you, destroys your destiny, cut short your God-given visions.
“I am here to tell you that the Lord is ready to break the bondage and better change is coming. It is high time our youths began to build bridges to connect to their future and let go of drugs.”
Kumuyi however, urged Nigerian youths to ensure they equip themselves spiritually to be able “to play the role thrust on them by God, as the veritable future of nations”
He said “The youth population of any nation is pivotal to its development. Also equipping the youth means targeting their creative potential, their enthusiastic energy, their capacity to attempt and adopt new ways of thinking. This is how change that works in societies is driven by the youth.
Kumuyi who stressed the need for the youths to begin to “play an active and significant role in nation building said “the extent of the nation’s development is dependent on how involved the youths are in the process.
“The basis for any progress is to show the youth that there are better ways to advance their interests, to deepen their involvement in the development of their nations, harness their creative energies, advance their prospects, to become better prepared for the future.
“When the youth’s role is left unserved, or their involvement is not well targeted, the result is often not encouraging.
He explained that the programme was put together to reach out to teenagers, campus students and young professionals and adults in order to reset the mindset of young people by tackling the menace of moral decadence amongst teenagers and make them leaders and agents of change in their generation
Earlier, an IT specialist, Victor Adebayo, encouraged the youths to engage in vocational and skill acquisition training as a way of addressing the issue of skill gaps in the country, saying this will help to stem the increasing rate of unemployment in the country.
Adebayo also stressed the need for a paradigm shift from the erroneous perception that skill acquisition is meant for academically weak people and maintained that technical education remains a potent weapon for improving socio-economic development.
“The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike since February and with the strike dragging into months, many students and youths have been left stranded at home without vocational skills and at the risk of negative influences with disastrous consequences.
“Don’t spend your time watching home videos, it is a thief of time, don’t spend your time on Facebook, Twitter, social media, they create a distraction to the brain and that gives you relaxation mood mind of a thing and suddenly you will realize you have wasted a lot of time and what have you required as a skill? Nothing.
“So, get online and find or look for skills required in the next five years, the world economic forum publishes it every day. Can you see that even google spend started something some two weeks ago where they are giving an opportunity to Nigerian students who can cope to come over to Microsoft in USA and Canada to work for them while they complete their programmes?
“You may not have to complete your educational programme here, so all those opportunities are there. You can go online and study furniture, and carpentry. There are fantastic new creative designs that are in vogue. You can learn shoe making too. Some of my most cherished shoes that I wear, you won’t believe it is a lady who made them.
“You can make all of those things, gainfully use your time to be able to do all those things, these are opportunities for you. For personal growth and access to job opportunities across the local and international tech ecosystems, you need to migrate to online study platforms and pursue your future aspirations.”
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