Renowned Nollywood actor Sam Dede has emphasized the urgent need to “conscientize” the youth of the Niger Delta on the region’s history and struggles.
Speaking during the panel session at the First News 4th Anniversary Public Lecture in Port Harcourt, Dede criticized the lack of awareness among young people about the origins of the Niger Delta’s resource control movement.
Dede expressed concern that today’s youth are disconnected from the region’s historical milestones.
“I think we need to get our young people conscientized. If you ask the youth here what ‘Kaiama Declaration’ is, they don’t know, but that was the beginning that marked the Niger Delta struggle for resource control,” he said, referring to the 1998 declaration that called for the rights of the Niger Delta people over their resources.
He further criticized the absence of relevant academic studies about the Niger Delta in the region’s universities, including Niger Delta University (NDU).
“Even though you have a university named Niger Delta University, we do not study anything about the Niger Delta there. Instead, you have English studies and all kinds of worthless courses,” Dede remarked.
Dede questioned why Niger Delta history, particularly that of revered figures like Isaac Boro, isn’t a focus in the region’s academic curriculum.
“Why are we not issuing a degree in Boro Studies? Why are we not studying Isaac Boro in the University of the Niger Delta? I think this is what the problem is,” he emphasized.
The Nollywood icon called for a renewed effort to educate and mobilize the region’s youth about the Niger Delta’s social and environmental struggles.
“We need to conscientize our young people. We need to mobilize them to be aware of what the struggle is about, because we have just raised a generation that is not aware of the environment, not aware of the society,” he stressed.
Sam Dede concluded by highlighting the increasing dependence of youth on their parents, suggesting that this lack of awareness leads to complacency.
“They just look to their parents to provide, and once fed up with providing, then it becomes a problem,” he said.
The panel discussion sparked a larger conversation about the need for greater educational reforms and youth engagement in the Niger Delta, a theme echoed by other panelists and attendees at the event.