By Rose Oranye
Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, has called on the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) to collaborate on the campaign on social reformation to catch Anambra children young and stem the tide of moral degeneration, drug abuse, and get-rich syndrome now ravaging the youth population.
Speaking during his visit to the ASUBEB Chairman, Dr Vera Nkiru Nwadinobi, at her office in Awka, Mefor said he was seeking collaboration to help the newly created Anambra Civic and Social Reformation Office (ANCISRO) to take off and reorient the youths who have gone astray in terms of morals.
“We want your collaboration. We need to do something. Governor Chukwuma Soludo created the agency weeks before I came, which shows he is interested in getting Ndị Anambra, particularly the youths, to imbibe the core values for which Anambra and Ndi Igbo are known. Values like hard work, honesty, resilience, patience, integrity, and so on are vanishing. Strange things have taken over. We now hear things like Ibute ike, Oke ite, which is about ritual murders, or Yahoo Plus. Cultism has reached primary schools and is making its way into the general society.
“The Ministry of Information is keen on taking up the social reform agenda of Governor Soludo and committed to activating the Civic and Social Reformation Agency – ANCISRO. We need to get people who are concerned to join the mentoring team. We need to develop messages and form Anti Drug and Anti Cultism Clubs in orimary and secondary schools. We want to focus on schools, particularly primary and secondary schools so that we can catch them young deploying very vigorous enlightenment campaigns ,” he said.
In her remarks, Dr. Nwadinobi assured the commissioner of ASUBEB’s support and decried the level of moral decadence in the society, blaming parents, churches, and others for not living up to expectations.
Dr Vera Nwadinobi made a presentation of a handbook on counselling against the burden of drug abuse and other social vices, which she co-authored with the first lady, Dr. Mrs. Nonye Soludo, and Commissioner of Women Affairs, Hon. Ify Obinabo.
Oranye is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State.
