BA HAS PRODUCED MANY MEN OF HONOUR (NSEMPA, PAGE 14)

By Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has urged the youth of the region, both home and abroad to be proud of where they come from and not to hide their identities.
Prominent
According to him, the region has produced prominent statesmen, politicians, religious leaders, academia, top civil servants and others who occupy topmost positions in the security services and have contributed to the socio-economic development of the nation and, therefore, the youth of the region have to own up, be proud and speak of their region anytime they are asked where they come from.   
He mentioned some of those prominent citizens of the region as the late Dr K.A. Busia, Prime Minister of the Second Republic, Mr J.H. Mensah, the former Senior Minister and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr J.H. Owusu Acheampong, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, the late A.A. Munufie, a former Co-Chairman of the NDC and former Ambassador to Cote’ d’Iviore, Nana Owusu Nsiah, a former Inspector General of Police and Prof George Benneh, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon and many others.

Theme
Mr Baffour Awuah who was speaking at a youth programme dubbed The Youth Mentorship Project, themed Building Confidence in the Ghanaian and initiated by the regional minister, was aimed at unearthing the leadership qualities in the youth and nurturing their potential to assume leadership roles to contribute their quota towards the development of the region.
He urged the youth from the region to emulate those outstanding citizens from the region who contributed towards nation building through hard work, discipline and determination.

Treassured assets
The regional minister stated that the youth were the most treasured asset of the nation and, therefore, there was the need for them to be guided and taught to develop their talents for the benefit of society, themselves and the nation as a whole.
Mr Baffour Awuah also called on citizens of the region resident abroad to form a consortium to go into the agro-processing industry to help address the glut associated with agriculture production in the region.

Self-confidence
Rev. Fr. John Kofi Takyi of the Sunyani Catholic Diocese, who spoke on “The Role of Religion in the Empowerment of the Youth in Building Self-confidence”, stated that religion played a vital role in every human endeavour and it helped an individual to know who he/she was to build a high self esteem. He also urged them to rely on God absolutely, if they wanted to succeed in life.
The 2005 National Best Teacher, Mrs Doris Nana Marfo, a citizen of the region, who asked the youth not to allow the greed for money to cloud their thinking, called on them to apply themselves to hard work, discipline and receive the needed training which would make them grow and become responsible citizens in the future.