The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southwest

  • Bad road: Communities appeal to Lagos govt

    Bad road: Communities appeal to Lagos govt

    Residents of Oke Ogbe community in Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State have appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to alleviate their suffering by resuming work on the abandoned link road connecting the community and about 14 others to the Badagry Expressway from Atura Junction.

    The only link through which the communities get to other communities outside Badagry is a long wooden bridge which it constructed and which serves as entry and exit points from the communities. Some of the communities are Oke Ogbe, Ipara, Agunmoh, Ijotun, Samo-Ile, Gomajayi, Paronsa, Seje, Eyekole and Zunve, among others.

    Chief Posu
    Chief Posu

    Speaking with Southwest Report, the Baale of Oke Ogbe, Chief Segara Posu said after series of correspondence to the administration of former Governor, Babatunde Fashola, a contract was awarded for the construction of the 2.9kilometre road to Multi-Benefit Limited in 2013. The project, which includes the construction of a bridge across the water/swamp separating the communities from the Badagry Expressway, was to be completed in six months.

    “The contractor mobilised to the site and begun skeletal work. He even moulded some pillars for the bridge which is about 50 metres long. Surprisingly, after three months, the contractor abandoned the project. Although we tried to know why he abandoned the project, we were not given any answer,” he said.

    According to him, the community, through the Community Development Association (CDA) wrote several letters to the then Commissioner for Rural Development, copying the governor and Ministry of the Environment to complain about the abandoned work and asking that we be furnished with reasons; “ but there was no response or action on our letters till the end of Fashola’s regime.”

    The Baale said before the administration of Ambode came on board last year, the community went to the Ministry of Rural Development in Alausa to find out what the problem was “and they told us that the file had been transferred to the Ministry of Works which will continue the work. But till now, nothing has been done”.

    Continuing, he said: “When the new government came on board, the community did a follow up by writing Governor Ambode in December last year. We copied the Ministry of Works, Special Assistant (SA) to the Governor on Environment, Lagos  State House of Assembly and our representative at the Assembly, Hon. David Setonji.”

    On the strength of the correspondence, Governor Ambode met with the representatives of the community on January 10, this year. He directed us to the Ministry of Works; we held meetings with some ministry’s engineers  and they promised they would come and start work, but till now nothing has been done.

    “It is the only link road we have. We have to cross the water before we get to wherever we want to go. During rainy season, children and expectant mothers usually fall into the water. And if there is nobody to rescue them, they die. We have no primary school and no health centre in the community. Apart from that, the absence of a link road is also affecting our businesses,” he said.

    While commending the state government for providing the communities with some social amenities such as electricity and awarding the contract which was later abandoned, he praised Ambode for considering the community’s complaints and meeting with its representatives.

    Baale Posu appealed to the state government to come to the community’s aid by completing the abandoned link road and bridge, because, he said, we are approaching the rainy season so that our children and expectant mothers would not lose their lives unnecessarily.

    “We have no health centre, no government school and no hospital. So, it is only the road/bridge that everybody uses; children have to cross the wooden foot bridge to and from school, same for expectant mothers going to the nearest health centre or hospitals,” Posu said.

    He appealed to indigenes of the communities both at home and abroad to come back home “so that we can develop our communities together”.

     

  • ‘Advance the cause of Niger Delta’

    The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Prof. Cladius Daramola to see his appointment as the Minister of State for Niger Delta Development as an opportunity to advance the cause of the oil-rich region.

    Prof. Daramola is a chieftain of the APC and indigenous of Ode-Aye in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    A statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro said it was unarguable that the Niger Delta region is experiencing serious depravity in recent times, adding that a holistic overhaul is needed at the moment to take the region to an enviable height.

    APC noted that the appointment of Mr. Daramola, a Professor of repute and a workaholic with eyes for details and thoroughness is therefore a commendable move.

    It said: “The appointment of Prof. Daramola, who is indigenous to Ondo State, clearly shows that President Mohammudu Buhari recognises the important role Ondo State plays as the only oil-producing state from the South-western part of the country.”

    While thanking President Buhari for the confidence he reposed in Prof. Daramola, the statement said: “We are assuring the President and the minister that the leadership and membership of the party in the state will support him and be available to render a helping hand at all times.

  • Lawmaker empowers 300 constituents

    Lawmaker empowers 300 constituents

    No fewer than 300 women and youths selected from Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency in Ondo State have benefited from a five-day skill acquisition programme organised for rural people.

