President George Weah- has challenged At- Risk Youth, commonly known as “Zogos” to desist from drugs abuse, which destroyed their careers and bury their potential.
He said substance abuse will destroy their dream and want the At-Risk to become successful useful citizens instead of discriminated, catigated and fume at with ugly names such as Zogos.
The President described drugs abuse as a societal problem which form all around the world and need a combined efforts between government, developmental partners and the At- Risks Youth themselves to get rid of the problem.
President Weah stressed that to have a drug free Liberia is important as such the Government of Liberia is rising funds through its developmental partners to remedy the situation.
The Liberian leader was speaking on thursday, June 30, 2022, when the Government of Liberia (GOL) joined hands with its development partners to launched a $13.9 Million United States dollars National Fund Drive for the rehabilitation and empowerment of “At-Risk Youth”, popularly known as ZOGOS.
In furtherance President Weah, put emphasis on education, telling the youth about the severe dangers related to using illicit drugs for the betterment of their future.
The Liberian Chief Executive further said youth of Liberia are one of his constant concerns and his commitment to transforming young people have been demonstrated through several of his government’s programs and policies.
He said he and his government will continue to invest in the wellbeing of the young people of Liberia because they are the future of the nation.
According to report more than 5,000 disadvantaged and drug user youths in the category usually roam around streets of the Liberian capital Monrovia.
President Weah noted that for too long, Liberia has witnessed the increased numbers of ghetto youths, something he attributed to the negative impact of the 14 years civil conflict, adopting many of them as child soldiers.
He noted that continuous neglect of the plights of the at-risk youths in the country will not only put them at risk, but also endanger the safety of the state.
The Liberian leader recalled that during his campaign for the presidency in 2017, he promised that youth empowerment and development would be one of his top priorities, and he has given many instructions for the implementation of programs of youths’ capacity building including at-risk-youths.
He intoned that when implemented, the program will help fully rehabilitate the facility and improve all existing structures at the Government Rehab Center in Bensonville as well as putting emphasis on the reintegration of the rehabilitees into family and society.
President Weah and party failed promises
The head of Zogos, Tony Beh alias “Mature” lauded the government especially Youth and Sports Minister, Zeogar Wilson for the path is taking to help At-Risk-Youth, adding, “We are marking the promise because this is not the first time officials from the government has made such a promise.”
He said the Chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Mulbah Morlu had invited him and other members several times in his office to discuss ways forward in helping At-risk youth in the country, but none of these promises have yielded any fruitful results.
He claimed at certain time, Chairman Morlu refused to reach out to them, as promised. According to him the CDC Party Chairman has not been able to live up to his promise to zogos in the. country.
Mr. Beh added that they are angry on grounds that during the 2005 elections they at times stood under rainy weathers, and at the same time “personally printed party T-Shirts because back then we believed that President Weah was the only person to bring the change we wanted,” he said.
“The president has also deliberately refused to give us the attention which we have always waited for. In fact” he has abandoned us.”
Troken Smith, another At Risk Youth, also had something to say about drugs, “As youth, our curiosity should be positive and aligned with leaving a legacy , we should avoid negative curiosity that leads to experimenting wrong things like drugs.”
Smith, who had abused drugs for 5 years also emphasized the dangers, “Drugs will only ruin your reputation, health and self-development . Drugs are not cool, they are a highway to the grave,” Smith added.
For his part, UN Resident Coordinator Neil Scott said the United Nations has invested a lot into Liberia’s peace and was happy that the nation is peaceful, but said sadly, young people of Liberia have become substance users and this is not okay for the nation “and must be addressed”.
The UN Coordinator noted that even if a wall is built around Liberia, it won’t solve the issue of at-risk youths, but there was a need to work together to prevent the supply and demands of these substances.
“I believe the Government of Liberia, United Nations civil society, private sector share a very real concern that youths are not only missing out on the future of Liberia and its development, but also constituting cases of risk instability and are also at risk for exploitation,” Scott stated.
He said such initiative is fundamentally important to rebuilding the country’s economy and that the program was at the heart of the United Nations.
Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, also stressed that “Alcohol and substance use is a serious threats to the health sector of Liberia and that is one of the top diagnoses in the mental health unit of the MOH, therefore it is becoming a problem As she stressed the need a coordinated approach to this problem.
Meanwhile, to kick-start the fund drive, the President announced a pledge of an initial amount of One Million United States Dollars this year, with an additional Two Million United States Dollars to be appropriated within the subsequent budget for the Fund Drive.
