BISHOP NWOKOLO WARNS NIGERIAN YOUTH AGAINST ABUSE OF MUSIC TALENTS AS DIOCESE ON THE NIGER SUMMER MUSIC CLASS ENDS 2023 SESSION

(By Alex Uzoigwe)

   Students and pupils of Diocese On the Niger Summer Music Class ended the 2023 session in jubilant and grand style recently, recounting the session's various curricula exploits but with a passionate plea on Nigerian youth against abuse of their music talents.
       The youth, especially children,  were among other things advised not only to be very discreet in the choice of their music but also to be extra-ordinary cautious of dangers of abuse of their music talents.
      The Bishop on the Niger, the Rt Rev Dr Owen Nwokolo gave the warning during the end of the session ceremony of the music class held at the Archbishop C. J. Peterson International Auditorium, All Saints' Cathedral, Onitsha.
     He reminded the children that by virtue of their age, they still had a long way to go so that they should embrace God early in life by being transparent as well as manage their talents in manners characteristic of children of God.
     The bishop who was represented by the Sub-dean of the All Saints' Cathedral, Ven Samuel Ezewudo, expressed displeasure the way he said some youth used their music talents to serve negative and strange gods after their hard apprenticeship in the church.
    He said that many youth who had benefited from the music stable of the church had often turned against the Church with unchristian and profane music.
      Bishop Nwokolo therefore advised the youth and children to refrain from any form of abuse of their music giftedness in order for them to avoid what he called the negative effects of wrong application of divine endowments.
     Speaking in an interview shortly after the event, the Diocesan Music Director, Sir Ifeanyi Ezeugo, expressed profound joy for what he described as a successful end of the year's music class.
        He said he felt satisfied with the performance of the students and the pupils during the session and  stressed the need for catching the children young for the acquisition of musical skills, urging parents not to allow the "music" in their children to waste.
          According to him, God will not be happy with any parents who allow the music talents in their children to rot, citing the scripture that warned against the dangers of making "any of these little ones to sin".
       He had while advancing reasons for which he said children should be caught early for career in music, explained that children are not only respectful but are blessed with retentive memory as well as are free of forgetfulness and emotional exertion as a result of life's problems.
      "Children have the mental capacity for the retention and retrieval of information, that is why they learn faster than adults", he said.
       Underscoring some peculiarities of the day's event,  Sir Ezeugo disclosed that among other things, the music class raised a category of their products they tagged, the first "Diocesan Junior Music Disciples".
       He said that the school would always reach out to the select group through the social media for the purpose of monitoring and guiding their growth so that by the same time next year they would have perfected to take up leadership positions in the music school and in their different parishes.
      He encouraged the children not to relent in their efforts to make career in music, assuring them that their future in music was bright as he equally commended the instructors for their efforts in raising the children.
     The diocesan music director thanked  His Lordship, the Bishop on the Niger, for the invaluable moral, spiritual and material support which he said the school frequently received from him, promising that the music class would continue to be a source of pride to the diocese.
       Highlights of the ceremony included the orchestra performance by the students and the pupils during which engagement they rendered various compositions with the support of assorted musical instruments.
       There was a formal presentation, to two outstanding students, of two key-board instruments which value was put at #35,000 each. The instruments were a personal gift by the Music Director, Sir Ezeugo.

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