The governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has advised youth of the state to embrace technology and imbibe the virtues of hard work, courage, and empathy in order to make success out of their lives.
Mbah, however, emphasised that contrary to popular belief, courage often manifests in knowing when not to put up a fight.
He gave the advice when the wife of the governor, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, led the participants in the Custos Care Foundation August Bootcamp on a visit to the Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday.
“There is no shortcut to success. There are things that we must imbibe in order for us to get to our destination and nobody, not even your circumstance of birth, can stop you. The only thing that can stop you from getting from your current situation to where you want to end up would be yourself.
“You have to be extremely determined. You have to make some courageous moves. But it is extremely important to realise that courage may be misinterpreted. We tend to think that the act of being able to put up a fight in itself demonstrates courage. But that is not the case because sometimes courage may require us to take a flight, not to put up a fight.
“Again, you have to imbibe the culture of hard work. Whether you become great or small, it is all going to be determined by the quantum and quality of work you put into anything you do. There will be no shortcut to it. So, if you want to become a great person, it has to start with your education. If you have to end up with the best grade, you have to work extremely hard. It requires having the right work ethics.
“You must also embrace technology. You are fortunate because you were born into that era. For those of us, who may be ‘old school’, we had to unlearn then begin to learn the new skills. But you are in that generation. So, you must equip yourself, ready to embrace these future skills because ultimately, they are what you are going to need to compete in the tomorrow that we keep advocating here.
“Another thing I would like to leave you with is to be sensitive to others. Be interested in how the other feels. When you do things, you must be caring, you must be fair’” the governor stated.
While commending the Custos Care Foundation, a non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation founded by the governor’s wife, for awarding scholarships to Enugu youth, who performed outstandingly in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination organised by JAMB, he assured the youths that his administration was already thinking ahead to equip them and the generations following them with the necessary skills to excel in the contemporary world.
“For us, we say a lot about tomorrow being here because we feel that every decision we make today would impact what you are eventually going to be exposed to tomorrow as those coming to lead. So, we owe it as a duty to think about you as the future leaders.
“What we exist for as a government is largely for you because we want to be good ancestors. We have to do our bit by making sure that we provide you and the coming generations the platform to succeed; and that is contained in the policies that we're implementing today.
“That is why, if you go to the Smart Green Schools, we have already set up laboratories to equip Enugu children with skills in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mechatronics, among others,” he concluded.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of Custos Care Foundation, Egodi Igwe, said the August 2024 bootcamp programme themed “Enugu Youth Aspire, was deigned to empower, educate and inspire the youths of Enugu State.
“The youths are from 15-20 years of age and they cut across all the local government areas of Enugu State. The selection process was very transparent and fair. We assembled people, who are experienced in diverse areas to come and mentor them and also equip them with relevant skills that will help them throughout their lives,” she stated.
