Nigeria’s Scout chief berates youths’ political leanings

The Chief Scout of Nigeria, Mr. Ahmadu Rufai Mohammed has declared that the proliferation of youth groups with political leanings throughout the country is eroding the over 100 year-old heritage of the Scout Movement in Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists at a four-day seminar organised by the World Organization of Scout Movement (WOSM) in collaboration with the African Support Center and the Scout Association of Nigeria held in Abuja, Mr. Mohammed said majority of the youth groups in the country are pseudo-political in nature and are used by politicians as spring boards to achieve their political ambitions.

He said that unlike the Scout Movement which is voluntary and inculcates in young people the spirit of trust, self-reliance, promoting peace, law and order, as well as entrepreneurship, some youth groups in the country are established to promote self-serving interests and objectives.

According to him, if half of the resources that is expended by the various tiers of government on these youth organisations are ploughed into the Scout Movement in Nigeria, the body would have achieved much more than it has in terms of impacting positively on the society.

“The Scout Movement is doing a lot in worldwide and in Nigeria, but this is not visible to people. Scouts are agents of peace and operate in partnership with the government especially in the fight against societal ills such as the war on terror” Mohammed said.