The Nation Newspaper

Tag: youth

  • ‘I am committed to Nasarawa youths’

    ‘I am committed to Nasarawa youths’

    Senator Solomon Ewuga, who represents Nasarawa North Senatorial zone in the Senate, speaks, among other issues, on his efforts to provide jobs for youths in Nasarawa State, in this interview with YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU. Excerpts: 

    There are speculations that your jobs scheme has rather defrauded youths in your zone. Is this true?

    That is not true. I can’t do that. I am not a fraudster.

    What is the true position?

    I am rather spending my own little earnings to empower the youth of Nasarawa State. There is what we call co-operatives. Co-operatives work through group interest, based on their trade specialties. What I am trying to do is for people to build a spirit of business acquirement using co-operative movement to develop a business spirit that will ensure that they can manage themselves.

    I work to develop the template based on my own experience on what happened in Western Nigeria where you find a very strong mercantilist class. A good number of youths have been registered for the programme.

    How much did they pay as registration fee?

    Each of the participants paid N2, 000. We got someone to advice us on the programme. Before we realised it, the person had already collected N2,000 from people in order to enlist them into the system. There is no problem with that. Then, I gave some money to kick-start the programme, but there was a misapplication in the process. In the face of this, we lost momentum. I had to wait to appraise the fund.

    I noticed that if we went the way we were going, we will still have some problems. So, I had to register a foundation. We have a certificate of incorporation. We have money that is going to be paid into a bank that will operate it. We have a Board of Directors with my wife as the chairperson, and with professionals who will advise us and train members of the co-operative. So, all these things are on ground. What remains now is for me to fix a time when we can have proper understanding and appreciation.

    It is not everybody that is enlisted that will get participate. It is people who are serious. There are people who already have a bank account in readiness for this. It is the bank that will run this under close supervision with the trustees of the programme. That is the position.

    So, we have done a lot of work at the background. These are the things I didn’t do. When I first came I had a lot of zeal. I did it and the money was supplied. That is why I am having these problems. But the matter has been handled appropriately. There is no need rushing and creating problems.

    Will the fund attract any interest?

    It is an administrative kind of venture. But whatever you are going to pay in addition to whatever you are taking will be an administrative charge, nothing more than that. The money is coming back to me. They are not going to squander the money because they are going to be bonded by the virtue of the group interest. They are not going to pay back the money individually but the group they belong to. That is how it is going to be done. People think it is government that is financing it; so they think they can squander the money. It is not going to be so.

    How much have you earmarked for this project?

    Initially, we had earmarked about N20 million which was misapplied. So, we don’t want to spend money in an inappropriate manner. We want to provide more money this time round. That is the position.

    How much will a beneficiary get?

    It depends on the input of individual’s profession. Some of the beneficiaries may receive N500, 000.  For instance, those who are into vulcanising as a trade will get more money because the machine costs about N85,000.

    You don’t have to give them N1 million because it is a maximum of 10 people. If they are going to be dealers in say, grain, they will do it in a refundable and revolving loan arrangement. Whatever they do, they will refund the money to the bank and keep the profit for themselves.

    How long is the repayment period?

    This will also depend on the type of individual’s trade. Their trade type will determine their capacity. For example, if they are traders, and it is a seasonal trading, they will be bonded by the term, but if you are an iron bender, you first have to learn the trade, then may be a few will need an additional amount to what they have, say N1 million. We will provide the N1 million on a repayable basis. It is a value exchange programme that propels them into a mercantilist class.

    Have you done anything to make these youths acquire entrepreneurial skill to avoid a situation where the fund is wasted?

    In my community here, there is a skill acquisition centre.

    You initiated that?

    Yes, by the grace of God. Right now we are talking with SURE-P so that they will transform it into a workshop, to build a workshop in addition to the centre so that people will have a variable trades like block making, carpentry and joinery among others.

    People have started training. If any of them is a trader, he doesn’t need any training. An iron bender does not need any training; a mechanic will need some form of training and all that. We are going to work with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which will provide them with support services.

    In other words, your aim is empowering the youth in order to stem the tide of youth restiveness?

    That is exactly our aim. If you don’t empower people to do things for themselves, to fend for themselves, then you are not helping both the individual and the society. You have to provide the basic infrastructure like roads, water, hospitals, electricity and others. You must have an ordered pattern of appraisal of issues. If you don’t plan to succeed, then you will fail. So, you must plan to succeed. Enabling youths is enabling the wealth of the society through employment opportunities.

