Nigerian youths have been urged to shun crimes, expecially in the southern part of the country. The Southwest Bureau Chief of Voice of Nigeria, Elder Yinka Salaam, gave this charge at the award presentation ceremony of the Standard Bearers Islamic Organisation (SBIO) to students, who excelled in the mock Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Osogbo, the state capital. SBIO is a faith-based NGO with focus on all-round educational, moral and spiritual development of the youth. At a career mentorship programme and scholarship for WAEC/NECO examinations held at Al-Falaah Model College, Osogbo, Salaam enjoined the students to be exemplary citizens of Nigeria and good ambassadors of Islam, in deeds and words, wherever they find themselves. He charged the students to always be of good conduct and face their studies, saying their fute lies in their hands and will largely be determined by the strength of their character. He urged them to abstain from anything that could serve as a clog in the wheel of their educational pursuit. Salam charged them to be inquisitive in the pursuit of knowledge, saying they should be eager to know everything about something, and something about everything. “Above all, know everything about something, and know something about everything. Ultimately, take care of your manners, behaviours, virtues – You are the light of the world. You are His ambassadors “This should be achieved and balanced with Islamic values and ethics for you to be useful for yourself, Islam, the Ummah and general populace. While addressing the parents, he enjoined them to invest in the education of their children rather than spend lavishly on clothes, cosmetics and ceremonies. He charged them with the need to take good care of their children so they would, in turn, take care of them at old age. According to him, education is the only legacy that parents could bequeath to their children, saying once they do that, they have a chance and choice to relax and benefit from their investments in their prime. The State Coordinator of SBIO, Dr. Kamil Tijani explained that the scholarship award, which began six years ago, was designed to help the less privileged in the society, especially indigents that could not complete their education without financial assistance. Abimbola Aisha of Al Jihad Group of Schools and Sulaiman Mutumaina were among the best students and received N20, 000 each for the payment of their WAEC fees. Speaking on behalf of other 30 awardees, the duo of Abimbola Aisha and Sulaiman Mutumaina appreciated the organisers of the award and urged their junior colleagues to dedicate themselves to their studies and avoid being distracted by social media.
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