The Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, has stressed the need for youths to play a central role in the Solution Government’s efforts to restore Anambra’s value system, saying that Governor Chukwuma Soludo is counting on young people to drive the state’s moral and ethical revolution.
Dr. Mefor made the remark in Awka recently while receiving a delegation of the Youth Wing of the Anambra State Association of Town Union Council (ASTUC), led by its Youth Chairman, Comrade Ken Okoli. He explained that discussions on Anambra’s ethical and moral rebirth have been ongoing and that the state government is set to introduce a law that will provide the legal framework for enforcing the initiative.
According to Mefor, the erosion of societal values has contributed significantly to rising criminality, including the pursuit of so-called bulletproof charms (odeshi) and involvement in drug trafficking. He described value reformation as a deep and far-reaching process that is fundamental to the identity and consciousness of the Igbo people.
“Everything rises and falls on values. A man’s actions take their bearing from his mindset, and mindset is shaped by values,” Mefor said.
Dr. Mefor lamented that Anambra has gradually abandoned the values that once earned the Igbo people respect, particularly the culture of hard work and apprenticeship.
“If you go to Onitsha Main Market today, about 80 per cent of those in apprenticeship are not from Anambra. We have shifted from Igba Boyi and Ikpata Ego to Ego Mbute and a culture of displaying bundles of money instead of earning wealth through diligence. That change in orientation is at the root of the moral decay we face today,” he said.
The commissioner urged ASTUC youths to move beyond advocacy by developing a structured partnership with the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation to produce a campaign manual that would guide the value reorientation initiative across communities.
He appreciated the delegation for the visit and pledged to support the proposed collaboration.
“The task the governor has identified is enormous, but we must begin. I do not want the next commissioner to say there was no foundation,” he added.
Speaking earlier, the ASTUC Youth Chairman, Comrade Ken Okoli, reaffirmed the association’s support for the Soludo administration’s value reformation agenda, noting that it is anchored on discipline, justice, community spirit, patriotism, and tolerance.
He stressed that government alone cannot achieve the desired transformation without the active participation of citizens and communities.
“The government cannot do it alone. Citizens and communities must actively participate. That is why I say we must pay it back,” Okoli said.
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that
the visit featured the presentation of a portrait and books to the commissioner by the ASTUC youth delegation.
