VICE PRESIDENT Bawumia has charged the teeming youth to consider the option of developing and running their own businesses instead of almost always looking to be employed.
He believes that is one of the ways to make it in life and escape the problems of unemployment.
Speaking at the official opening of the 18th biennial connexional Youth and Students Assembly (YASA) of the Methodist Church at the Pentecost Convention Centre near Kasoa, he therefore asked the youth to take advantage of the various youth entrepreneurship programmes being rolled out by government, saying, “Ghana needs you and all your energy, intellect, creativity and innovativeness.”
That, he said, was because “building a better society, which we all yearn for, involves everyone of us.”
“Let us therefore strive to maintain a more positive attitude towards the development of our dear nation, Ghana,” was his charge.
Dr. Bawumia could not hide his excitement on seeing the enthusiastic crowd of almost 1,500 young men and women drawn from across the country.
“I am very proud to see young people of this number poised to gather for spiritual fellowship, social networking, and personal development, and I must commend the leadership and organising team for putting together such a beautiful conference,” he noted.
For him, this showed their commitment, not only to the Methodist Church but also to the nation, as they seek to develop themselves and set out as responsible contributors to nation-building.
The gathering reminded him of his days as a member of the Boys’ Brigade back in elementary school in Tamale, saying “it has been a while now but I am still sure and steadfast.”
According to the Vice President, national development has always been built on the efforts and ingenuity of dedicated young people who strive to equip themselves and contribute to the establishment of a better nation.
“These are the change agents who, despite their dissatisfaction with the status quo and their socioeconomic circumstances, defy all obstacles to change their narrative and leave a lasting impression in their communities and the nation at large”, he emphasised.
It is for this reason, he insisted “the growth process necessitates a high level of discipline and tutelage, and I consider that this assembly is an important step in training and preparing the young people of the Methodist Church of Ghana as a powerful force to influence the nation’s teeming youth.”
Dr. Bawumia stressed the belief that living a transformed life in Jesus Christ’ is even more pertinent at this time when youth-led threats to the moral and social fabric of society are on the rise.
“Being spiritually transformed is easily recognised since it manifests itself in one’s behaviour, attitude, and interactions with other people,” he noted.
His reason was that “the young person who has undergone transformation is an example to others, a light in the darkness, and a force for good in their community.”
He quoted Reverend John Wesley, the proud founder of the Methodist movement who said “When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy, and prosperous. Now, if that man when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!” to back his position.
That, he said, implied that the efficacy of spiritual renewal and transformation depends on how it affects individuals, their communities, and the country as a whole.
The Vice President acknowledged the enormous contribution that the Methodist Church have made to the education and training of students, nurses, teachers, and other human capital resources through numerous educational and health training institutions spread across the country.
Government, on its part, he said, is leveraging digitisation to put in place the necessary systems to move Ghana to the next level.
BY Charles Takyi-Boadu