The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos State, Mobolaji Abubakre Ogunlende and a member of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Desmond Elliot, on Friday advised students to abstain from social vices.
Speaking at a symposium organised by the Femi Gbajabiamila Football Competition for Secondary Schools in Surulere Federal Constituency, Ogunlende said the message is for the students to say no to drugs and cultism.
Ogunlende said one common pandemic among the younger generation is the social vices.
He said: “The message is to say no to drugs because we do know that at this tender age is when our younger ones start to get peer pressure towards drugs and cultism.
“We thank Honourable Desmond Elliot and Right Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila for putting this event together. And we are here just to preach this message.
“It is also part of our agenda under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Social inclusion, gender equality and the youth.
“And we are not going to leave anyone behind and for us to leave anyone behind we need to start from the bedrock of the society, which are our students because they are the leaders of tomorrow.
“One common pandemic that they have is the social vices and there is no other better way than for us to come together as government officials, private organizations, actors and leaders in the society to preach the same message.
“I can tell you that all the students that are here will take something home from one person among the speakers and that is why we need to encourage initiatives like this where people come together to say something that will make the students become better citizens.”
On his part, Hon. Elliot, who is representing Surulere Constituency 1, said the symposium will help the kids to realize that they can achieve something with dedication and taking things seriously.
Elliot said the programme would redirect students’ energy toward positive activities, countering the prevalence of social vices like drug abuse and cultism.
He said: “We have so many vices these days that are prevalent in our schools, such as drug abuse, cultism, cyber crime, bullying, inter-school fights, and the likes which we must address.
“We have professionals and those who have paid their dues across the industries and they are here to encourage the kids that it is not just about playing football but how it will affect them, which is why I said it is not just about competition but how can we relate with them, touch their lives, hear from them and see how we can help them.
“We also have people from the Lagos State House of Assembly and whatever the kids are saying, we will also document it and relate it in the floor of the House.
“You heard what the students said about how they trek and experience fights and how things are difficult at home. And sometimes because of the kind of situation we are in this country, we forget to pay attention to the needs of these kids. And we have to raise them all.
“We are going to make this programme better and what we have here are ambassadors and representatives from each school and we 58 schools represented here.
“There are over 2500 kids and trust me it is not easy even to organize programmes like this. One thing I’m sure is that a child will take something important home from this programme.”
