Social and Youth Advocate Stanley Abopam is concerned that many young people in the Upper East Region have started expressing aspirations of living extravagant social and financial lives without being willing to endure the necessary hardships of working for it.
“People are complaining about joblessness, yet they are unwilling to start something. There is this hysterical belief that in order to succeed, you have to make it big without starting small. I don’t know where that myth comes from. It is a myth that is gaining ground, especially among the youth in the region. Look, if you want to succeed, you have to succeed big time without starting small. That is quite ridiculous.”
Mr. Abopam’s comments come in the context of an ongoing conversation on the Day Break Upper East Show about the interests of young people in the Upper East Region concerning personal development and capacity-building programs in the region.
The youth activist, comparing the Upper West Region to the Upper East Region, explained that many young people in the Upper West Region are more interested in exploring opportunities and enhancing their personal development than their counterparts in the Upper East Region.
“I have been to the Upper West Region, and I don’t know whether it is the integrated nature of the university within the Wa community that has broadened people’s minds regarding their willingness to embrace new ideas; I really do not know. But you would observe that the level of acceptance regarding programs and events aimed at empowering the youth in Wa, in particular, is very high compared to our region. And you see, this impacts everything,” he explained.
Mr. Abopam added that as a social advocate, he has had cause to lead several demonstrations to exert pressure on duty bearers to improve the lives of the people within their jurisdiction. However, these advocacy actions have been met with apathy from the youth.
“I have organised several demonstrations aimed at pressuring duty bearers to invest in ways that would positively impact the lives of the youth, but it might interest you to know that even in such demonstrations, the youth are sitting in their homes and using social media to congratulate us and tell us we have done well.”
Mr. Abopam encouraged young people in the region to be intentional about their personal development and strive to achieve beyond their current accomplishments.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