    The training, which was sponsored by the lawmaker representing the constituency, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde and coordinated by Prince Timothy Korede was aimed at complementing government’s efforts in reducing the rate of unemployment in the society.

    Beneficiaries of the programme are trained on various skills such as making of body and hair cream, kampala making (four different types); juice processing (four different types), soap manufacture, hot drinks, hydrogen peroxide, spirit production, hand set repairs, manufacturing of television antenna, air freshener, stove tread and making of liquid soap.

    While speaking with Southwest Report, Kolawole, who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said available statistics revealed that unemployment rate in Nigeria is increasing geometrically and if urgent intervention is not made to reverse the trend, it may induce social upheavals and increase criminality in the society.

    The lawmaker noted that skill acquisition programme was one of the interventionist schemes designed to fill the gap in the nation’s quest to stem the tide of unemployment, encourage manpower development initiative and self -reliance.

    He said: “We recognise that skills don’t depend solely upon a person’s fundamental innate capabilities but must be honed and developed through training, practise and experience.”

    He said the fact that formal education alone could not address the challenging menace of poverty and unemployment inspired him to contribute his own quota on ways to reduce unemployment rate.

    Kolawole however said there are arrangements to support those trainees financially so that it would be easy for them to establish themselves after training.

    He also said those trainees are expected to train others in their communities and wards on what they have learnt during the five-day programme.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Gbenga Ogunbi commended Kolawole who he said was the first lawmaker ever produced in the constituency that has not distanced himself from the electorate after election.

    Ogunbi said the programme would make many people self-reliant rather than chasing after white collar jobs.

  • Elders’ day of joy in Ekiti

    Elders’ day of joy in Ekiti

    For the senior citizens, it was a day of joy. It was the day St. Andrew’s Anglican Church at Are-Ekiti in Ekiti State, honoured some of its elders as reverence for their old age and hard work.

    The event, tagged “Elders Day of Glory” was established over eight years ago by the church to celebrate members of the church who have attained the age of 70 and above.

    Four oldest members of the church who have also been actively involved in the service of the church were honoured and rewarded for not only living long enough to see their grand children, but also for working hard to serve God and humankind.

    The elders honoured were Chief Oluyemi Olaofe, 87, his wife, Madam Ajoke, 86, Madam Adebimpe Anisulowo (nee Olaofe), 85, and Madam Bobola Idowu (nee Olaofe), 85.

    The four are from the Olaofe household in Are-Ekiti community, while Madam Anisulowo was married to the Anisulowo family where Chief Dipo Anisulowo, Ekiti State Chief of Staff hailed from. Madam Idowu married into the Idowu family, one of the major financiers of the church development projects.

    Explaining the significance of the event, the cleric in charge of the church, Venerable Benjamin Oke Olanrewaju, said: “We organise the elders’ day celebration because many of our elders don’t celebrate their birthdays, many of them are not that educated and enlightened; so we use this medium to celebrate them.

    “We also want to discourage a common practice where children who have neglected their aged parents during their lifetime, now come home to throw lavish parties, rebuild the dilapidated buildings their parents lived in and waste money on big-for-nothing parties.”

    In a sermon he entitled “I’ll honour you if you honour me”, the cleric said God is always concerned about the well-being of the family, adding that God is more interested in “how we bring up our children, the Godly values we impart into them and so on.”

    Continuing, he said: “So, I enjoin all parents to bring up their children in a Godly way and children should make sure they take care of their parents and respect them when they are old. Mothers, especially, should ensure their children are well brought up.

    “What your child becomes in future depends on what you train them. These elders who are being celebrated today are enjoying the goodwill and care of their children.”

    Pa Olaofe, the eldest of the celebrators and patriarch of the Olaofe family, had served as a teacher for many years before he retired in 1996 at St Catholic School, Ondo State.

    Reflecting on the honour accorded him during the event, he said: “It is a thing of joy for me that I’m still alive to witness this day the church and our children are honouring us at our old age and in recognition of our service to the church. I am the Asiwaju of the church, and my role in that respect is to oversee the church’s development projects.

    “I have served in several capacities in the church before now. I have been chairman of building committee, secretary of the church and auditor, among others. Now, I simply oversee development projects of the church.”

