Ini Billie, Uyo
The wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Dr Martha Emmanuel has asked secondary school boys to shun homosexuality, cultism, and all forms of social vices.
Emmanuel, who described homosexuality as distasteful, urged the boys to be wary of older men who try to lure them with money, adding that the repulsive act would be injurious to their growth and development.
Speaking on Wednesday in Uyo during a conference to commemorate the International Day for the Boy Child in Akwa Ibom State with the theme: “Boosting Optimism, Restoring Self Worth”, organised by Gender-Based Violence Management Committee in partnership with FEYReP, Emmanuel said shunning social vices will make the boys succeed and grow into responsible men.
The First Lady who described homosexuality as distasteful urged the boys to be wary of older men who try to lure the younger ones with money saying that such would only truncate their future.
“Boys, please run from homosexuals. There is no life in that. Those men that are homosexuals, if they pull down their trousers, you’ll see that they are wearing diapers.
“It’s unfortunate that most times it’s the older men that lure the younger ones into it. Please don’t fall prey even if they want to entice you with money.
“Take the message to your schools, if you must succeed and be a responsible man, you have to live right, shun all forms of vices. Be courageous,” she stated.
The Founder of FEYReP warned the boys against visiting pornographic sites in the guise of doing their assignments and urged parents to always keep watch over their wards to know what they are doing.
She said, “You can form good and useful clubs tag it from mediocrity to excellence club and encourage yourselves and not to join some of these nonsense clubs that will never advertise themselves in daytime
“Cultism will never help you, forget about those that have risen to a certain level, you may not be that lucky. Some of you might say what about this person, he is in government; look up to responsible men, good mentors and not the ones that will say, come I’ll initiate you”.
The governor’s wife lamented the surge in the number of street boys, noting that the next seminar will be organized for them.
She called for the rehabilitation of street boys back in schools or encouraging them to learn a trade so as to be useful to the society and themselves, adding that if the parents have failed the boys, the government will not fail them.
“The next seminar is going to be for street boys, there are so many street boys out there. If their parents have failed them, we as the government will not fail them. God has given you talents to succeed in life, all you need is to be focused,” she said.