  • Lawmaker involves FIFA in grassroots youth football

    Desirous of motivating and encouraging young talents in his consistency Chairman of Lagos State House of Assembly committee on Information, Publicity, Strategy and Security, Segun Olulade has involved the world football governing body, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) in grassroots football.

    Olulade disclosed this to newsmen before the final match of the first edition of football competition he organised for students of Junior Secondary Schools in his Epe II constituency held recently.

    The match was between Government College, Ketu and Okemagba High School, Ejirin, Epe, Lagos.

    The representative of FIFA, who is the agent for ‘Search and Groom,’ Yomi Kuku shortly after the match which was won by Government College by 1-0, told the teeming spectators that some talents have been discovered from the just concluded tournament.

    The tournament was well attended by various groups and organisations including traditional rulers.

    Former Super Eagles’ goal keeper, Peter Rufai who was among the dignitaries at the event expressed satisfaction with the conduct of such a laudable competition, adding that Olulade has been able to distinguish himself by showing considerable interest in sponsoring sports.

    According to Rufai, “my conversation with the lawmaker before coming for the event has proven to me that he really meant well for grassroots development.”

    Dodo Mayana, as he is fondly called by his fans noted that “a lot of money would have been spent to organise this event. It is no doubt well organised and it meets up with acceptable standard,  that is why I am here.”

    He explained that the lawmaker has also assured that talents that would be discovered are to be properly groomed for international competition, saying that the fact that FIFA was also part of the exercise was commendable.

    The FIFA agent, Yomi Kuku told the audience that some photographs have been selected from the final match, which according to him, are to be showcased during the forthcoming world cup finals, Brazil 2014.

    “I want to assure that some photos have been selected from this tournament which may appear during this world cup coming up in June in Brazil,” Kuku said.

    While giving his vote of thanks after the event, the organiser, Olulade stated that “I decided to embark on this project because, we should let the children know that they can combine education with football.”

    He explained that the reason behind limiting the competition to JSS students was to emphasis young talents and to develop them for future tournament both local and international.

     

  • Youth jobs scheme for Gombe

    Youth jobs scheme for Gombe

    The Gombe State government has launched a youth employment plan. The state governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has also announced that his administration was “working in collaboration with international development agencies towards fashioning out a social protection policy for our citizens, especially the youth.”

    Governor Dankwambo stated this during the passing out ceremony of 1,554 youths from the Phase II of the Talba Youth Re-orientation and Rehabilitation Programme at Malam-Sidi, headquarters of Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State.

    Some of such groups, according to him, included the World Bank Supported Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) to provide employment opportunities, skills, training and conditional cash transfer for youths in the state; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Board for Technology Incubation.

    He explained that his administration, in order to eradicate poverty among the youth, had already keyed into YESSO programme and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UNDP in the area of skills training, adding that government had also collaborated with Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in the area of skills training through Nigeria Industrial Development Plan of the Federal Government while plans to establish a factory for the assembly of tricycle (keke NAPEP) had been concluded.

    He further disclosed that the state government had taken steps to register unemployed graduates in the state into the Graduate Internship Programme in order to engage them in various walks of life through the provision of temporary employment.

    He said his administration had constituted a committee that would facilitate the establishment of a micro-finance bank in the state so as to make micro-credits available to small and medium-scale enterprises in the state and provide employment for the youth.

    He further said all these were policies and programmes deliberately put in place by his administration to aid the teeming youths to improve their lives and provide opportunity for them to contribute their quota in the development the state and country at large.

    “I wish to reassure our youths that government will continue to conduct programmes that will enable you realise your potential and contribute positively to the socio-economic development of the state,” said Governor Dankwambo while expressing government’s commitment to sustain efforts at rolling out youth empowerment packages.

    Specifically, he assured the graduating members of the Talba Youth Re-orientation and Rehabilitation Programme that “government, on its part, will continue to support the programme” in order to uplift their living standards.

    The programme, as the name implies, is meant to reshape the ideology of the infamous political thugs popularly known as Yan Kalare with a view to taking them off the streets and making them better and more useful citizens who can equally contribute positively to the growth of the state and country.

    Other than the hooligans, some well-behaved unemployed youths found the programme as another vista of opportunities and enlisted into it. This is no surprise because the first set of 1,197 agents under the programme were already performing creditably well, thereby making Gombe State safe from the insecurity perpetrated the yan kalare group between 2003 and 2011.

