Enugu State governor, Dr Peter Mbah, has advised youths to embrace technology and the virtues of hard work, courage and empathy to succeed in life.
Mbah gave the advice during a one-day Young African Leaders Conference (YALCON) in Enugu.
The conference was organised by the founder of Young African Leaders For Global Impact (YALGI), Ambassador Ikenna Ezenwa.
Represented by the commissioner for Labour and Employment, Dr Felix Nnamani, the governor emphasised that his administration was committed to equipping youths in the state with the needed platform to succeed in life, which is contained in the policies that the government is implementing.
“That is why, if you go to the Smart Green Schools, government has already set up laboratories to equip Enugu children with skills in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mechatronics, among others,” he stated.
He assured that the current state government under his watch would continue to empower, educate and inspire the youths of the state.
The governor commended the convener of the conference, Amb Ezenwa for the initiative, saying it would afford the participants the opportunity of learning about leadership.
Speaking with newsmen, Amb Ezenwa disclosed that, “YALGI is based in Enugu but its network spans across Nigeria and Africa with its Global Board advisor, Dr Sharon Waswa from Kenya.
“YALGI was formed in 2020 but started operating officially and professionally in 2024. It’s an NGO.”
According to him, the conference is all about educating and empowering young people to be abreast with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We have seen that Nigeria and other African nations are lacking leaders with integrity, character, and innovations.
“We can see clearly in what is happening in Enugu state today, where governor Peter Mbah came in and is disrupting innovations, and there is creativity all over the place.
“So, what we have come to do in this conference is to raise young people that will start thinking about impact, innovation, and creativity; young people that will become leaders of today and not leaders of tomorrow.”
The Enugu State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Barrister Lloyd Ekweremadu, who addressed the participants through his special assistant on Students’ Affairs, Mr Divine Ekweremadu, applauded the convener of the conference for gathering the youths in Enugu, promising to partner with the organisation in the next edition.
He charged the youths to always remain focused and embrace self-development for their own good.
In a keynote remark, Dr Sharon Waswa, expressed dissatisfaction over the inability of some older African leaders to mentor the young ones and give them space in the political and economic sectors.
