The Catholic Bishop of Wa, Most Reverend Paul Bemile, has advised the youth to stand strong and say no to fomenters of wars and conflicts who would use them but would not remember them when they attained their goals.
He said social unrest, war mongering, conflicts and wars emanating from lands and chieftaincy disputes, the quest for political power and materialism issues had plagued the people in recent times.
Bishop Bemile said this at the 60th anniversary jamboree of the Catholic Youth Organisation (CYO) in Wa on Thursday which was on the theme: "Ghana CYO at 60: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward".
He said in all of those conflicts that had afflicted societies it was the youth who were used.
He therefore urged young people to change and be at peace with all other people, saying: "This you can do by being agents of peace and conflict transformation so that our societies will experience the peace and love of Christ."
"You are the hope of a peaceful and a developed world of today and tomorrow and you have to develop such a world now", he said.
Most Rev Bemile said the issue of youth migration in the world and especially in West Africa was of a grave concern to the Church.
He said out of falsehood and misinformation many youth migrated from their communities and countries in search of greener pastures and gradually fell victims to situations that dehumanized them.
He said they should appreciate their own environments, use all the talents and opportunities that God had given them in their places of origin and try to develop themselves even with the limited resources around them.
Mr. Kale Cezar, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, said the greatest threat facing the youth and the nation at large was the craze and societal recognition of wealthy people irrespective of the source of their wealth as against those with good reputation.
"This, coupled with an unforgiving global economy, had resulted in vast unemployment, thereby tempting the youth to go into cyber fraud, armed robbery and prostitution, all in the name of making money to be regarded and respected by society", Mr. Cezar said.
He said those vices should not be allowed to gain grounds and must be holistically uprooted through a re-orientation of societal values and embracement of virtues such as hard work, discipline and strive for good reputation.
Mr Cezar appealed to the youth to participate fully in the governance of the country by holding public institutions accountable.