    This notorious group of youths who took orders and sourced immunity from those at the corridors of power then committed a lot of atrocities that were inimical to well-meaning residents of the state and got away with it.

    Alhaji Bakura Mohammed Bajoga aptly summed it up when he said: “Any achievement without security is half-baked. But with his (Dankwambo) coming, the terrifying yan kalare group are no more. He came with a very good idea of training those restive youths into productive members of the society. Before, they could be given a token amount to kill and they would do so.”

    Little wonder the indescribable excitement when the Governor announced that government could train up 10,000 youths under the programme as that would naturally lessen the army of youths through thugs are recruited from.

    “Some unscrupulous enemies of progress are not happy and always attempt to cause confusion whenever the training is on course to derail and discredit the novel initiative.

    “It is pathetic that those selfish individuals prefer to see the lives of these youths destroyed for their own selfish interests,” Dankwambo observed.

    Giving credence to this position is the fact that during the first phase, unknown gunmen went on shooting spree at the camp; even as the action was preceded by rumours that they had been assembled for the slaughter.

    This time round, a pernicious rumour spread like whirl wind made the round that the military instructors had killed a trainee agent and in the commotion that followed, five more trainees were dead.

    Consequently, the trainees scampered out of the camp. Again, the rumour that they had been gathered to be killed was already spreading at the camp. But swift reactions from the authorities restored normalcy even before fleeing trainees got to their homes.

    The most gratifying point about the programme is that it has been signed into law, just as the appointments of chairman, board members and other principal officers of the Agency for Social Services (the supervisory body of the programme) have been made.

    This, of course, underscores the deployment of so many resources into the revitalisation of the education sector. The huge investment in this sector is justified by the massive development of school infrastructure, engagement of qualified academic personnel, and procurement of teaching and learning aids.

    This is borne out of the need to take the youth off the streets, engage their minds positively and then broaden and brighten their horizon, stimulate the maximisation of their potential, polish or reshape their philosophy and psyche while reducing their tendency to become hooligans.

    Since everyone is not cut out for western education, Governor Dankwambo has equally pioneered other initiatives aimed at empowering the Gombe youths. Among such initiatives is the training of 320 youths on six different trades in four skills acquisition centres across the state and resettling them with a starter pack of N250, 000 and tools for their trades to facilitate easy and smooth take off.

  • Kaduna youths prepare for self-employment

    Kaduna youths prepare for self-employment

    Their journey to self-employment started on November 26, 2013 when they had their first shot at skills training across various centres in the state. No fewer than 7600 women and youths from the 255 political wards in Kaduna State were trained in vocations and trades using the state’s share of the 2012 Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) funds.

    Many applaud the jobs scheme.

    Beneficiaries are in three different groups: women, youths and agriculture. In the agriculture category, beneficiaries are trained in such areas as production of maize, rice, cassava, sugar cane, ginger; fishery, cattle rearing, bee keeping, sheep and goat rearing, piggery and poultry.

    The youths on the other hand are trained in aluminum works, block making, bricklaying and masonry, fish processing, GSM repair, honey processing, animal husbandry, leather works, photography, plumbing works, and printing.

    The women are benefiting from training in such areas as Beauty and Cosmetology; hairdressing; tie and dye; Catering and Event management; Fish processing; Rice milling; Vegetable processing.

    The government, according to Governor Yero, spent about N139 million on the training.

    With the training concluded, it was time for the government to make good its promise of setting them up. For Yero, it does not make sense for the government to stop at giving them the required skill without giving them the matching grant to set themselves up and move on in life. But he was not unaware of the fact that some of the beneficiaries may not be too disposed to setting up a business. So, rather than give them money, the government decided to purchase items needed by each one of them and present same to them with an additional N10,000 as take-off grant. He however warned them not to sell the items as government was putting in place mechanism to monitor and ensure that the money invested was not wasted.

    Governor Yero, who supervised the distribution of the items, said that the government supports the trainee graduates in meeting the critical requirement of seed capital for starting viable businesses that will contribute to the rapid economic development of the state and reduce unemployment.

