By Tony Adibe
The Pleasant Gathering (PG), a Non-Governmental youth focused, faith-based organisation (NGO), has asserted that the five southeast states top the list of states where pornographic materials are used in Nigeria.
The International President of PG, Barrister Joy Ogbonnaya, who made this disclosure weekend in Enugu also said that the southeast states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo scored highest in the consumption of the dreaded hard drug, Mkpurumiri by the youths in the entire country, despite that the drug causes them to suffer mental derangement.
The International President of PG, spoke during the 10th Edition of the Pleasant Gathering Mega Secondary Schools’ Student Convention held at the Indoor Hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Sports Stadium, Enugu.
The theme of this year’s edition is “Nigerian Students as Agents of Change.”
Barrister Ogbonnaya, who said she got the stark revelation by browsing the Google, said that among the 25 top nations in the world that use pornographic materials, Nigeria took the lead followed by Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, and Morrocco.
She emphasised that coming to Nigeria, Imo State took first position followed by Enugu, Anambra and Abia States.
Ogbonnaya explained that to prevent the youths from engaging in social vices such as indulging in pornography, masturbation, lesbianism, homosexuality, alcoholism and drinking of Mkpurumiri as well as other hard drugs, Ogbonnaya said her organisation which commenced 16 years ago has been doing everything frantically possible to see that the youths are not distracted but focus on their academics and skills acquisition which PG offer in its various centres.
She said that they lined up programmes such as “The Sit Down And Read” to encourage students to immerse in the pursuit of academic excellence. To encourage academic excellence, Ogbonnaya said they send 20 outstanding students to the United States to study every year. “We take 20 persons to the United States every year,” she said.
She further disclosed that besides encouraging academic excellence among youths, the group also discourage prostitution and armed robbery and other social crimes commonly among young people.
She said they have rehabilitated so many prostitutes and social miscreants who are now useful citizens while currently, 18 people are in their rehabilitation centre where they are being re-orientated.
Speaking specifically on the theme of 2022 edition of the Convention titled: “Nigerian Students as Agents of Change,” Ogbonnaya said that if the youth are brought up in the proper way, they will grow to be better citizens which in the long run will impact positively on the society.
Encouraging the students to live chaste lives, she said that she took the decision to be chaste in 1984 and has lived a pious life ever since and called for altar call and many students gave their lives to Christ by promising to live godly lives.
The spiritual leader of House of General Church, Maryland, Enugu and Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Archbishop C.C Onyeledo, said in an interview that government has to come up with policies and programmes that would engage the youths meaningfully to take off their minds from evil like encouraging the game of Chess and other sports.
Onyeledo bemoaned the fact that instead of paying attention to the well being and welfare of the youths, governments rather invest in building prisons. He added that in due course, building prisons will not contain the uprising of youths who would want to vent their energies.
The Archbishop said: “Chess and Sports can take youths off the street and engage them meaningfully. If we don’t engage them, the youths will engage in crimes.”
