Date: 2014-04-30

No fewer than 108 people in Kwara State have acquired various skills to help them lead better lives. They were trained at Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area. Soap-making was one the vocations in which the beneficiaries were tutored.

The beneficiaries cut across four local government areas, namely Irepodun, Oke-Ero, Ekiti and Isin in Kwara South Senatorial District.

The programme, which was organised by the Mike Omotosho Foundation, was attended by traditional rulers from the four local government areas.

The Chairman of the foundation, Dr. Mike Omotosho who hails from Obbo Aiyegun, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, said the foundation expended over N10 million on the project.

He said: “Real fulfilment comes from giving. The truth of the matter is that you don’t need to be extremely rich to give back to the society.

“Starting from the beneficiaries, we do have 108 people including 22 officials that are either encouraging them to know what to do or train them on specific skill. We actually got about 1,000 applicants. We shortlisted 116 but 108 showed up.

“It is a programme that we intend to continue to do, if possible on quarterly basis. But for now, it will be a biennial event. This means there would be another programme before the end of the year.  Over time we will be able to get people that have benefited from the programme to be facilitators in subsequent programmes.

“In terms of monetary value, it is difficult say what the value is. Do we start from the feeding arrangement, or the transport subsidy of the micro-finance? There is going to be an empowerment programme of micro-finance loans for those that excelled among this group.

“The number of those that excelled is between 25 and 30. In monetary terms, I am sure close to N10 million has been spent, but I can tell you the time value of the volunteers cannot be quantified. To a large extent, that was why I was reluctant in mentioning figures. People have left the comfort of their homes even during this Easter period to empower train those who will become useful to themselves, their communities and the country.

“It is a pilot programme in which four local government areas have benefited from.”

He blamed the current security challenges in some parts of the country on joblessness, adding that “once people are gainfully employed either working for themselves or for others, it becomes a lot easier for them to begin to think of how to touch lives.

By extension, when people realise that security is part of their responsibilities, everybody will be his brother’s keeper. Security is everybody’s business.

“Therefore, I urge the participants and youths outside there to exemplify leadership and appreciate the fact that they should impact on the lives of others.”

In a remark, the Owalobo of Obbo Aiyegunle, Oba Samuel Adelodun said the programme is the first of its kind in the history of the state.

The monarch said: “What we are witnessing today is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, given the growing incident of youth unemployment in the country. This is different because the week-long skills acquisition has focused on the youth. It is also different because God is using a Nigerian to empower our young unemployed graduates.

“Politicians might have been doing that but they are not using their personal funds to finance this type of empowerment. This gesture smacks of humanitarianism for the less-privileged and the jobless in the society.”

Oba Adelodun, a retired Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) likened skills acquisition programme to that of the NDE.

Continuing, he said: “The programme of the NDE is a genuine attempt by the Federal Government of Nigeria to assist the youth to be self-reliant through skills acquisition.

“When I was there, it was possible for NDE to identify 81 different fields for Nigerians to move and learn. Throughout my stint there, all the states of the federation benefited from this programme.

“The difference now is that our youths seem not to take the programme seriously as they are looking for short-cuts to success because of the way we are living in Nigeria.

“Nobody wants to work. We have not been able to encourage our youths to believe in their potential; to live within their means without necessarily having to look for short-cuts. As a result of the political environment in which we find ourselves, it has been possible for politicians to assist them temporarily for them to enjoy this short-cut approach to success.

“After the tenure, the youth will go back to their old ways. What is important is that the NDE not only gives you money to start up something, but it also teaches you how to live a good life.”