    He noted that “the trainings conducted under the various trades were rigorous and in-depth.  At the outset we were unequivocal in emphasising, that only training institutions and firms with demonstrable competences in the business will be engaged in the youth trainings. Our insistence was to ensure effective transfer of technology to trainees for maximum benefits. Based on the briefings, I have received on the Youth Empowerment Training, it is heart-warming to note that participants exhibited high sense of discipline and commitment throughout the period of the training. With the level of enthusiasm our youth have displayed thus far, I am confident that the programme will achieve its set objectives. I therefore urge all the trainees to continue to behave responsibly in all your future endeavours”. The governor announced that each of the trainees would receive Starter Packs relevant to his/her trade in addition to take off grant of the sum of N10,000.

    The governor noted that his administration was determined to continue to “accord priority attention to skills acquisition, as well as training and retraining of our youths for the economic benefit of our dear state. The objectives of this approach are to stimulate the economy of our state through creation of massive employment opportunities for our people and reduce poverty. In this regards, we have concluded plans to engage 2,550 youths using our 2013 SURE-P funds. These youth would be drawn from the 255 wards across the State with 40% of them to be women. They would provide Community Development services within their respective wards in the areas of sanitisation of major roads and public institutions, provision of security, control of human and vehicular traffic especially during occasion and public functions, sensitization/enlightenment, advocacy on peace etc. They would be paid an allowance of N10, 000 monthly with effect from April, 2014. In the same vein, the state will collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Finance to enable 2000 unemployed graduates of our State to participate in the Federal Government SURE-P Community Services, Women and Youth Programme scheme on Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS). Under this programme, each participating graduate will receive an allowance of N30,000 from the Federal Government and a stipend of N10, 000 from the state totalling N40, 000.00 monthly. It may also interest you to note that the State and the Bank of Agriculture have jointly set aside the sum of N500 million each (amounting to N1 billion) to disburse as loans to small scale farmers. In addition to this, a similar funding arrangement with the Bank of Industry provides another N1 billion to be disbursed to Small Scale Businesses/ Entrepreneurs in the State”.

    The governor noted that “we are doing all these to assist our people with the requisite seed capital to kick start their businesses to stimulate the much needed productive economic activities to raise the standards of living and ultimately increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our dear State. As pioneers of a novel initiative of this administration, I urge you to use the skills you have acquired during this training programme for the benefit of not only yourself and immediate family but to the good of the entire people of our state. You must not sell the starter packs given to you as doing so will defeat the essence of this programme. The State Government will put in place a monitoring and supervisory mechanism for regular and sustained visits to all the places of your business to ensure that you are effectively utilising the resources placed at your disposal. The success of this programme lies on your shoulders. If you succeed, it would be a source of encouragement to us as we firmly believe that programmes of this sort will go a long way in taking youths off the streets thereby enhancing the security and wellbeing of our people”.

    The state deputy governor who doubles as the chairman of the SURE-P implementation committee, Ambassador Nuhu Audu Bajoga said that the programme is significant as it seeks to provide youths and other vulnerable groups in the state with gainful self-employable skills to raise the quality of their lives through employment generation and wealth creation. He said further that the SURE-P Implementation Committee has ensured that in line with directives from the governor, beneficiaries of the Agriculture, Youth and Women Empowerment Schemes were selected devoid of partisan or parochial considerations. He said: “I can dare say without fear of contradiction that the Kaduna State Government has been the most forthcoming in effectively and efficiently utilizing its SURE-P funds, by investing in critical areas of infrastructural development as well as welfare of citizens of the State. Let me seize this opportunity to call on the beneficiaries of the various empowerment schemes to pay attention to the training that will be offered, by being prompt and attentive at the training centres for effective learning. The training consultants selected are also knowledgeable and competent to execute the task. The Consultants are therefore enjoined to ensure that they live up to expectations for the overall success of the programme”.

    Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with The Nation thanked the government for the opportunity given to them to learn a trade. Ruth Daniel who was trained in hair dressing was elated that the government was giving her what she needs to start her trade. She said “I am very happy that the government has decided to give us these facilities to start. I am going to get a shop and start business and I am sure that what I will be making from there will be enough to sustain me and help my family. I have always wanted to start something of my own, but I didn’t have the money to pay for my training. Now, the government paid for it and even gave us all that we need to start. I am very grateful to the government for this opportunity”.

    Like 182 other women and girls, Ruth got a starter pack worth N85,575. Items in the starter packs are: one standing dryer, one hand dryer, a set of roller packs, a set of relaxer, a plastic washing basin, 30 litres water container, a wall dressing mirror, an electric kettle, one dressing comb, one full pack og threads and needles, round trolley and N10,000 take-off grant.

