JUST IN: Don’t use social media to abuse leaders, Youths told

Young Niger Delta region professionals and business owners have been advised to use social media platforms to enhance their businesses and achieve a positive future and not for abusing leaders in government and for casting other people.

The convener of Niger Delta Youth Professionals (NDYP), Moses, Siloko Siasia gave the advice, while addressing participants at the 3rd Niger Delta MSME summit, held in Ikot Ekpene LGA of Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday with the topic, “Building the culture of Entrepreneurship Competitiveness Beyond Oil”

Siasia who stressed that successful people in the society today did not achieve their dreams and aspirations by abusing leaders, urged Niger Delta youths to engage in meaningful and productive activities.

He noted that the NDYP summit which is a purely private sector driven initiative aims at empowering and encouraging young professionals and entrepreneurs who are determined to use the ability God has given to them to improve themselves positively and to touch the society.
His words: “When

we started this journey as Niger Delta Young Professionals, people told us that we cannot achieve it, but today we’ve proved them wrong. Today God is using us to change the narrative in our world. We are doing our best to change how we are perceived as a people.

“We are also helping our young people to achieve their dreams and aspirations, by using our networks, contacts to provide opportinities for young people who are engaging in productive activities, because wealth, to us is not the amount of money we’vd made, it is the number of lives that we’ve been able to touch.

“But we only support those who are very serious with their businesses. It is regrettable that today young people use social media to abuse leaders in government, abuse, and to castigate people, no. Young MSME owners, please don’t use the social media to abuse.

“You should use the social media to generate money and improve yourselves. The social media should be used as a tool to help you enhance your business, it to achieve a positive future for yourselves. That’s the only way society will respect you.

” People’ll not respect you because of the number of leaders you have abused. Create positive value and I can assure you, you’ll not regret it. And we must change the culture of encouraging those who are causing problems in society. We must build a culture of encouraging those who are engaging in productive activities.

“This is the only way we can turn the challenges in the Niger Delta into windows of opportunities. As young professionals, despite these challenges we have been committed to improving the livestyles of our fellow young men and women. That is the reason we are here today” .

Continuing, Siasia noted that in several countries he had visited movers of their economy are entrepreneurs below 35years old, stressing, ” But when it comes to Niger Delta region, you see 50 to 60years old people who are supposed to be doing things that are meaningful begging for handouts”

He disclosed that while he was hawking on the Streets of Port-Harcourt several years ago, he had assured himself that he would be a responsible person to his family and the society, and assured the youths that with a can do attitude, they achieve their aspirations.

He thanked sponsors of the summit especially the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC),Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), stressing that with the support fr NDYP and its partners over 1,6O0 young business owners in the Niger Delta have been empowered.

” The lowest amount of money received by the beneficiaries of the interventions was N500,000. Today I can beat my chest as Convener of NDYP that through this training, capacity building we have trained over 2,304, business owners across the Niger Delta region. And from all grants we received, put together, we’ve been able to create 4,922 direct and indirect jobs”, Siasia noted .
Preaenting a message of goodwill, the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP,) Brig. Gen Barry Ndiomu charged the youths to “rise above the entitlement mentality, to set the stage for success.

Ndiomu, who was represented by Musa Wilfred, PAP’s Head of Reintegration, said “If you rise above entitlement mentality, the sky will be too small to be your starting point. Everybody stands a chance. The youths must begin to think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas.

“We must understand the times and take advantage properly. We must map out opportunities. We must be in a place where we are able to adequately predict the future.

You must embrace discipline, mentoring. You must understand that good things don’t come easy”