    Prof. Femi Olaofe, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) who is the son of one of the celebrators said: “Today is the celebration of our old people. We call it Odun agba, (Elders’ Day of Glory). Some of the old people here don’t usually have anything they celebrate. And we believe a day should be set aside for them to be celebrated. This is because they have done so much for their children and so they too deserved to be honoured.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Health care scheme excites Ekiti community

    Health care scheme excites Ekiti community

    Residents of Ayedun community in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State are excited about a local health insurance scheme initiated by Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) president Dr. Kayode Obembe. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) president, Dr. Kayode Obembe has given his kinsmen in Odo-Ayedun, a rustic community in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State  something to cheer about by making affordable health care delivery accessible to them.

    The people gathered in their thousands at the Comprehensive Health Centre to welcome their illustrious son, traditional rulers, top government functionaries and other guests from far and near who came to witness the official launch of Ayedun Community-based Social Health Insurance Scheme (ACB-SHIP).

    The venue was jam-packed by people of the three communities serving as the immediate catchment area of the ACB-SHIP scheme. The communities are Odo-Ayedun, Oke-Ayedun and Esun.

    The event was attended by Governor Ayo Fayose, who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rotimi Ojo; the Owa of Odo-Ayedun, Oba Solomon Ajibade; the Alaaye of Oke-Ayedun, Oba Fatunase Ala; the Elesun of Esun, Oba D.B. Ogunsakin; Acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr. Femi Akingbade who was represented by Ekiti Zonal Coordinator, Mrs. Adunola Balogun.

    Ayedun was the first community in Nigeria to launch its own health insurance in which registered enrolees contribute N100 every month and have to wait for at least three months before enjoying coverage benefits.

    Obembe was motivated to float the scheme in fulfilment of his desire to assist the indigent and vulnerable people have access to affordable health which they could be denied by lack of money and low level of awareness of health insurance.

    The ACB-SHIP came into existence in 2011 when Obembe introduced the idea of community health insurance programme to the three communities. The programme was embraced by the people.

    To add fillip to the initiative, the three communities set up a Board of Trustees (BOT) which comprises public-spirited, trustworthy individuals, seasoned medical practitioners and other respectable community leaders.

    The BOT, which was given the free hand to run the programme on behalf of the communities, decided that the monthly premium would be N100 per person which makes N1, 200 per annum.

    In his address, the Chairman, BOT of ACB-SHIP, Otunba Dapo Adelusi, revealed that the scheme has 4,977 enrolees who have been given cards confirming their subscription to the scheme.

    Adelusi further explained that the scheme has assisted the beneficiaries to attend to their health needs at the local health centres while complicated, terminal diseases and serious pregnancy cases are referred to the Ikole General Hospital.

    According to him, an enrolee has to wait for at least three months after registration before enjoying coverage benefits.

    Adelusi told the gathering that the NHIS officials visited the ACB-SHIP BOT and acknowledged the efforts the scheme had made in Ayedun and the adjoining communities in the area of health insurance.

    Adelusi explained further: “Other steps were taken to ensure that the programme is well established. An office was opened for the administration and a computer-literate graduate was employed as administration secretary.

    “The BOT meets monthly and the minutes of the meetings are well kept. An account was opened with a commercial bank and all financial transactions are through the bank and clear records of such transactions are properly kept.

    “A benefit package was drawn up by the Programme Manager and the BOT to enable the enrolees to know the coverage of their health insurance. Currently, owing to very limited financial strength, health insurance coverage is at the primary health care level only and for diseases prevalent in the communities.

    “Complicated and terminal diseases, and particularly complicated pregnancy cases are promptly referred to secondary health care at the General Hospital, Ikole. An enrolee has to wait for at least three months after registration before enjoying the coverage benefits.

    “The programmer’s health care providers-doctors and nurses-give health talks to advise the public on what to do when they are sick and where to access medical treatment. They are also informed about preventive measures to keep illness at bay.

    “The premium paid has not been able to meet the programme’s financial needs. The facilitating Programme Manager (Obembe) has been of tremendous technical and financial assistance to keep us going.

    “He has helped in paying the salaries of the staff and constantly securing the services of doctors at the Ayedun Health and Maternity Centre which provides the health care services at the primary level.

    “On this happy occasion, we thank the Federal Ministry of Health through the NHIS for accepting to perform the national launch at Ayedun here.

    He also urged the Federal Government to make health insurance compulsory for Nigerians as a means of fulfilling the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a component part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

    Obembe said there should be a drastic reduction in pocket expenses on health, hence all Nigerians should utilise the opportunity of health insurance in their quest for quality health services.

    According to him, it is impossible to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through insurance scheme when enrolment is voluntary as obtained under the NHIS.

    To make the scheme practicable, Obembe urged the Federal Government to increase its expenditure from the present five per cent to 15 per cent in line with the resolution of African leaders made in 2000.