    On his part, Gabriel Peter who was trained along side 190 others and received a starter pack worth N293, 500 said he was elated to be in business, pointing out that before the items were given to them, he has already secured a shop where he will be operating from. He received items such as Exposure Machine for making plates, Light table used for laying films, washing tray and Generator set from the government.

  • The youth have suffered enough

    The youth have suffered enough

    In every nation of the world, the population of the youths is invariably the largest. Nigeria is no exception. According to a statistics, the nation is populated by 70 per cent of youths, but potential of this population is yet to be harnessed. Rather, the government treats the youths with contempt.

    Section 18 of the Constitution stipulates that government has the responsibility to provide equal educational opportunities for all. Unfortunately, the government has not only ignored this provision of the Constitution, it is also making sure that the youths do not get quality education.

    The recent almost six-month strike by the university teachers and the on-going industrial action by Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and their colleagues in colleges of education are glaring examples that government is not concerned with education of the youths.

    Students are being subjected to pain while government and the lecturers disagree. The government seems to careless about the fate of students; it pretends not to understand their lecturers’ plight. The government looks away while the parents cry.

    It will only amount to futile exercise to devote time to list unpalatable consequences of the last Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike on us, which was caused by the lackadaisical approach of the government to education. But it is good to appeal to the Federal Government, as a matter of national importance, to put an end to the on-going ASUP and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) strikes. The government must act fast to save students from academic frustration because of the protracted actions.

    Granted, the rot in the system cannot be attributed to the Federal Government alone; there are bad educational policies of state governments and schools’ managements that have also contributed to erosion of our educational values.

    An example of this is the crisis rocking the Lagos State University over fee hike. How can a government that is unable to pay N18,000 minimum wage to civil servants expect the poor to pay N300,000 as tuition on a single child? For God sake, that is daunting. The matter becomes more sensitive, with the revelation that some state governments are generating revenues from state-owed institutions. Is this how to develop a nation?

    The suffering of the youths has doubled in the recent time, with the vicious attacks by Boko Haram insurgents on educational institutions. Scores of innocent students were butchered at the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe State recently. The unconcerned Federal Government went on with the centenary celebration, and the killers clinking glasses after the bloody assignment.

    According to police reports, between June 2013 and February 2014, a total of 140 students were killed. These are the future leaders with various missions and destinies to fulfil. Nations of the world have their peculiar challenges; Nigeria is not insulated from this. But our approach to solve the challenges matters. The government has taken a highly devastating and ludicrous method to fight our problems.

    The most depressing challenge we face in this country is the increasing rate of unemployment. According to Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) report last year, about 40 million Nigerians are unemployed. It said about 90 per cent of youths are in this group. One begins to wonder if Nigeria can ever become a developed nation this millennium.

    The reason why Nigeria is faced with vices such as insurgency, kidnapping and militancy is because of unemployment, which is a direct product of corruption. The earlier we understand that these vices may not augur well for the future of the country, the better for us.

    Our leaders must set aside personal aggrandizement and put the nation’s future (youths) first in every policy they make. The youths must also rise up to the challenge. Let there be a stop to demand of a better future. We have to be part it.

     

    Juwonlo, student of Agriculture, OAU

  • Obiano’s aide rallies youths

    Obiano’s aide rallies youths

    It is clear that Anambra State Governor Mr Willie Obiano wants youths in the state to play a major role in peacemaking. The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation, Comrade Chinedu Obidigwe has been meeting with youth groups and student unions in the state, urging them to be good ambassadors of the state by promoting peace and refraining from crime and violence.

    Obidigwe met with a wide range of the state youths including members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Anambra State branch, and Anambra Youths Assembly shortly after being appointed by Obiano.

    He wants a stop to the numerous fights and destruction going on in parts of the state especially parks at Obosi, Onitsha and environs, and exhibit characters that will attract investors rather than scare them away.

    Obidigwe, a former council chairman and students’ union activist, advised youths and students to stay away from frivolities and desist from crime by engaging in genuine undertakings in the interest of the state.

    He urged the youths to desist from social vices which, he pointed out, they are developing an escapist appetite for, adding that they should be agents of peace and unity rather than destabilisation.

