Delta State students have been charged to take deliberate actions in choosing and imbibing the morality of those they look up to as their role models in the society.
The state functioning Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Head of Service (HOS), Mr. Reginald Bayoko, gave the charge during a book review, organized by the Asaba Reading Club at the Royal Mira international school in Asaba, the state capital.
The book review, titled: “the Whip and the Bar”, centred around the life of Mr. Bayoko attracted students and teachers from some selected schools within the Asaba capital territory.
The functioning SSG and HoS, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Anastasia Nwanze, advised students to carefully select their mentors based on morality.
Mr. Bayoko, while calling on students to imbibe the culture of reading, stated that developing reading skills as promoted by the Asaba Reading Club was fundamental in transforming the lives of their target audience and change outcomes for children and community.
While advocating for the establishment of reading clubs in all schools in the state to revive reading culture, Mr. Bayoko noted that “we want every child to experience the joy and power of becoming a lifelong reader.”
He stressed on discipline and hard work, adding that the reasonable and respectful way students could distinguish themselves among their peers was through active engagements in deep reading of books that would open up their horizon of thinking and viewing the society.
He thanked the author of the book and organizers of the event for the initiative, adding that it was a beautiful educational programme for students and a veritable platform to transform the next generation who would shortly be in charge of governance in the country.
Earlier, the Director General (DG) of the state Orientation Bureau, Eugene Uzum Esq, who was the guest speaker on the topic “Child Development: the Role of Parental Guidance,” stated that the role of parents in a child’s life was limitless.
He listed some parental responsibilities to include nursing, counseling, teaching of religious guidance, doing the right thing at the right time, social monitoring, instilling discipline, directing the child to good success channels and enjoined parents to be alive to their responsibilities.
He posited that failed parental responsibility has given rise to cultism, cyber crime, rituals and cultism and other social vices that have led many children astray and pleaded with children to at all time listen to the advice of their parents and also pray for them.
Uzum also enjoined parents to send their children to school, whether private or public, while considering their financial status, adding that it was the only legacy they could bequeath to their children, even as he admonished students not to take the opportunity given them to go to school for granted.
The writer of the book, Mrs. Catherine Agbontai, while paying glowing tributes to Mr. Bayoko, whom she said gave her the opportunity to interview him despite his tight schedule, said that the contents of the chat with him metamorphosed into a literature book for students to analyse and impact on their day to day activities.