    Obembe said: “The socio-economic development of the country depends on the health of her citizens. Ensuring that access to affordable, quality and equitable health care is critical to improved citizen’s health.

    “The NHIS, which has been operational since 2005, has covered only seven per cent of the entire population. The total health expenditure was 6.7 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009, more than the baseline of 4.5 per cent. Out-of-pocket spending is more than 60 per cent total health expenditure instead of the recommended 10-15 per cent.

    “Efforts should be aimed at targeting the poor and the vulnerable groups. Health insurance should be made mandatory. It is impossible to achieve UHC through insurance schemes when enrolment is voluntary.

    “This is the pilot platform that can be positioned in any community in Nigeria and make health care delivery accessible and affordable.

    “Ayedun Community-based Health Insurance Scheme is the solid foundation on which UHC should be erected if replicated all over the country.”

    The Acting Executive Secretary, NHIS, Akingbade, commended the Ayedun community for floating ACB-SHIP, saying the launch will create a platform for “reaching the unreached.”

    Akingbade said: “The inauguration of the community-based health insurance scheme in Ayedun will create the opportunity and platform for reaching the unreached. The scheme is working assiduously to address the vulnerable groups in the society.

    Governor Fayose urged other illustrious citizens to assist their communities by complementing the efforts of the government to make health care delivery available to the citizens.

    He commended Dr Obembe for his gesture in initiating the scheme, urging more residents to enrol to enable them to benefit from the scheme.

     

  • Council holds stakeholders’ meeting

    Council holds stakeholders’ meeting

    The Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State has held its stakeholders’ meeting at the council’s secretariat. Supervisor for Agriculture, Femi Ibile said the stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at carrying them along in the council’s activities such as construction of the two roads within the community.

    The Executive Secretary of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon. Jaiye Alabi said notice has been given from the Lagos State government that all gated streets in the community must be open from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

    He added that between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. security must be put in place to prevent criminals from unleashing their deadly acts on the residents.

    Alabi further said that a law has been enacted by state government and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is continuing with the law which the past governors worked with, even as he is working with all communities to see that things are fulfilled.

    Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary has advised stakeholders to take care of their environment and be careful of the kind of foods they eat to avoid contracting Lassa fever.

    He urged them not to eat foods which rat has eaten or urinated on, adding that foodstuffs must be kept properly to avoid rat urinating or eating them.

    “Cleanliness is next to godliness, health is wealth. We will carry out our responsibility with the little income we make to fumigate, sanitise and give access to the community

    .”We are trying to get a firm dealing with fumigation to reduce Lassa fever.

    “Governance is about information, governance is about communication. It is better we are informed on what is going from the government to the people so that they will assist us.

    “There are some efforts the community must also do so that the government will wake up for their assistance. He called on the Community Development Association (CDA) to work together with the Community Development Council (CDC) to improve the community.

    He praised the past administration for its commitment to road construction, most especially Ejigbo-Ilamose Canoe-Ajao Link Road.

    “Roads are the problems of Ejigbo. To ease the flow of gridlock, Lagos State government in conjunction with Ejigbo council have started constructing Peter Agha/January 27 Street (mass burial bridge) to link Ilamose – Canoe Bridge.

    “Also, construction of Lafenwa-Coker and Fadu Street also is going on. Twenty-three culverts have been constructed while 33 streets have been graded. Fifty citizens of the community will be trained as environment officers to arrest those who litter the streets with dirt. He said the community must be clean.

    He pleaded that the “change” promised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) must start with the people.

     

  • ‘We’ll empower women, youths’

    In line with the Federal Government’s resolve to alleviate the suffering of the people through sound and people-oriented policies and programmes, the President of the Zion Assembly of Christ for All Nations, the Most Rev. Apostle Samuel Olawumi Ayodele, has promised to empower women and offer scholarships to students in the fold and other qualified Nigerians. This, according to him, will address the economic and educational challenges of its members. He added that “by so doing, they will be encouraged to serve God and humanity justly.’’

    Apostle Ayodele stated this after his inauguration as the President of the Zion Assembly of Christ for All Nations at Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    He said for effective administration of Zion Assembly, a group of 200 independent Zion churches, four departments had been created. These, he said, include Theology/Evangelical Department; Children and Women Department; Youth Department, Education and Governmental Affairs Department.

