Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has charged parents, guardians and teachers not to relent in teaching their children moral values and principles that would shape their future and produce a better society.

He made the call in Asaba at the maiden edition of “Time Out with Role Model’’, a workshop organised by the State Orientation Bureau, and urged children to emulate people with responsible behaviours as models and mentors.

Okowa, who was represented by the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, insisted that as future leaders, the youths needed to be taught good morals.

In a keynote address, the Commissioner for information in the state, Mr Charles Aniagwu, called on the participants at the workshop comprised mainly of students from public and private schools, to make genuine difference in life through their behaviours.

Aniagwu advised the children to imbibe core moral values and shun vices capable of making them wayward in life.

Earlier in his remarks, Director-General of the State Orientation Bureau, Mr Eugene Uzum, said, “In line with Gov. Okowa’s ‘Stronger Delta Agenda’, we have understudied the attitudinal complexities and mindset of our youths, and created this platform to properly guide them.

“We are guiding them in the area of mental infrastructure, mindset and value orientation, role modeling and value appreciation in the actualization and sustenance of the Stronger Delta dream and self-emancipation.

“We believe that with the rise in moral decadence, societal vices and loss of core values to trends, especially in an era when disorientation of young people has led to increasing menace of internet fraud, ritual killings, illegal migration and human trafficking among others, the need for role modeling cannot be over-emphasized.

“Time Out With Role Model’, is a platform where role models are invited to interact with young persons, heart-to-heart exchange of values and reveal life principles that will help to shape children’s mentality, vision, belief-system and create needed mental structure for sustainable development”.

Uzum thanked Okowa for “accepting to be our principal role model, and the Managing Director of Conoil Producing Limited, Mr Michael Madoghwe, for appearing as a role model for this maiden edition”.

In an address, Madoghwe narrated his experiences with different guardians that made life unbearable for him, while growing up.

He said that there were different kinds of people who could be role models, but advised that children should follow the right people.
“For example, your parents and teachers can influence you, but be very careful what kind of influence that you emulate,” Madoghwe.