Shun negative tendencies — Obour advises youth

Saturday, June 14, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)

By Rebecca Kwei
Hiplife musician, Obour, is making a lot of ‘political waves’ and championing a youthful cause in the media lately.
First was his call for a constitutional amendment to reduce the minimum age for qualification to contest the high office of President of Ghana in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He felt the constitution was not fair to the youth by pegging the age to contest for the Presidency at 40, and that cutting out the youth entirely from holding that position is not good for the nation.
This time around, Obour is calling on the youth to shun negative tendencies that had the potential to destroy their lives and terminate their careers.
“To lose hope when you have your life ahead of you is terrible, but this can become real in your life when you engage in negative tendencies that have the potential to halt your further development as a youth,” he said in an interview with The Mirror.
Obour is embarking on a campaign dubbed “Youth for President” and he says it is to help champion the cause of the youth, imbibe in them a can-do-it attitude and for Ghanaians to come out of the “sickness” that young people are not wise.
Presently, he is undertaking a series of campaigns, seminars, and tours to create awareness.
Obour observed that many young Ghanaians were languishing in jail, due to the use of and/or association with drugs and other negative tendencies such as sparking and involvement in conflict, violence, rape and robbery.
He said these young people could have channelled their energies wisely, but have rather put brakes on their own life.
"As young people, we must always strive to embrace peace and behave responsibly at all time,” adding that “we are in an election year and the youth should not allow themselves to be used to cause civil unrest in the country.
He also cautioned the youth about unprotected and indiscriminate sex, saying that the youth represented the energies of the country; as such it was very critical that the youth eschewed sexual practices that had the potential to expose them to the HIV menace.
“We need to be strong and healthy, first and foremost, to enable us push our agenda.”
Obour admitted that the youth were facing serious challenges in their daily lives, but advised that that should rather spur them on to aspire for greater heights to change the situation rather than engage in activities that were going to make their situation worse. He said facing tough challenges was no excuse for anybody to perpetrate crime or violence.
"As we the youth knock on the doors of society to give us more space, attention and inclusion in the conceptualisation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation processes on issues bothering us, we must also be seen to be responsible enough to accept the challenge when thrown to us," he stressed.
He also observed that certain wise sayings such as ‘Life begins at 40’ have all contributed to making some youth lazy, stressing that it was important to change the mindset of the youth and imbibe in them the can-do-it attitude and then contribute to the decision-making process.
The award-winning rapper emphasised that his mission was not to say the youth did not need the wisdom of the elderly, but that “the wisdom of the elderly, combined with the energy of the youth, will help achieve results”.
He said the time had come for the youth of Ghana to re-brand themselves and build a new image as people who were responsible in all their endeavours.
"This campaign we are embarking on is one of image enhancing for the youth, and we must reflect on that new image, an image of responsible youth."
Obour hinted that his campaign was going to take a practical turn, and with the support of some organisations and well-meaning Ghanaians, practical solutions would be given to some of the challenges facing the youth.
"It is not enough to only diagnose the challenges facing the youth, but help in finding lasting solutions to those challenges.”
Obour, who read Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, and currently a student of Leadership and Governance, used his music to embark on the Road Safety Campaign project and another “Ghana Reads”, in collaboration with ReadWide Ghana.
According to him, the album for the current campaign ‘Youth for President’ will be out soon.