    Apostle Ayodele, who was ordained a minister in 1959, said Zion churches had been operating under different   denominations and leaders before now but the Holy Spirit has called for a unity of purpose where they will now operate under one umbrella with one voice to address spiritual and social issues. When this is done, white garment churches of Zion stock will be more respected.

    On what the church can do to cushion the effects of the harsh economic conditions on members, Apostle Ayodele said: “We are quite aware of this and that is why we are creating jobs through our co-operative societies and micro-credit schemes to engage our women and men. Our skills acquisition programmes are there to lend helping hands to the jobless so that they can be useful to the society. Education is vital to us, that is why we are pooling our resources to establish scholarship schemes for our children in both secondary schools and higher institutions of learning.”

    On why this relationship is just coming at this time, he said: “God’s time is the best. As He has power over the affairs of men, He specifically directed this move. The church as one fold must worship under one shepherd. What is left for me as a privileged servant is to do my utmost based on experiences garnered from several masters before me, including the late Most Rev. Apostles E.L .Ogunfeyimi and Orogbemi, to lead the group aright.

    He said  it is the plan of the group to build youths that  are sound  in character and will be  the pride  of the nation, adding “we have religious and social institutions to handle this aspect of our life’’

    On members’ participation in politics, he said: “We encourage our members to go into politics and make positive changes. Take it from me; it is a man that fears God that can govern well in the midst of temptations. It is a man that fears God that will not steal public money. It is he that will know that his position is transient and therefore would make life better for the masses. We have all the necessary mechanism to mould the character of our members and equip them for such offices so that they can make the necessary changes and impacts on the lives of the people’’.

    He said his group is conscious of the right of the other person, even as it is out for spiritual and social changes and so our focus remains integrity.

     

  • ‘Study hard to be good citizens’

    The President, Road Safety Officers’ Wives’ Association, Ogun State branch, Mrs Adekunbi Adetunji, has urged children to improve their study skills to enable them to archieve success in their education.

    Mrs Adetunji spoke at the get-to-gether/end-of-the-year party organised by the association for children at the Ogun State Sector Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Abeokuta, the state capital.

    The event, she said, was aimed at  showing love to the children and to encourage unity among the officers’ wives and children as their husbands are absent due to their work schedules.

    She appealed to the children to be obedient to their parents and all elderly persons.

    She also urged them to be law-abiding in order to make their parents, society and the country proud.

    Mrs Adetunji appealed to the children to be more engaged to school  activities that would make them better citizens in the future.

    She also advised them to always seek God’s guidance and protection of their fathers who are always absent from home due to national assignments.

    She urged members of the association to ensure they instil discipline in their children, even as she said they should train them in the ways of the Lord. She said it was a good idea for parents to give children better home training.

    Highlights of the event was cutting of cake, quiz/dancing competition and presentation of gifts to the children.

     

  • NGO makes case for the less-privileged

    NGO makes case for the less-privileged

    Life of the former Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Mrs. Olajumoke Opeifa has called on governments and philanthropic organisations to make life more meaningful for orphans, widows and aged members of the society.

    Mrs. Opeifa, who is the Founder of Hydra Edge Foundation (HEF), gave the advice during presentation of food items to widows recently. At the event, put together by her organisation, about 1,400 bags of food items (made up of 700 bags of rice and gaari respectively), were presented to the widows and elderly, at Oyewole Junior Grammar School, Orile Agege.

    She said these classes of people, who formed a sizeable proportion of the population, must be adequately taken care of to reduce the widening gap of poverty in the society.

    While noting that nothing would make any meaning to a hungry person, Mrs. Opeifa said the major challenge to governance lay in reducing the poverty index. She said nothing gives her more joy than giving to the poor and making life more meaningful to the less-privileged members of the society.

    According to her, the yearly presentation of food items, which is the eighth in the series, is her Foundation’s response to making life more bearable for the vulnerable groups of the society, who have no means of celebrating the festive period with members of their families.

    She said the exercise, which began eight years ago, is in response to giving back to the society a little from what God had bestowed on her, adding that nothing is too much to give to humanity in appreciation of God’s mercy and goodness on her entire family.

    She said: “Every year, since the past eight years, we have been giving the less-privileged, especially the widows and orphans food items, especially during Christmas. This year, we decided to expand the programme a little by adding the aged. This year, 700 people, made up of 500 widows and 200 aged would go home with one bag of rice and one bag of gaari, to enable them to celebrate the Yuletide and the New Year with members of their families.”

    The Executive Secretary of Orile Agege Local Council Development Area, Mr Adeyinka Akeem described the gesture as one with a profound impact in the council.

