By Rose Oranye
Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, on Wednesday, stressed the need for youths to be at the centre of the Solution Government’s efforts to restore Anambra’s value system, adding that Governor Soludo is counting on the Anambra youths.
Dr Mefor, who spoke in Awka when he received a delegation of the Youth Wing of the Anambra State Association of Town Union Council (ASTUC), led by its Youth Chairman, Comrade Ken Okoli, said the conversation on Anambra’s ethical and moral rebirth has been ongoing, and the Solution Government is now acting on it with a forthcoming law that will provide the legal framework for enforcement.
He linked the distorted value system to criminality, citing the so-called local bulletproof charms, odeshi and drug trafficking, and described value reformation as “deep and expansive” because it is central to Igbo consciousness.
“Everything rises and falls on values. A man’s actions take their bearing from his mindset, and mindset is shaped by values,” he said.
He lamented that Anambra has abandoned the values that gave the Igbo man honour. ‘Take hard work, for example. If you go to Onitsha Main Market today, 80% of those in apprenticeship are not from Anambra. We have shifted from Igba Boyị, Ikpata ego, to ego mbute and to a culture of throwing bundles of money, no longer spraying it. That change in orientation is at the root of the moral decay we face today,” he said.
The Commissioner urged ASTUC youths to transition from advocacy to action by creating a structured plan for a formal partnership with the ministry to produce a campaign manual.
He thanked the delegation for the visit, pledging to follow up on the proposed partnership.
“The job the governor has identified is herculean, but we must start. I do not want the next commissioner to say there was no foundation,” he said.
Comrade Okoli stated that the ASTUC Youth supports the new value system promoted by the Soludo administration, emphasising discipline, justice, community, patriotism, and tolerance as its core values.
He noted that “the government cannot do it alone.” Citizens and communities must actively participate. That is why I say we must “pay it back”.
A highlight of the visit was the presentation of a portrait and books to the commissioner.
