Alhaji Lai Mohammed:: Information Minister

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has urged Nigerians to show interest and commitment to volunteer services for the development of the country.

The minister stated this on Thursday in Abuja when a delegation of Senior Citizens Advocacy Network of Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to his office.

According to him, volunteerism is lacking in the country whereas most countries thrived because of commitment of their citizens to voluntary services to their nations.

The minister commended the group for its commitment to issues of senior citizens and the plan to engage them for volunteer services.

He noted that rather than sitting down and waiting for death after retirement, the senior citizens should be better engaged in volunteer services, particularly in the areas of their field to inculcate their knowledge on younger ones.

Mohammed said the senior citizens would be more useful in their country homes where they retired to in this regard of volunteer services.

He noted that in developed world, senior citizens contributed immensely to security because they offered intelligence information on where they live to relevant authorities.

The minister commended the group for its willingness to assist the government in the implementation of cultural reorientation campaign, “Change Begins With Me’’.

Earlier, the National Chairman of the Non-Governmental Organisation, Dallatu Ayuba said they were registered to promote care and enhancement of quality of life of older persons.

He said they believed that both the old and the young generation was the pride of a country and none should be neglected.

Ayuba said that the old generation as the custodian of culture and heritage would be useful in imparting them on the younger ones.

For easy accessibility in volunteer services, he said the organisation would be compiling a compendium of its professionals.

(NAN)