Bridget Ikyado
Dr Olive Igbuzo of the African Centre for Leadership Strategy and Development, has said that Nigeria should focus on holistic development that prioritised the wellbeing of citizens.Igbuzor made the remarks during the closing ceremony of a six weeks training on Youth Mobilization and Community Development Projects, organised by Good Governance Awareness Initiative (GGAI).Igbuzo, who is also the Chief of Staff to Deputy Senate President, chaired the event with the theme: `2022 General elections: Role of Youth Towards Nation Building’, held on Tuesday in Abuja.“It must be pointed out that nation building is not just about building infrastructure – roads, buildings, bridges and flyovers – as some politicians will want us to believe.“
This is why some scholars talk about holistic development, which is a shift from focus on economic growth and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to wellbeing.“The idea is to harmoniously advance the wellbeing of both people and the planet,” he said.On her part, Executive Director of GGAI, Mauren Onwukwe said the youth should contribute to community development.“Governance and community development, as you all know, is a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.“Volunteerism is a vital and critical aspect of community development, which I will urge you to imbibe without fear or prejudice,” she said.
Prof. Charles Nwekalu, Chairman of the GGAI Board urged the youths to be courageous and always stand for the truth.
He said the youth should aspire for leadership, shun social vices, participate actively in the 2023 elections and engage in community mobilisation to tackle local challenges.
Nwekalu urged INEC to ensure the general elections were free and fair and for Nigerians to elect better leaders.The GGAI is an NGO established to contribute to improving the democratic and governance process in Nigeria through policy advocacy, sensitisation, empowerment and training.(NAN)
