Prof Kate Azuka Omenugha’s son Comrade Nelson Obinna Omenugha arrives, gives lecture on youths

 THE PLACE OF ANAMBRA YOUTHS IN THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE
A GUEST LECTURE PAPER PRESENTED ON 20TH FEBRUARY, 2016 TO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ANAMBRA STATE STUDENTS,
NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY CHAPTER
-    BY NELSON OBINNA OMENUGHA B.SC(NIG) MA (UK) M.SC (FRANCE)

INTRODUCTION
The youth occupy a very sensitive position vis-a-vis the development of any society. The reason for this is not far-fetched. One, they are largely the active segment of the population with the virility and spirit of adventure that make things happen. Secondly, the youth are looked upon as tomorrow’s leaders waiting to take over from today’s leaders, hence they constitute a very vital element in any society’s dream for a better tomorrow.
An important segment of the youth population in our modern society is students. All over the world and all through contemporary history, the role of students in social change has been recorded. For instance, anybody with a little bit of the knowledge of the history of nationalism in Africa will be conversant with the heroic role of students in the liberation of the continent from the yoke of colonialism through a platform like the West African Students’ Union (WASU) founded in 1925 in London and led by by Ladipo Solanke and Herbert Bankole-Bright. Today, the role of students in social development has no reason to be de-emphasised considering their important position in today’s social life.
Against this backdrop, this paper will focus on the role of the students in the socio-economic development of Anambra State. What are those roles which they are expected to play in this respect? We examined them below.
•    Honest and Persistent Effort Towards Self-Development
The growth of any society relies first and foremost on the quality of her members. Hence, the physical, intellectual and moral resources of individual members of such society are what are harnessed towards collective development of such clime. Anambra State cannot be an exception. Her youth ought to be physically, intellectually and morally developed to be able to serve as a useful asset to their state in her strive to become the best.
In every society, institutions like family, school, religious bodies, voluntary organisations etc serve in imparting intellectual, moral and manpower training that equips one for useful roles in his/her society. To this effect, Anambra students should seek to maximise these platforms towards equipping themselves to work for a better Anambra. Whether in the classroom, in religious bodies, or in voluntary organisations found on campus such as the Rotaract Club, the Anambra youth must dedicate him/herself to get the best from the formation imparted therein. For instance, being a truant or engaging in distracting ventures such as cultism or prostitution at school does not afford the youth the opportunity to be sufficiently groomed in intellect and character towards becoming the best citizen they can be. So, in a nutshell, Anambra students are obliged to optimally avail themselves of the opportunities for intellectual and character formation found in the school environment through committed participation in academics and extra-curricular activities towards developing themselves for useful participation in building their state. Among such activities are the union activities where they learn leadership skills preparatory for their entry into mainstream politics and leadership. It is informative that many great leaders of today started learning the ropes back in their days as participants in students’ union activities.

•    Showing Interest in Public Affairs/Discourse
Showing little or no interest in public affairs has become an unfortunate feature of the lives of today’s Nigerian youth. Young people nowadays no longer read newspapers or listen to radio which is the only reliable way of being in the know regarding developments in their society. Consequently, many among the youth, including students, cannot reasonably contribute or ask questions in discussions regarding government budgets, policies, new legislations, election matters, court decisions and economic developments (such as the current fall of oil price) among other important national and international developments. When the youth fail to give themselves a voice either because of ignorance or sheer apathy, they must have denied themselves of the opportunity to play an important role in the socio-economic development of their society.
It is worthy of note that heroes like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr, Mahatma Gandhi, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Nwafor Orizu etc all began their transformative role in their respective societies starting from their student days when they contributed energetically to public discourse. For instance, as a university student in America in the 1940s, Nwafor Orizu, who was later to become the Nigerian first Senate President, had become an outspoken contributor to newspapers and a radio guest speaking energetically about Africa’s liberation from colonialism. The same obtained with Zik who was educated in America in the 1920s and 30s. It is through such contribution that they began to gain popularity and clout that positioned them as formidable opinion leaders. But it ought to be noted that one thing common among these young leaders is that they were all voracious and versatile readers because it is only through reading that you gain the wisdom of an opinion leader.