    Obidigwe said: “Our youths should engage in attitudinal advocacy and help us turn around the rush to crime and all kinds of social vices that it appears our youths are eager learning. They should be peace advocates and shun being used to destabilize the system especially now that Governor Willie Obiano is stepping on the strong foundation  laid by former Governor, Mr Peter Obi.

    “And youth empowerment is dear to the new administration of Governor Obiano to continue from where Obi stopped and what he needed to excel for the benefits of the youths is the peace initiatives of the youths and not war and violence posture  many have tried to paint our youths to be.

    “If there is peace, our youths would be the first to get the dividends of democracy and that would help in stabilizing the polity.”

  • Group commends NDDC, Turner on youth empowerment

    A Niger Delta group, Women Initiatives for Values Empowerment (WIVES), has commended the Managing Director and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for their efforts towards sustainable peace in the region.

    The National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Tonbra Kasikoro, the group said the recent Niger Delta Conference on Ethics, Values and Re-orientation organised by the commission was the right steps towards the peace and youth development in the region.

    Kasiboro made the remark during the programme organised by the Special Assistant to the MD on Youths, Sports, Culture, Conflict Resolution and Women Affairs, Mr. George Turner.

    She said: “I want to commend Barrister Turner on the success of the conference as well as the youths for their patience and willingness to engage in meaningful deliberation geared towards bettering the lives of the people toward sustainable development.

    “While WIVES understands and appreciates that although development is a process, we also know that it can add beauty and values to the existence of humanity when properly managed.

    “It is a process that when given the necessary cooperation it yields the needed changes we all craved for security wise, but there is need for more engagement of our youth.”

    Meanwhile, the WIVES Coordinator has urged youths of the region to remain focussed and committed to the development of the region.

    “We must shun divisive tendencies, criminality and all acts capable of portraying the region in bad light. It is in our interest for the Niger Delta region to move on at the pace that will ensure peace and development.

    “That is why WIVES is appreciative the effort of the SA to MD for his efforts in this regards. The conference was apt and timely in this critical time in our lives. There is need for reorientation and value change,” she added.

    She charged the NDDC management to always find ways to engage the youth for purposeful development in the region in line with the President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision for the people.

  • Youth NGOs to launch Thumb It Right campaign

    Youths are to be mobilised to observe the Permanent Voters Card distribution and the Continous Voters Registration  in Ekiti and Osun states ahead of the elections in the states this year.

    The mobilization is to be done by three NGOs, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement(YIAGA), Youth Alliance on Constitution and Electoral Reform(YACORE) and  Partners for Electoral Reforms(PER) in conjunction with the  United Nations Development Program.

    The exercise is meant to educate citizens,’ especially young people on their right to register during the continuous voters’ registration process and vote during the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti & Osun states this year and the 2015 general elections.

    It will also develop the capacity of youth CSOs in the South West on practical approaches for monitoring the distribution of the permanent voters card (PVC) and the continuous voters registration (CVR) in Ekiti and Osun states.

    The CSOs will deploy offline and online tools to undertake this initiative which is predicated on the outcomes of the National Youth Conference on the Roadmap to the 2015 elections hosted by YIAGA, YACORE & UNDP/DGD in January 2014.

    INEC is statutorily mandated under the 1999 constitution and 2010 Electoral Act to conduct voter and civic education but due to Nigeria’s huge population and the election budget the commission has not been able to sufficiently perform this task.

    It was reported in 2011 based on official election results released by INEC during the elections that over one million votes were rejected as invalid ballot in the Presidential election.

    Similarly, 16,988 votes out of 442,242 votes cast were declared invalid in the recent Anambra governorship election. It was also reported by INEC that the Anambra election recorded an abysmal 26.3% voter turnout signaling voter apathy.

    The PVC exercise will commence in Ekiti and Osun States on the 7th -9th of March while the CVR start from the 12th -19th of March. Participants are expected to contribute their own quota to democracy by sensitising citizens on the advantages of active participation in the electoral process.

    At the end of this exercise, YACORE, YIAGA and PER is expected to have mobolized 10 000 youth voters to register and vote rightly.

  • An Ijaw youth’s lamentation

    An Ijaw youth’s lamentation

    Forget my name, which gives away my ethnic stock. For this moment, I am Ijaw and will speak like one and hope I am convincing enough. You can call me Oronto. And if you choose you can add Douglas after my adopted first name. This is my story:

    For the first thirteen years of my life, I knew nothing like fast-moving cars. Houses, in my own definition, were nothing palatial. They were just somewhere to put our heads. Luxury was eating plenty of sea foods. We knew nothing of exotic holidays. For us in the creeks, holidays meant helping our mothers hawk. And school was where we went without shoes. Life, indeed, was beautiful.

