President Muhammadu Buhari said on Sunday that young people must lead the fight against corruption on the African continent to rescue it for the future generations.
Buhari noted that if the youths took up the fight, they would help to safeguard the resources of the continent within the African states and from the hands of looters.
The President was speaking in Abuja at the launch of the African Youth Congress Against Corruption.
The Nigerian President is the “Champion of the 2018 African Anti-Corruption Year,” a task the African Union gave him earlier in January to drive the war against corruption on the continent.
The AU, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, had chosen “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”, as the theme of this year’s anti-corruption crusade.
Speaking at the launch, which took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Buhari recalled how the African Union Assembly, African heads of state and governments adopted the Nouakchott Declaration on corruption to justify the seriousness of the campaign and the role of young people as the catalysts for its success.
“The Declaration reiterated that corruption is not only an African phenomenon but a global one, especially when we consider illicit financial flows where Africa, regrettably, is in fact a net creditor to the world,” he stated.
On the place of the youths in driving the anti-graft war, Buhari added, “To the young people of Africa, this fight against corruption is yours to lead and to win in order to reverse the negative trends of corruption and its implications for Africa.
“The youth of Africa must pool their energies to effectively ensure that our natural and mineral resources remain on the continent for value addition, job and wealth creation as well as to create affordable health-care and quality education for our people. Winning the fight against corruption is very much in your hands!
“I thereby encourage young Africans to use this Declaration as motivation to achieve greater resource investment in developing anti-corruption curricula and anti-graft campaigns in schools, businesses and the general public space.”