    He urged other well-meaning members of the society to emulate such humanitarian gesture by looking at the area of need in any given society and fill the vacuum, adding that it is only when philanthropists teamed up with the government that the task of improving the lot of the common man, especially the indigent can be achieved.

    “This foundation is the biggest humanitarian group in this local government and I must say that every year, the indigent in this area look forward to this event, knowing that they would not only get foodstuffs, but also cash gifts to augment their incomes to make the Yuletide a memorable one for their families,” Akeem said.

    The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the LCDA, Prince Sunday Ajayi praised the HEF for the gesture. He said the crowd of beneficiaries had continued to grow every year, since the programme started eight years ago.

    “This programme has continued to witness tremendous crowd since it started eight years ago. Last year the crowd was tremendous, and this year, it seems to have doubled. The foundation has continued to put smiles on the faces of the common people in this council area. We can only pray that God should continue to strengthen the group,” he said.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Anthonia Anoibo, a widow, said the gesture would forever be remembered in her life, even as she prayed for the organisation to continue to wax stronger in its stride to make life more abundant for the downtrodden.

    Another widow, who had been a regular beneficiary since the programme began eight years ago said she is happy that HEF could remember the widows this year despite the harsh economic situation in the country. She said her prayer is for God to continue to uplift the promoters and those working for the organisation.

  • Osun’s strategy against unemployment

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that no fewer than 5.3 million youths are jobless, while 1.8 million graduates enter the labour market every year. This figure could be a conservative estimate of the actual number of unemployed youths in the country, going by previous statistics released by NBS, which put the number of jobless Nigerians at 20.3 million.

    The above is a reflection of previous governments’ inability to design policies that will create more jobs, or provide enabling environment that could encourage both individuals and the private sector to expand employment opportunities without let or hindrance.

    It is in line with the above that the Osun State Government established an office known as Osun Job Centre. This is in pursuance of a key component of Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola-led administration’s Six Point Integral Action Plan which is banishment of unemployment from the state. The Job Centre is established as a State Government-funded one-stop employment agency with desk offices located at each of the 30 local government areas.

    The Centre will act as a facilitator between job seekers and employers by providing employment information and services to a wide range of people, from the unemployed looking for employment, the underemployed looking for better jobs, to employers advertising job openings. It is aimed at eradicating barriers to employment by promoting education, training and business enterprise. It will contribute to the personal development of the labour force through the creation of opportunities for their productive engagement and utilisation.

    The centre provides employment service tools such as an infrastructure for the business community to post its skills needs as well as in-house computers with free access to the internet.

    To provide a venue where job seekers can meet and network with representatives of prospective employers from diverse sectors of the economic with the possibility of securing employment.

    However, the private sector also has a role to play in creating employment, as experience has shown that government alone cannot provide all the needed jobs.  Unemployed persons will also have to start working towards self-employment, through which they may even provide jobs for others.

    Unemployment and poverty have become serious problems that all levels of government must tackle with sincerity of purpose to keep the nation’s youths productively engaged and out of avoidable trouble.

    These efforts by Osun government are worthy of emulation by other states of the federation. Governor Aregbesola once declared that Osun, out of the 36 states, has the lowest rate of unemployed people, particularly among her teeming youths, due to the determination of his administration to banish poverty and unemployment among its people.

    This new move at establishing a job centre is just one of them. These efforts were recently corroborated by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, when he declared that Osun is one of the states with lowest in poverty.

    “The indication (in Osun) is that because there is a lot of investment on the people, poverty has been reduced and that is what we (the Federal Government) are trying to achieve in Nigeria,” Osinbajo said.

    Aregbesola was quoted as saying: “The development of micro and small businesses forms a core component of our poverty alleviation and economic empowerment strategy.

    “This is part of our six-point integral action plan that, among others, seeks to banish poverty, unemployment and hunger.

    “We have designed programmes aimed at unlocking our people’s creativity and genuinely set them on the path of self-employment and self-reliance.

    “I am certain that our people are hard-working and would at all time take pride in working to earn a decent living.

    “With the numerous programmes we are implementing, we are on the road to change the fortune of our state and lives of our people for better.

    “Many of these programmes such as OYES, O’REAP, O’YESTECH, O’MEALs, O’Schools, O’Beef and O’BOPS, among others, have offered many of our youths self-reliant job opportunities.”

    • Ayo Akinola, is a publisher and media consultant based in Lagos and Bola Akande is a former commissioner for Human Resources and Capacity Building, Osun State