The Ag. Director, Multilateral Surveillance of ECOWAS commission, Dr Nelson Magbagbeola has urged the youth to be proactive in their dealings. Dr Nelson made this assertions during the ‘ Abuja Debate’ organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung ( FES) in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of ECOWAS at the Transcorp Hilton on the 16th June 2015.
Dr Nelson said ” the point is that Lagos Benin road should be free trade zone for both countries. The youth should be proactive, we want a proactive youth,the youth should be engaged in running of the government. But unfortunately the youth are more interested in western ways of life while they abhor our culture . ECOWAS is bringing cohesion for the youth to sensitize them , the youth are not engaged enough ,they should do more. The youth should be engaged in professional development programs, ..They should be engaged and ask questions”.
He said further that ” Nigeria has the highest members in the parliament because of the population of the country. We need to work on the advantages and consolidate on what we need. We should have single currency, but let’s take it gradually ;we will get there .
Also speaking at the event ,the Acting General Secretary of WACSOF, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said ” it is common place to find states signing on to international conventions, while it takes some decades to ratify . In particular case of ECOWAS, its vision 2020, aimed at facilitating a transition from ECOWAS of states to that where citizens enjoy the benefits of a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive region, built on good governance is still far – fetched” he stated.
” For instance, issues of rights abuses,poverty and susceptibility to diseases are rampant among countries of the region. This is of great concern to the West African Civil Society Forum ( WACSOF) as the umbrella body of ( CSOs ) Civil Society Organizations which is a network that is saddled with the responsibility and also to serve as the catalyst between CSOs in West Africa and ECOWAS” he affirmed.
Mr Chinedu Nwogu, human rights advocate suggested that ” ECOWAS has a vision 2020 and I asked myself where is the place for the youths. We need to have a robust programs for the youth and if nothing is done we will still be talking about this very problem in future”.
Chinedu said we ” should identify the common enemy of ECOWAS so that it will be dealt with the way we fought Ebola in Africa. But we have a constant problems of corruption in our leadership which need to be checked” .