    But it all began to change for me when an uncle came and said it was time I had a change of environment. And to Port Harcourt he brought me. I was shocked to see storey buildings. I marveled at fast-moving cars. I was flabbergasted by the architectural masterpieces they call homes. For days, I could not sleep in the room my uncle, who had no children at that time, gave me in his three-bedroom apartment. The room was too good for what I had been used to.

    I got along with time. Courtesy of my uncle, I went to secondary school and university. My brilliance was there for all to see, but it was not good enough to get me a job. It was while searching for a job that I got involved in ethnic politics. I became a member of the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), a body formed to champion the cause of the youth from my ethnic stock.

    It was not long after I became part of IYC that one of us from Ijawland, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who was deputy to former Governor Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha and deputy to the late Umar Musa Yar’Adua, was catapulted by fate to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was a dream I am sure many of us from Ijawland and even Southsouth never really thought could become a reality. It was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. If not, we will still be waiting till His kingdom comes to smell the Presidency of this nation, whose three main ethnic groups, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo (to a little extent), determine the fate of the rest of us.

    It was celebration time for us in Ijawland. It was an opportunity we were sure would take a long time before coming again. So, when it was time for the 2011 elections, we rallied behind our brother to get elected. Though our brother has not officially indicated interest in seeking a second term of office, we are already warming up and ready to do battle with anyone who wants to throw spanner in the works.

    Unfortunately, we are also doing battles with ourselves in Ijawland. Since last October, the IYC has become polarised. Efforts to mend the fences have proved abortive. The two parts are holding tenaciously to their positions and I am afraid we may not get it before the 2015 election whistle is blown. It is more painful that this is happening at a time our brother needs us more. The enemies our brother had in 2011 were ones we were able to defeat with less stress. I am afraid we may not have that kind of luxury this time around. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the vehicle which drove our brother to Aso Rock, is in bad shape. Five of the governors elected on its platform, 35 members of the House of Representatives and 11 senators have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has control of the Southwest, some chunk of the North and two states in our Southsouth. You can appreciate my fears. This is not the time for us to be disunited and it is not a time for some of us to just threaten others that our brother must be re-elected. We must understand that this is a democratic government. What we are going to have in 2015 is election and not selection. So, we have to put our house in order, convince other regions to support us and then hope for victory. Threats cannot do it. We can’t go it alone. We also can’t convince anybody when we too are divided.

    What pains me the more is that our elders have also lost our respect. Their attempt to mediate has been rejected. We have even dragged the court into our matter. It is supposed to be a family affair, which we should resolve in the house. Now we have called the court to help solve a quarrel between brothers.

    I see violence looming. Already, opposing sides are issuing threats. While one is planning to take to the streets to protest the dissolution of the IYC executive, another is planning to also take to the same streets to settle the matter with fists and weapons.

    Now that the elders have been unable to calm frayed nerves, maybe it is time our brother intervened. Brother Ebele cannot keep quiet any longer. But I can understand his dilemma. With the way Hurricane APC is bulldozing everywhere, the president’s hands must be full indeed.

    I beg all of us to stop this in-fighting and reflect on our situation. Let’s look at our Niger Delta. So blessed. Yet so cursed. We have all the oil and still our people ranked among some of the poorest in the world. Some of the most prosperous companies in the world operate on our land, yet prosperity is far from us. At times, I wonder if some evil spirits are not after us, ready at every excuse to confuse us and make us stay in the backwater forever. I reject it in Jesus’ name like the Christians are wont to say.

    We must really watch it. Unity will help us in this trying time. I also beg whoever is hiding undercover to fuel the IYC crisis to stop it now. All we need is unity. Our organisation is not a political party. So, politicians should leave us alone. I also beg some of our brothers to stop threatening to cripple the country if our brother does not win a second term. We should work for it and not scare our way into it.

    Opening our mouth wide and talking as if we have the monopoly of violence will not help us. It will only worsen our situation. There are youths in the North, whose capacity for violence is the sort that has shocked many, even beyond our shores. They are ready to die in order to kill. We have not reached that level. So, we need to be careful about issuing threats.

