Nigerian Youth Mark WHO World No Tobacco Day

THE REPORT OF “WHO-WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY” PROGRAMME
ORGANIZED BY EDUCARE TRUST YOUTH, ON JUNE 1, 2009, AT EDUCARE TRUST YOUTH EXHIBITION CENTRE, IBADAN

Every 31st May of the year the world marks WHO-World No Tobacco Day with series of relevant activities aimed at stemming the ever-increasing tobacco deaths worldwide. The adopted theme for this year is “Pictorial Warning”.

In showing our commitment as a Youth-Oriented Organization, a widely covered one-day programme was organized on Monday June 1, 2009 to mark the Day. The programme, which took place at Educare Trust Youth Exhibition Centre, between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm, featured Pictorial Warning Presentation, Posters Exhibition, Drama, Dance Music, Talks, Media Coverage and Interviews. The programme had 101 participants from ten senior secondary schools in Ibadan, The Polytechnic Ibadan, and University of Ibadan, including the staff and volunteers of Educare Trust in attendance.

All the invited media houses graced the programme and made prompt broadcast of it in their respective news items and relevant programmes. The Media houses were Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network Centre, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS TV) and Radio am / Fm, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)/ Premier Fm and The Nigerian Tribune.

Mr. Seye Omiyefa, National President/Coordinator of Youth Action on Tobacco and Health (YATCH) and one of the African Regional Coordinators of the Global Youth Action on Tobacco (GYAT), in an interview with the media houses implored the Federal Government of Nigeria to support the passage of the Bill on Tobacco Control presently in the Nigerian National Assembly and also mandated the big tobacco operating in Nigeria to inscribe pictorial warnings on all tobacco products and desist from luring the youth into the habit of tobacco smoking.

The following creative talks were presented at the programme by the youth and for the youth:
The overview and brief remarks on this year’s WNTD celebration BY Bamidele Kogbe
The Need For Pictorial Warnings by Seye Omiyefa
Why You Should Join the Campaign Against Tobacco by Olamide Ogunnika
Documentary film of the 14th World Conference on Tobacco Or Health, “The Mumbai Experience”
Educare Trust’s ideals and ideas against tobacco by Daniel Henshaw
The closing remarks by Taiwo Ogundimu
Yele Olaseinde anchored the programme

Yours sincerely

Bamidele Kogbe
2009 WNTD Educare Trust Programme Cordinator.