'YOUTH MUST REFRAIN FROM UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLES' (PAGE 3)

THE Okuapehene, Oseadeeyo Nana Addo Dankwah I, has made a passionate appeal to the youth to refrain from unhealthy lifestyles and the desire to seek shortcut to material riches in the pursuit of their future ambitions.
This, he said, would enable them to chart a meaningful path to become responsible citizens and achieve their future aspirations.
“As youth with a promising future, you should be mindful that your indulgence in drug and alcohol abuse, pre-marital sex and Sakawa today can seriously jeopardize your future ambitions and possibly destroy you,” he stated.
He was speaking at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Akuapem Traditional Area to mark the Adeibutuo ceremony at his palace at Akropong last week.
Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwah said the unprecedented undesirable attitudes among the youth were not only gradually destroying Ghana’s reputation as one of the most respected countries in Africa and the world but also destroying the youth”.
The event, which preceded the celebration of this year’s Odwira Festival on September 14, was attended by a large gathering of people from all walks of life, mostly chiefs and queens of the area.
Recalling the inspirational words of the US President, Barack Hussein Obama, when he visited Ghana, the Okuapehene reminded the youth that the future of the nation lay solely in their hands and that any success or failure of the country would depend on the kind of future they desired to build for themselves.
“For this reason, the youth must always be mindful of the fact if they are determined to achieve an enduring success in life, they must refrain from Sakawa, pre-marital sex, drug and alcohol abuse, which will only destroy them,” he stated.
“Since we believe that the future of the country belongs to the youth, they should not enter the future with these types of undesirable characteristics which can easily affect the psychic of the nation,” he added.
The Okuapehene reminded the youth that with determination and perseverance they could always make it in life, saying “you must only acquire the needed knowledge, skills and patriotism to build your capability to achieve your dreams”.
“We you can achieve big dreams when we value today and the future by avoiding lifestyles that can predispose you to avoidable dangers and destructions,” Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwah added.