Human rights activists, lawmakers, journalists, leaders of thought, student leaders and others recently gathered at the Osun State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osogbo, on the occasion of the 2020 International Anti-Corruption Day, to chart a new path for the fight against the menace of corruption.

The topics of the august event which was organised by the Centre for Sustained Dialogue (CSD), Nigeria included, “Youth, Drug and Crime in Nigeria, a Lawmaker’s Perspective”, and “Corruption, #EndSARS Movement and Future of Nigeria”, by the Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly.

A media practitioner and youth activist, Mr. Ayo Ologun, was moderator of the dialogue held penultimate Wednesday.

The event also featured the presentation of award of excellence to the guest speakers and certificate of participation to the participants as well.

The gathering agreed that the corruption, drug and crime has assumed dangerous dimension among the youths in Nigeria.

Nigerian youths we were urged to shun drug addiction, crime and other indulgences that are hazardous to their future, as drug is described as an inducer for crime.

The discussants also agreed that youth, drug and crime in the country need to be addressed and the addiction and crime nipped into the bud.

One of speakers at the event, the Chief Whip of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Tunde Olatunji, stated that youths were the most involved in corruption, a cause attained with the use of drugs such as codeine, tramadol and so on.

Describing betting and bank fraud as another vice of youths which are destroying their future through corruption, the legislator said more has been lost to corruption with Nigeria's external debt level below $90 billion and $400 billion lost to corrupt practices.

Adding that there is no corrupt country that can develop, he said corruption has remained one of the greatest obstacles to the actualisation of potentials in Nigeria, pointed out pharmaceutical companies among others as those who fuel corruption through drug use by youths, which propels them into crime.

He said 70 to 75 percent of youths are drug consumers which induce them into crime aside its health hazards.

He called on to regulatory bodies not to look for symptoms of drug abuse, but to find the root cause of drug addiction, thereby saving the future leaders of the country the agony of rehabilitation homes.

Hon Olatunji urged stakeholders to deliberately build the capacity of the youths, just as he emphasised that the content inside a youth will determine the purpose of the youth, build the youth from human being to human capacity, he stated.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Dayo Sobowale who spoke on “Corruption, #EndSARS Movement and Future of Nigeria”, said youths have to know and discover who they are, their values, the system and the government, for them to be able to utilise their purpose and future for themselves and the country.

He said the #EndSARS protest was a lesson for all, adding that the youths should create an identity, avoid health hazardous ventures, embrace healthy living, shun crime and corruption and attain a better life worthy of admiration as future ambassadors of Nigeria.

Sobowale called on governments to improve on value of the country and provide system that will protect all and sundry irrespective of class or strata, adding that Nigeria has not lost its value but that people only need to understand it and improve on the value of it.

Similarly, the Osun NUJ Chairman, Comrade Wasiu Ajadosu, stated that the failure of the Nigeria system has been the bane of the country, saying that the leadership recruitment process in the land was faulty.

Ajadosu advocated for formidable and virile institution with prerequisite experience in political space.

Comrade Kehinde Ayantunji, immediate past State Chairman of NUJ and Senior Special Adviser (SSA) on Mobilization to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, congratulated the organisers of the programme and urged youths to exhibit the quality of knowledge in political process of the country.

Ayantunji explained that the youths of the country lost the opportunity to put the current leadership of the country on their toes through peaceful demonstration by failing to coordinate the #EndSARS protest properly.

He advised the organisers to ensure the continuity of the conversation with training and retraining of the youths.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Convener of the Centre (Dialogue 365), Comrade Waheed Saka, popularly known as MAO, said the programme was birthed out of concern for a better Nigeria that will be free of corruption as present trend found among categories of citizens in the country, particularly governments and youths.

Comrade Saka also disclosed that the event was a public/citizen engagement platform of the Centre for Sustained Dialogue, Nigeria, the platform to bring diverse perception on core issues such as; politics, economy, human rights, gender, entrepreneurship, youth engagement and environment.

Dialogue 365 aims to promote civil liberty, improve civic education, support fight against corruption, encourage peaceful livelihood and discourage all gender-based violence.

The rights activist said that CSD, Nigeria, was formed in 2012 as a human and environmental rights group to promote accountability, transparency, equality and integrity.

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