Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung has charged Nigerian youths to participate in sporting activities and use it as a tool for self-development, peace, unity, self-sustainability and empowerment.
Dalung made the call in a statement on Saturday, in commemoration of the April 6 International Day of Sport for development and Peace across the world, by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The Minister also enjoined government to curb poverty, youth restiveness and unemployment by giving sports its rightful place in the society.
“The future of Nigeria lies in its youths. Through sports, we can bring about peaceful co-existence in crisis-torn communities, employment, youth empowerment and self-reliance.
“Government should stop seeing sports as a recreation but as a tool that creates wealth, brings lasting peace to troubled areas and empowers the youths.”
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The Minister called on the government to invest in the youths of the country through the upgrade and development of sports infrastructure, provision of enabling environment for young people to train and develop their talents as well as providing adequate budgetary allocations to the development of youth and sports in the country.
He urged all schools to build at least one sports infrastructure or adopt a sport to ensure that children develop interest in sports from a young age.
The International day for Sport Development and Peace is marked every April 6 to commemorate the inauguration of the first Olympic Games of the modern era that took place in Athens Greece in 1896.
