The Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu has called on parents and guardians to inculcate good character and values on their children in order to make Nigeria a better country.
Issa-Onilu made the call on Thursday during a “Town Hall Meeting with Stakeholders in Kogi State on Government Policies, Programmes and Activities.
He attributed the lack of moral training to the current misbehavior of the younger ones who are suppose to be the leaders of tomorrow, saying many parents have devoted much of their time in making money at the detriment of their children.
According to him “There is need for values reorientation across all the ethnic groups in this country. The younger ones no longer accord respect to the elders and this is not how we used to behave in the olden days. In those day a parent gave birth to a child, but it takes a collective effort by the people in the community to train the child both morally and otherwise.
Speaking further the DG revealed that the Federal Government would soon introduce Citizenship Study in all schools from primary to tertiary institutions as compulsory subjects or courses with emphasis on the right values, right character and how to be a good Nigerian.
“This is to inculcate the right values in children so that when they grow up and get into the society, they would live their lives in a way that both the parents, the society, and the country will be proud of them.
“So this will happen soon. And we are starting this year with 37,000 Citizenship Brigades, 1,000 per state in primary school and secondary schools” the NOA boss said.
Stakeholders at the Townhall meeting, among other demands, called on NOA to impress on the the Federal Government the urgent need to reduce Petroleum pump price, and making Religious Education compulsory at all levels of education.
Earlier, the acting State Director of NOA in charge of Kogi,
Patrick Edogbanya, commended the Director- General for the visit and for taken government messages and activities to various state.
He noted that the Townhall meeting with stakeholders drawn from various societal strata in Kogi provided a rare opportunity to rub minds with the people towards finding a lasting solution to some of the surmountable challenges being faced by the country.
Some of the stakeholders at the Townhall meeting who spoke called on NOA to prevail on the the Federal Government the need to reduce petroleum pump price, saying the suffering is becoming unbearable.
