.Body urges stakeholders on value creation for youths
It was a memorable homecoming for the Student Christian Movement, University of Ibadan Alumni recently during its Awareness 2021 as the old students met to worship and brainstorm with the student members for five days between Thursday, November 18 and Sunday, November 21.
The occasion was also exciting for the junior SCM members, drawn from 10 secondary schools in Ibadan, as their representatives slugged it out during a Bible quiz.
Coming tops in the Bible quiz was the Ibadan Boys High School, with the Hillcrest High School, Ibadan coming second. Jubilee Secondary School came third, while the United Missionary Comprehensive College clinched the fourth position.
Other schools that were present at the event are Abiodun Metropolitan School, Immanuel College, En-Joy High School and Community High School, all in Ibadan.
The President of the Alumni Fellowship, Students Christian Movement of Nigeria, University of Ibadan branch, Lawal Lanipekun, expressed joy at the brilliant display of Christian values and spirit of excellence by the participants while also lauding the UI SCM members on their resilience and devotion to the service of God.
On leadership challenges and the declining moral values in the society, Lanipekun said, “I believe that the people get the leaders that they deserve. The leaders come from a subset of the society. The kind of pressure we put on the leaders make some people to misbehave. I am not going to single one person out for blame. It is a responsibility that rests on all of us.”
“Denying the knowledge of what is happening in the society would mean we are not facing the fact. The level of moral decadence is also frightening. Where to start from is to identify the root cause. You will agree with me that generally, values have broken down in the society. Our cultural and communal strongholds have been weakened considerably by people who should help to strengthen it. Gradually, the fabric that helped to keep the union together have become weakened, so anything goes.
“What we should do is to remind ourselves about what were good in the olden days. We can sieve and take what we consider to be good. Then, we would begin to reengage and inculcate this into the younger generation. There is no way one can undo what those who engaged in wrong conducts had done. But, we have the chance to build value into our young ones so that they would become responsible citizens.
Vice-President, AFSCM, UI, Wuraola Olugbenga, said that going by the situation in the country, there was need to encourage the younger generation and raise their hope.
Olugbenga, who is a Pharmacist, stated that “As a result of the fear of what is happening around the children, some of them don’t want to grow old. There is need for us to assure them that things can get better.
“There is also the need to help and guide them to live a truthful and fulfilled life. There is peer pressure everywhere. They see a lot of their peers taking to drugs. When you interact with some of the children, you would be surprised. They would tell you that at age 20, they want to buy Jeep. You and I know that this may not be realistic.
“This is a big opportunity for us to open their eyes of understanding to life so as to let them see that we didn’t go the wrong way and we achieved. We are teaching the younger generation to give back to the society later in life. Also, there is the issue of mental health. We need to let them know that no matter what they are going through in life, they don’t need to kill or destroy themselves.”
President, SCM, UI branch, Paul Ajibola, said that the “Awareness 2021 is our reunion. The target is to see to it that the students make progress on their different areas of studies. It helps them to choose the right career paths. We organised the secondary school summit where we had competition; we organised Bible quiz. As a Christian organisation, one of our core values is to promote the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
Ajibola, a 500 Level student of Veterinary Medicine, added, “Children are very impressionable and tameable. This is the season you can actually do that. I met someone yesterday who told me that since she was in primary school, her teacher told her to read at night because it makes the brain glow; since that time till now, she is still reading all night. Exposing children to important things of life early has a way of shaping their mindsets. It is fulfilling to see that we are changing lives.”
Oyo Reporters reports that the SCM is the oldest Christian body in UI, as well as the oldest campus fellowship in the Nigerian University system.
During the just concluded reunion programme, beautiful memories were shared just as the need to intensify evangelism was stressed.
