A member of the House of Representatives representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency, Oyo State, Hon. Shina Peller, has charged youth to be agents of positive change and good governance in their respective immediate communities.
Hon. Peller made this call in a statement he personally signed, which was titled “Engaging for the Decade” and made available to the press on Wednesday in celebration of the International Youth Day 2020.
The statement read below:
Engaging for the Decade (2020 – 2030)
“With only ten years left to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda, the enormous challenges facing our country and humanity continue to remain apparent. Nigeria is clearly lagging behind in most of the 17 SDGs. At this point, what is required is concerted action, meaningful engagements and active participation of young people in engaging the polity in the next decade for the formulation of laws, policies and their implementation for the common good of our communities, constituencies, country and the world at large.
“For the creative engagement of the youth to enrich local, national and global institutions and political processes, young people must first understand that they are the bedrock and backbone in shaping this next decade with solutions that resolve complex social challenges. This decade is not for armchair complaints and social media critics, this decade is not for complacency, this decade is not for docility and this decade is not for nonchalance. It is a decade to get involved, take action, stay woke, rebuild, renew and reposition our nation for relevance.
“We have crossed the rubicon in our pursuit of nation-building and we must go beyond mere rhetoric. But no one can solve all the problems alone. Hence, we must all work together with a shared purpose of traversing the decade productively. Going forward, I shall actively engage and apply my time, intellect and resources both in my capacity as the Voice of the Common Man (VCM) in the House of Representatives and as an advocate of the youth engagement for global action movement, to galvanise our generation for the task of the decade – achieving sustainable and inclusive development in Nigeria.
“At the parliament, I will continue to engage for the reform of our electoral and political institutions to ensure that young people are given the necessary institutional support to actively participate as key stakeholders in our socio-political and developmental processes.
“Together we can take action on good governance, active citizenship, social accountability, transparency and commitment to nation-building. We owe the next generation the duty to build our country through this decade. The time is now. We must fix this.”
