‘Liberia is sick’

Liberia’s Youths and Sports Minister Eugene Lenn Nagbe has described the condition of the country’s youthful population as terrible and appalling. suggesting that the nation is ill and needs healing.

Youths make up the largest portion of the country’s population and with the lack of quality education and basis social services in the country their future here looks bleak.

Mr. Nagbe told members of the Federation of Liberian Youths or FLY in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County during the observance of the International Youths Day program organized by the FLY that the country is sick because the youths here are sick.

“Liberia is sick because the youths are sick. If you want a car to work well it means the engine should be working well but in the absent of the good engine, certainly the car will not work well. To cure Liberia, we must cure the young people because they are engine of the country. The young people are potential engine of the country in the near future,” he said.

Mr. Nagbe said the condition of the young people here is terrible and appalling, but quickly pointed out that it is not the will of the government to see its youths in such condition.

He stressed that the government have conducted studies on the situation and it is looking for a way forward.

“We’ve done studies, surveys and analyze and we always come to the same answer that is government needs to do more in the lives of the young people who are the human resource of the state. We are not happy with the plight of our young folks but things will improve for the better in near future,” he said.

Nagbe proposed a national dialogue between the Liberian government and the FLY, suggesting that dialogue would help in finding the resolution to the long lasting problem of the youthful community.

He maintained that for the young people to develop, it does not take scientists to tell government because challenges are more glaring that everyone can see and identify.

He then further expressed disappointment in the president of the group, Mr. Augustine Tamba of his failure to make some recommendations to government for the way forward in changing the direction of the young people.

He noted that the Unity Party led administration prioritize employment of young folks including Labour Minister Neto Zarzar Lighe, Commerce Minister Axel Addy, Finance Minister Amara Konneh and the rest.

For his part, FLY President Tamba unveiled his total disappointment in President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf led government which reneges on improving the condition of the youths.

Tamba intimated that government’s budgetary support to FLY in this fiscal budget year and past years has being poor. He noted that some government’s institution are taking huge budgetary support while the young people of the country who if well developed and capacitated are to take the mantle of power are least in term of government’s attention.

The celebration of the International Youth Day brought together delegates from the 15 political sub-divisions’ of the country. The ceremony started with parading through the principle streets of Monrovia and later an indoor ceremony at the Bassa High School.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor-Edited by Othello B. Garblah