Community leader urges youths to shun violence during elections

The head of Ilasamaja community in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State, Chief Fatai Abereijo, on Friday, advised youths in the country to shun violence during the forthcoming elections. Abereijo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that youths should aspire to be agents of positive change in the nation’s democratic dispensation. He said that they would achieve this by using their permanent voter cards (PVCs) to vote for candidates of their choices during the forthcoming general elections. “As the elections draw near, I advise youths to stay away from violence and avoid being used by unscrupulous politicians as weapons of destruction. “Politicians have their children studying in the best schools abroad while they rely on youths back home to fight and die for them. “If politicians prefer violence, they should encourage their children to be at the forefront of the mayhem instead of taking advantage of youths in the country,” the community leader said. Abereijo said that it was high time youths began to strategise as future leaders and position themselves to become contributors to the political process of our great country. “Thank God for those who sponsored the “Not Too Young To Run’’ Bill; who says youths cannot be the next president of this country or governor of their states. “Youths should start thinking of how they can occupy positions of responsibilities and contribute to the nation’s economy instead of being used as political thugs,” he said. Abereijo said that he would continue to focus on the development of the education sector in his community. He described education as the key that could liberate youths from joblessness and poverty. “The best legacy you can give children is education because when they have quality education, they will not engage in political thuggery and juvenile delinquency,” he said. The community leader advised Nigerians to embrace their cultures which he said was the foundation for their economic growth and development. “Modern technology is depriving us from embracing our cultural practices and heritage. We have abandoned our culture to take to the cultures of foreign countries. “Asian countries are gradually taking over the world trade and this is because their culture remains at the centre of their economic development,” he said. Abereijo, however, bemoaned the poor state of the roads in Ilasamaja area of the council and urged the Lagos State Government to rehabilitate them. He described Ilasamaja as an industrialised area because of its strategic location of being situated between the Apapa-Tincan Port on the west and Murtala Mohammed International Airport on the east. “Movement of goods within the community has helped to foster development, increase trade and provide jobs for youths,” he said.