So, Anambra students must rise to the challenge of offering their voices to public discussions and debates in the state. They must be voracious in reading, start contributing formally and informally to public discourse by participating in forums, sending articles to newspapers and magazines, attending radio and television discussion programmes, etc. Such vibrant participation in public discussion is an important way of contributing to the development of their state by speaking out to commend leaders where they have done well, criticise them where they have done wrong, offer vital advice to stakeholders and proffer solution to common problems. Anambra students must not be social media addicts who spend their time on frivolous chats, but must explore the Internet for enriching their knowledge, getting news and participating in public discussion. For instance, how many Anambra students are aware that the state legislature recently passed the 2016 budget? How many know a little about the details? How many have cared to check how much allocated to education and youth development? Lack of interest in matters like this is a very bad way of contributing to the development of the state.
•    Active Participation in Civic Duties
Participating in their civic duties is another vital means by which Anambra students can contribute to the socio-economic development of their state. Prominent among such duties is becoming registered as voters and actually voting during elections. Importantly, such voting must never be blindly done but ought to be done in an informed manner by knowing the political parties and their manifestoes, as well as the candidates and their antecedents. Voting in Anambra elections such as the re-run coming up on Saturday March 5th in Anambra Central Senatorial District is a civic duty which Anambra students ought to fulfil towards the growth of the state. It is through voting that you have a voice in determining who govern the state and who represent it at the federal level.

Within the school environment, Anambra students also have civic duties of respecting and obeying their teachers/lecturers and other authorities. It is through this way that they optimise their goal of self-development through education for their own growth and growth of the state and the nation.  
Also, the students are called to execute their civic responsibilities by reporting criminal activities seen on campus such as cultism to the appropriate authorities. This is a paramount duty of a citizen, and Anambra students must brace for that while taking caution to ensure their safety in such circumstances. Security, interestingly, has become a cardinal objective of the present Gov. Willie Obiano’s administration in the state. We must commend the Governor for showing uncommon leadership in this and other remarkable respects.
•    Shunning of Social Ills
To contribute to the growth of the state, there is no gainsaying the fact that Anambra students must be law-abiding by shunning social ills. Such social ills commonly found among students include cultism, robbery, prostitution, examination malpractice, thuggery, etc. All these constitute unlawful activities which become a cog in the wheel of development of any society. It is therefore the duty of any person honestly committed to the growth of his/her society to not only shun these ills but also help others in doing this through advice and support.
At this juncture it must be mentioned that Anambra students must resist any temptation of being employed as a thug either by politicians or fellow students running for students’ union offices. Students engaging in union activities must equally avoid the usual temptation to engage in cultism as a route to success.


CONCLUSION
The call on Anambra students to help build Anambra state is in no way a tough demand because building Anambra State is building yourself; the task of building your personality is not separable from the task of building your society. When you get yourself educated and informed, you are building yourself and building your society. When you build your moral character, you are developing yourself and developing your society. When you participate in public discourse, you are building your social visibility and social power while also building your society. When you fulfil your civic duties you are helping yourself as well as your society. And when you shun social ill, you are making yourself free from punitive arm of the law while keeping your society safe from the negative consequences of such ills. So, in a nutshell, whatever you do for Anambra, you are also doing for yourself. Whatever sacrifice you make for your state, you are also sacrificing for yourself.  It is a symbiotic affair – you win and Anambra state wins.
Thanks you all.

NELSON OBINNA OMENUGHA

* Nelson Obinna Omenugha was elected the President of the Students’ Union, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka for 2009/10 academic session. He holds Masters of Arts in Strategic Marketing Communications from University of Greenwich, London and Masters of Science in International Marketing Communication Strategy from France Business School [ESCEM], Poitiers. He also holds a professional certification in Advertising from Roger Hatchuel Academy Nigeria and a Proficiency Certification in Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).           An achiever of all times, Nelson Omenugha graduated top and best in 2011/2012 academic session from the department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.