This is definitely not what I want; no! I do not want the ReadySetWork initiative to end when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode leaves office next year. I want the programme, which has equipped many final year students of public (and one private) tertiary institutions in Lagos with work-readiness and entrepreneurship skills to continue. I do not want it to be just a programme of one administration. I hope it becomes a legacy – a programme that the government and private sector would continue to fund to adequately prepare our young ones for the future.
I will tell you why I love this programme so much. I love it because it is for the average youth. It is not exclusive. Students who participate are not selected based on the amount of money they can afford to pay to benefit from the 13-week training that exposes them not only to soft skills employers have claimed many graduates lack, but challenges them to deepen their general knowledge, and inspires them to dare to dream and be great. I love this programme because it gives the students access to blue chip companies that may have otherwise been impossible for them to get into – because of their school type, qualifications, course or grade. Many of the beneficiaries simply do not belong to the socio-economic class with the social capital that would have helped them get into these firms or interact with their workers on a mentor-mentee basis.
I have covered the RSW in the past three years and each time fought back tears as I listened to testimonies from the students – how they learnt to communicate; how their orientation about order, interaction, team work, emotional intelligence, communication, and attitude to work changed – as a result of the Saturday clinics. I could not attend this year’s graduation on Tuesday, but as I edited the story sent in by our reporter (published in our CampusLife section today), the tears welled up.
The RSW is a programme that makes me believe there is hope for Nigeria – that the average youth (not just the one privileged to attend foreign or private universities) can be responsible, creative, industrious, and innovative – if only we empower them; if only we give them a chance to prove themselves; if only we show them the right way. It is a programme that shows that the public and private sector can work together to achieve lofty goals. It is a programme that demonstrates that Nigerians can be selfless – as shown by the volunteer facilitators who give their time and talent not for the hope of financial reward but for the intrinsic satisfaction that they would make an impact.
I think the next administration should continue and expand the programme. A serious government which takes the welfare of its people seriously would. Research tells us Nigeria houses one of the world’s youngest populations. About 60 per cent of our people are between 18 and 35. Majority of these are not educated or in training, or gainfully employed. If we cannot take care of the average youth, we are simply sitting on a time bomb. RSW is a programme that addresses the training and productivity needs of this subset of our population. We should seek to increase access to such training for many more so we can improve our Human Development Indices.
But if RSW does not continue, it is left for all the tertiary institutions that have benefited to carry on with the project. I expect they would find ways to infuse it into the curriculum. The Vice-Chancellors of the Lagos State University, University of Lagos, Caleb University, the Rectors of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Yaba College of Technology; as well as the Provosts of the Lagos State College of Health Technology, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, and the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education could meet to discuss areas of gains from the initiative and infuse it into their curriculum. They should ride on the wave created by the successful implementation of the programme in the past three years and partner with the private sector institutions that plugged into the programme. I am sure they would achieve success regardless of government buy in. But government support is better because with it, we can achieve scale faster.
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