  • Skills for 160 youths 

    Skills for 160 youths 

    About 160 unemployed youths in Imo State have benefited from a special empowerment programme sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives Hon Emeka Ihedioha, in partnership with the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), through the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES).

    The Deputy Speaker disclosed that the empowerment programme was captured in the 2013 budget for the people of his constituency through the Training and Research Development Programme.

    He noted that he went beyond the Federal Government’s approved number of 100 youths to train 160 instead as a result of his burning desire to tackle challenges of youth unemployment in the country.

    The beneficiaries who were drawn from across the entire youth organisations in the state, participated in a four-day training programme where they were taught paint production, cement production and disinfectant and air freshener production, among other vocations.

    Speaking at the end of the programme, Ihedioha explained that he personally took up the challenge to ensure that the training and resource development for youths in the state were adequately  accommodated in the country’s 2013 budget.

    He further said the idea to equip the youth with vocational skills is a departure from the age long but erroneous tradition of sharing money to the youth instead of giving them the necessary training that will give them meaningful livelihood.

    “I will continue to provide the youth in Imo State the required training that will equip them to face the challenges of life. The beneficiaries are not only from my constituency but also from the entire state. This is because I believe that if the youth are given means of livelihood, the larger society will be better for it. It is not just enough to share money to them,” he said.

    Ihedioha challenged the country’s universities to build technologies to ensure an increase in the production of manpower, stressing that this would impact positively on the lives of the people by improving labour and creating jobs for most families.

    He commended the  management of the institution for accepting to host the training programme which he said is part of his constituency projects.

    The Vice-Chancellor of FUTO, Prof. Cyril Chigozie Asiabaka commended Ihedioha for his innovation which he said ”would not only give the youth fish but would also teach them how to fish.”

    Prof. Asiabaka disclosed that all programmes in the institution had been coupled in technology with a well-developed centre for entrepreneurship studies now in place. He said: “If the youth are not empowered, we will run the risk of not resting ourselves. FUTO has been in the business of manpower development for some time now.”

    Also speaking, the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship studies, Prof.  Nathanial Nwaezeaku commended the Deputy Speaker for the initiative which he said had given the graduates a solid footing in life.

    He said the centre has imparted the necessary entrepreneurial skills in the youth during the four-day training which will transform them from job seekers to employers of labour.

    According to him, while the centre had been designed into two divisions, there is abundant expertise resident in the institution and a clear identification of skills that are community friendly.

    He further explained that the youth have been trained in technical and management skills like the production of liquid detergent, disinfectant, odor control and cement production among other vocational skills.

    Officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that also participated in the programme in collaboration with youth leaders in the state conferred on the Deputy Speaker the prestigious award of Commander of Youth Development.

    Clerk of the NANS Senate, Comrade Nnaji Julius K.C and Chairman, Council of Students Union Government (SUG) Presidents in Imo State, Comrade Okereke Godson, explained that the award was in line with their resolution of recognising notable and political icons in the country who had distinguished themselves in the areas of youth development and students’ empowerment.

    “We are happy with your burning desire for the development of Imo youths and students and the commander of Youth Development Award is designed by NANS Senate to appreciate the efforts of our leaders who have excelled in the areas of youth development and students’ empowerment. The award is issued to the Deputy Speaker because of his numerous youth programmes which the students have benefited most.

    They listed such programmes to include Post-graduate training programmes for 17 engineering graduates from Imo State at the Scientific Engineering Development Institute Enugu, agro-training and empowerment programmes for 700 women and youths in Imo State with the National Roots Crop Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, skill acquisition training and empowerment programme for 500 youths in Imo State with NCE, attraction of advanced digital access for tertiary institutions (ADAPTI) for the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, as well as skill acquisition for Imo youths in different fields at the National Metallurgical Training Institute Onitsha.

    Others were skill acquisition training in fish production and feed making for women and youths in Imo, advanced digital access for tertiary institutions for the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education Owerri with the provision of 110 laptop computers with e-learning facilities, provision of 100 pieces of classmates and V-Sat-based internet access with generator at Mbaise Secondary School Aboh Mbaise.

    The students’ union leaders who also drew attention to the provision of 100 pieces classmate computers and V-Sat-based internet access with generator at Okpala Secondary School and construction and furnishing of youth development centre at Aboh Mbaise, pleaded with Ihedioha to sustain his spirit of generosity and magnanimity which earned him the award for the betterment of mankind.