The director general of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Professor Samson Duna MNIEM has been inducted as the national president of the Boys’ Brigade, Nigeria.
Duna after his investiture ceremony at the ECWA church in Abuja on Sunday, appreciated the leadership of the church for counting him worthy to serve in the highest position of the voluntary organisation.
He said that the Boys’ Brigade, Nigeria is an organization geared towards training young boys to become God-fearing children and that discipline is their keyword.
According to the president, the Boys’ Brigade is under a church, and their effort is to bring up the little boy so that he becomes a good leader in the future and grows up to have a good upbringing.
“And that is what Boys’ Brigade is all about. But the Boys’ Brigade came to Nigeria precisely in 1908 and we are basically over 120 years now in existence, in as much as possible by Boys’ Brigade is like any other organization that has quite a lot of problems.
“One of our basic problems is to inculcate discipline in the boy so that the decadence of rotting society should not be absorbed by the boys. We are trying to bring a voice to that tomorrow, it will be better.
“When you train a boy, it means that you are training a father tomorrow, you are trading a leader tomorrow in Nigeria. So our aim is basically to turn a boy with the hope of bringing up a solution of a country tomorrow,” he said.
He further said that as an organisation, they have quite a lot of challenges. “We have another challenge of trying to have what we call a basic facility in the organization. We do not have a standard headquarters building, which I am sure if you are existing without a house, it does not make sense,” he said.
The minister of state for Science, Technology and Innovation, Adeleke Mamora, while speaking with journalists after the induction ceremony, said that there is no better way for Duna’s capacity and capability than his election to lead the Boys’ Brigade, Nigeria to a greater height.
“He was elected by the members of the boys’ brigade in Nigeria. And there cannot be a better confirmation as to his capacity, particularly having served for so many years in that organization, even from childhood.
“So he is eminently qualified. But, in terms of my knowledge of Him, within a short period that I have served as Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, I can tell you I can bear witness that he is capable. He is competent.
“He is the right choice, and I am sure that they will take the bus to Nigeria to a greater level further, has capacity. And for the Boys’ Brigades, Nigeria, we have come a long way. Please, do not rest, continue to make a difference in our society, so that our society can be what it is. And what it is meant to be,” he said.
Former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, congratulated Duna for his emergence as the president of Boys’ Brigade, Nigeria, expressing confidence that the new president will do what it will take to ensure that the brigade is given more recognition in the society.
Also, the wife of the new president, Mrs. Agatha Samson, who expressed gratitude to the Boys’ Brigade for counting her husband worthy to serve as the president of the organisation, prayed that God will guide her husband to lead the organisation with the fear of God and take the young boys to greater height in future.
