Why Ebonyi needs to harness youths’ potential

BY NWURUKU OZOR ALEX

In a presumed growing community, where the leader does not seemingly carry the youths along in its developmental programmes and other aspects of governance, there is bound to be disaffection, and disgruntlement among the youth and sundry individuals of the community.

It is a known fact today, whether one likes it or not, that the future lies with the youth, and this is no exaggeration. This has been proven over time that the youth hold the magic wand for any nation to progress, because of the burning desires in them on all frontiers and economic spheres. Ipso Facto.

This notion has not been so visible in Ebonyi State, going by empirical statistics of how the youth are not being deployed or carried along to exhibit their innate talents and potential.

The state, blessed with brilliant-minded and eminently-talented artistes like Patoranking, Sinachi, Tekno, Angela Okorie, Nwuruku Alex Ozone who is a well-known international show promoter and events organizer and many more vibrant youths in the film making, movie, comedy, creative arts, visual arts et al, via the fast-evolving showbiz and entertainment industry in general, have virtually been left in the lurch by their government, much to the advantage of other states, who have been using the talents of these impressive young talents to better the lot of their states.

These visibly talented youth of Ebonyi state, who have out of no encouragement or support from their government, single-handed broken out of the woods to carve a niche for themselves, who majority of the people (youth in particular) in the state now see as their role models on account of their ingenuity and dexterity, but are not identifying with the state, because there is no readily available avenue for them to participate, showcase and tutor these other yearning youth through the fast-evolving multi-million Naira showbiz and entertainment industry in general.

A cue can be taken from states like Lagos, Cross River, Enugu, Ogun, Rivers, Edo and a handful of others, who have tapped into the yawning gap created by the mega-bucks entertainment industry viz: music, theatre arts, visual arts, cultural exhibitions, even when their environments are not that conducive to embark on such adventures. Ebonyi state is still far behind in this movement of youth emancipation and engagement.

Sadly enough, Ebonyi state, being the Salt of the Nation, is blessed with so many cultural and tourists’ potential; just as the capital city, Abakaliki, is the hub of agricultural propensities, to which if entertainment, in all its entirety, is used to boost this natural potential, will further increase its GDP in many folds.

It will interest many that in recent time, many sectors of the comatose economy of the country, have accelerated their conscious efforts by looking in the direction of the showbiz and entertainment world to accentuate their staying power in the industry they belong.

A typical example is in the corporate world, where most emphatically the banking and financial sector, are now using the entertainment industry to boost their hitherto stagnant and traditional banking functions to boost their profit base, through sponsorship of many concerts, events, shows and what have you, where stars, emerging and budding are brought on stage to showcase their peculiar talents and spectacular performances, all with the mindset of inadvertently selling their unique edge to the public and their valued customers, with prizes and wowing services and products to the unsuspecting patrons.

This, in essence, is what entertainment can do to an undiscerning government like Ebonyi, and it is obviously not too late to take a cue from this new movement in the world, where the youth have been used mutually to remain on course in whatever they are doing in governance.

No one can doubt the fact that Nigeria eminently stands tall in the comity of youth that are making waves in the entertainment world, and they have proved this time and time over, and are still not done, picking laurels, awards, recognitions here and there from home and abroad.

Many of these stars, who are now the emerging force in the globe, are being used covertly or overtly to galvanize the economy of those who are deploying their talents to better the lots of their sponsors.

Imagine Ebonyi state collaborating with some of these talents in many aspects, all these jobless youth now variously into cyber-fraud will be greatly inspired and find something better to do. This is not even to mention the number of students in tertiary institutions in the state who often crave for concerts and shows that often draw them to socialize and wallow in the showbiz euphoria. But this, without being immodest, is nowhere to be found in the ready to bubble state.

Apart from the Abakaliki Concert which last held in 2015, which had many A-list artistes and a mammoth crowd in attendance, nothing of this nature has been seen or heard of in the salt of the nation state.

Specifically, Lagos has been most supportive of notable artistes, and the results are there for all to see in their giant strides; same for Flavour, Olamide and Phyno, who are not even from Enugu state, but are adding to the good image which the state now enjoys economically and socially. This is because these states created an enabling environment for these artistes to thrive and excel in their various acts, and by extension projecting the image of the states.

Ebonyi state, should as a matter of urgency, support and create an enabling environment for these home-grown and budding stars to perfect their acts, thus bringing an immeasurable awareness of the abundant and abounding talents in the state and by extension a rubbing effect on the many potential of the state which will be showcased during many of these proposed concerts and shows. One hopes our government is reading this.

Ozor popularly known as Alex Ozone, writes from Lagos.