She disclosed this while addressing youths at the National Youth Peace Concert organized by the Office of the First Lady and the Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Youth and Student Matters in Abuja.
She said “I am deeply pained and I wish you can help me today. The youths, you are my hope. I have called on my fellow women and yet help is still not coming, the men have tried yet no help. So, I am calling on you the youth. I want you to be alive for me. I want Nigeria to be as it was before. I want you to be my ambassadors. As you leave, carry my message along with you.”
On the forthcoming election, she called on youths in the country to shun being lured into election thuggery among other crimes.
“I am crying and begging you, don’t be used. Election is coming, they will come to you. Why are they not using their children? Their children are in schools abroad. They don’t have money to feed you, but they have money to buy grenades for you. Please don’t take it again. I want you to stay alive for me.”
The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Youth and Student Matters, Mr Jude Imagwe, in his welcoming address, called on youths to adopt peace and unity in their activities.
Imagwe urged the youths to continue to preach peace for the unity and prestige of the country to be sustained and extended to all nook and crannies of the country.
“Nigeria is the only identity that we have and we must protect it, we must realise that youths of other countries cannot build this country for us. We must come together out of conviction and put an end to the killing of our brothers and sisters in parts of the country,” He said.
Special guest of honour and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, urged the Government and Nigerians to work together to fight terrorism in the country.
He said “I call on the Federal Government using various security agencies to vigorously work at ending the orgy of mindless killings and mayhem across the country. But the people can also help by making sure that they give intelligence of information of where these people are coming from.”
Gowon called on African leaders to rise to the occasion and stop crisis in Africa. He said “May I also use this medium to call on our leaders, not only in Nigeria but across Africa, to exercise the critical responsibility of leadership and rise up to the challenge of providing solution to these problems through education, employment, youth development and empowerment.”
The speaker expressed sympathy to the families of the dead and wounded students in the recent terrorist attacks in the school in Yobe and other similar attacks across the country.
The event featured musical performance by artists like Tuface idibia, D’banj, P-square, Terry G, Kcee, Onyeka Onwenu and artiste from Cote’d Ivore and Katara.
Among the dignitaries that graced the occasion includes First Lady of Sudan, First Lady of South Africa, Regional Vice Presidents of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, Wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, Wife of the Senate President, also First ladies of various states of the Federation.
Various Christian and Muslim leaders in the country also spoke at the occasion preaching love and peace in the country.
The concert tagged “Peace, Unity and Love for National Development” was attended by thousands of youths from the 36 states and the F.C.T.
By Tengwong Rwang Gyang
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