The Youth Wing Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) South East Zone has called on the youths of the zone to treat 2027 with absolute seriousness, stressing that the era of sitting on the fence and praying for change is over.
South East YOWICAN, led by its chairman, Chaplain Prince Kalu, rising from its executive council meeting held at the St Peters Presbyterian Church, Umungasi Parish, Aba, Abia State, said that the era of fathers without work is equally over.
YOWICAN said that after evaluating the 2015 and 2023 general elections and performance indices of most elected and appointed representatives from the South East, it became obvious that a paradigm shift is urgently needed.
“This pattern and these trends not only must stop but must be challenged, questioned, reviewed and interrogated properly either on the roundtable or through the voter’s card. Any political leader who thinks he cannot listen to our people and carry the problems of our people on his or her shoulders must surely hear from our people through our voter’s card.
“Hence, we are calling on eligible youths to register for their voter’s card, be ready to vote, educate others to vote and make these votes count,” part of the communique presented by Chaplain Kalu reads.
YOWICAN said that with the trajectory of underdevelopment within the South East, which is a direct result of selfish and anti-people representation, every eligible young person in the zone must participate positively, actively and responsibly in societal development and good governance participation because the time to shy away and call it their thing is over.
“As a people already facing serious existential problems in the areas of inclusive national appointment, provision of many essential resources, employment, etc., we could declare ourselves the most stupid zone or race if we keep electing political leaders without skills for solving the economic problems facing our people,” YOWICAN warned.
YOWICAN urged South East youths to read the handwriting on the wall and understand that the solution is no longer in travelling abroad, as many countries are currently having economic issues, and when foreigners come and take up available jobs, the locals turn hostile and the foreigners end up suffering hostility.
“So, we demand and challenge youths to do away with political office aspirants with rhetoric and elect people with the capacity to solve problems relating to unemployment, especially in our rural areas.
Anybody who wants to go for the Senate, House of Representatives, Members of the House of Assembly and all the elective/appointed positions must, as a matter of urgency, agree to establish multiple cottage industries in our rural areas to keep our people busy.
“What is wrong with these politicians getting good palm oil processing machines and donating them to communities and villages so that the youth wing, women’s wing or whatever segment can start productions at home?
“We must be productive from the home front! We can move for cassava processing machines and establish cottage industries for it and make garri and other related productions from the home front stronger.”
YOWICAN called for multiple fish ponds and proper training for youths to engage in such, stressing that agriculture is too lucrative for South East youths to be graduating yearly with thousands unemployed.
“We don’t want to see people graduating from schools and doing nothing. We want to expand skills of cloth sewing and shoemaking from Aba to villages to get our people employed and making money.
“We demand that our political leaders accept that we start very serious conversations on building rural business clusters. Our sisters trained in handy works and other fashion things that can be broken down in sections of clusters, while our brothers trained in other manly newly innovating businesses that equally go in sections, while our mothers are not left behind.”
YOWICAN said that it is aware of some young girls getting involved in what it termed “part-time prostitution” ongoing drug abuse and barbaric business engagements “where young people, especially girls, are lured into all manners of things in both urban and rural areas”.
“With the gospel and ready business engagements, we want Christ to touch and save our township and rural areas for our collective good. We demand that our rural areas must be abandoned! All, including church leadership, must invest in cottage industries.
Because as the rural areas remain untapped, no young person will want to stay there, hence creating the picture of the rural areas as a safe haven for bad blood and those cities didn’t favour!!! We demand and re-emphasise that good governance demands fairness in political appointments.”
South East YOWICAN thanked the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leadership under Rev. Fr Abraham Nwali and equally thanked the Zonal Director Snr Apostle Andick Egwuatu and other CAN leaders for their directions and spiritual guidance.
The communique was co-signed by Chaplain Prince Kalu – South East Zonal YOWICAN Chairman; Rev. Bright Ihebirinadu – Abia YOWICAN Chairman; Engr. Eric Ekene – Anambra YOWICAN Chairman; and Evangelist Nelson Nwuke – Imo YOWICAN Chairman.
Others are Comrade Peter Onyeabor-CNS Bloc Leader/Chairman; Bro. Uche Uzochukwu-CCN Bloc Leader/Chairman; Elder Joseph Chibunna-CPFN/PFN Bloc Leader/Chairman; Sis. Nkechi Onwunwanne-Director for Social Welfare; Apostle Dickson Chukwu-Director for Education, Sports and Culture; Dr Samuel Willims-Director for Research, Planning and Strategy; and Elder Okechukwu Orji- Bloc Leader/Chairman TEKAN ECWA
