In response to the growing moral crisis among young people in Nigeria, the National Youth Office of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) is launching two initiatives, the Serving Others Under Love (SOUL) and the Sharing Hope in New Evangelization (SHINE) programs, to foster the formation of the conscience, compassion, and other ingredients of Catholic evangelization among youth in the West African nation.
The initiatives that are part of the “Love Revolution Program” seek to equip Nigeria’s youths with ethical values to navigate socio-economic challenges in the country without resorting to unethical means.
In an interview with ACI Africa on March 1 on the sidelines of a strategic meeting between the Youth National Office and the Focolare Movement in Nigeria, the National Catholic Youth Animator, Fr. Boniface Idoko, highlighted the contemporary challenges bedevilling youths in Africa’s most populous nation and emphasized the value of forming the youths’ conscience in appropriate values.
“Today, Nigerian youths face numerous socio-economic challenges that destabilize their mental reasoning. The pressure to survive often drives them to engage in unethical acts, including violence and even murder, just to make money. The desperation for financial gain has overridden moral consciousness in many cases,” Fr. Idoko said.
He explained, “When conscience is not formed, people commit heinous crimes without remorse. A person can take a life in the afternoon and sleep soundly at night, unbothered by their actions.”
To counter this trend, the Catholic Church in Nigeria is set to launch the Love Revolution Program, known as Serving Others Under Love (SOUL), which aims to reorient young people towards compassion and selflessness.
Scheduled to take place from March 27-30, the three-day SOUL training program is to bring together 50 participants from across Nigeria.
“This program is designed to address the increasing inhumanity among young people. The race for wealth and material possessions has made many of them lose their sense of kindness. Through SOUL, we aim to train and reorient young people to prioritize love, service to humanity, and a humane approach to life,” Fr. Idoko told ACI Africa.
He added, “We are working hard to raise funds locally to cover their accommodation, feeding, and training materials.”
The program’s long-term vision is to create a ripple effect by training “SOUL ambassadors”, who will return to their communities to establish SOUL groups and mentor their peers, the National Catholic Youth Animator in Nigeria told ACI Africa during the March 1 interview.
-www.aciafrica.org
