Lead The Fight Against Corruption In Africa – Buhari Tells African Youth

President Muhammadu Buhari has admonished young people in Africa to spearhead the fight against corruption, stating that anti-graft crusade in the continent can only be won with their active involvement.

Buhari gave the admonishment while declaring open the 2018 Africa Youth Congress Against Corruption (AYCAC) at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He added that the negative implication of corruption on the African can be transversed and won if young people get involved.

“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,” Buhari said on Sunday.

“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.

“Of particular interest to the youth, as reflected in the Nouakchott Declaration, is the emphasis on the imperative of investing in the demographic dividends through anti-corruption, education and sensitization campaigns, targeting young people as a means of bringing about behavioral change.

“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.

“African youth must remain the front and centre of restoring traditional African values of probity, integrity, honesty, diligence and hard work.

“It is only when the youth drive this change, that corruption will be eliminated.”

The president, who was appointed by the African Union (AU) in January as the 2018 AU anti-corruption champion, emphasised that the youth must rise up to the occasion in order to check the rising trend of corruption in the continent.