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Tag: youths

  • Ijaw youths seek legalisation of ‘bush’ refineries

    Ijaw youths seek legalisation of ‘bush’ refineries

    IJaw youths want ‘bush’ refineries legalised. The youths represented by the President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, spoke at the Glasgow Caledonia University on the invitation of the Africa Future Matters (AFM).

    They also desire lasting solutions to the myriads of economic and political issues bedeviling the Niger Delta.

    Eradiri used the Glasgow opportunity, to tell the world the major headaches of the Niger Delta, a region that almost single-handedly finances the Nigerian economy. In fact, Eradiri stood tall among intellectual experts and reputable scholars who listened to him as he delivered the keynote address that touched all aspects of the Niger Delta issues.

    Among other issues, his address dwelt more on the environmental degradation of the region arising from activities of persons who try to crudely refine crude oil for commercial motives.

    He told the world that criminalizing ownership of what he described as bush or local refineries was counterproductive. To harness the benefits of ingenuity, intellectual capacity and skill associated with the establishment and ownership of such ventures, Eradiri asked Nigeria to decriminalize bush refineries.

    He said the Federal Government’s approach of treating persons linked to such refineries as criminals has exacerbated the problems posed by bush refineries such as ecological degradation, loss of revenue, incessant vandalism of oil infrastructure, health hazards and emergence of armed gangs.

    “Government must decriminalize the act of crude refining techniques and local oil refining. This will help to increase the current abysmal refining capacity in the country and permanently solve the problems of scarcity of refined crude oil products currently wrecking havoc in the country’s economy.

    “Besides, decriminalizing the practice will help to create jobs for the youths and finally put paid to the problems of restiveness and militancy in the region. It will also stop all forms of vandalism thereby increasing the revenue of the government”, he argued.

    To decriminalize the practice, he said the government must establish a legal framework to regulate the operations of bush refineries. He said the regulation must include the framework for sourcing crude, quality control and ecological maintenance.

    He said: “Government should set up local refiners into cooperatives in order to control their activities. By so doing, the government will be in control of the registered community cooperatives which must ensure that their activities are within the regulated practice”.

    Eradiri argued that currently most of the refined petroleum products sold in filling stations across the country are sourced from bush refineries. He said such products even find their ways to the Aso Rock Villa and are unknowingly used by the Presidency.

    “I challenge the Presidency to carry out a forensic examination of refined petroleum products used in the Aso Rock Villa to ascertain my claims. There is no gainsaying that bush refiners have always come to our rescue especially in time of scarcity and if we legalize the practice it will not just create jobs, it will bring down the prices of petroleum products in the country”, he said.

    He added: “The government should study the ingenuity of local technology involved in the process of bush refineries and improve upon it. This will help in our drive to use local technologies in solving our problems.

    “We insist that legalizing bush refineries will safeguard the environment, increase revenue to government, create jobs, reduce crime and motivate communities to take ownership of oil infrastructure and protect it from vandalism”.

    Besides local refineries, another issue that stole the attention of the Ijaw Leader is the clean-up of environment negatively impacted by oil exploration and exploitation. Eradiri welcomed the move by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to clean Ogoniland.

    But he said: “Ogoni clean-up must be done by a globally known companies in accordance with international standard. It should act as a catalyst to the entire Niger Delta clean-up because cleaning Ogoni without cleaning other parts of the Niger Delta would be an exercise in futility.

    “We insist that the cleaning must not be politicized. We have it on good authority that many unknown companies are lobbying to get the contracts for political considerations. Government should not allow such persons to derail its genuine intentions to clean-up the Niger Delta region”.

    Eradiri further drew global attention on some policies and strategies that had stifled the development of the region. He said the marginalisation and exclusion of the people from the ownership of assets and lack of access to social amenities defined poverty in the region.

    He said: “It is only if and when development strategies address these factors holistically that the possibility of alleviating poverty and reducing vulnerability exists. There should be a people-centred development agenda founded in the region’s natural and human capital.

    “Nigeria needs to change the distribution of revenue in order to reverse poverty in the Niger Delta, a region that has seen few gains from the nation’s 50 years of oil production.

    “The people of the oil-bearing communities should no longer experience the gross social infrastructural neglect, poverty, ecological catastrophes and other deprivations they face deity their contributions to the development of Nigeria”.

  • Foundation to help youths

    Speakers and discussants at the annual Younis Olatunji Basorun memorial lecture have agreed that parents, teachers and religious leaders have critical roles to play in channeling the energy of youths for national growth.

    They also underscored the need for youths to gain entrepreneurial skills early so they can be financially independent.

    The lecture with the theme: “Channeling the Energy of our Youths towards a New National Rebirth“, was organised by the Younis Olatunji Basorun Education Foundation (YOBEF).

    Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Nosiru Kekere-Ekun, Chief Guest of Honour and  National President, Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, and the Baba Adinni of Lagos, Sheikh Hafeez Abou, all urged parents to guide their wards towards national rebirth.

    Lead Speaker, and former Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Lateef Hussain, said parents and leaders should first ask themselves if they are morally upright to impart moral training to their wards.

    To be morally upright, Hussain said, parents should practise what they preach as young ones are meant to be the reflections of their parents in the society.

    The State Missioner of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Imam Zakariyah Muhammed Thanni, said a nation would be great if its youths are put on the right path early.

    He advocated a mentoring programme for youths and counselled that hard work, not the quest for quick money, pays later in life.

    The Managing Director, Glenwood Property Development Company, Mrs. Noimot Olatunji, said good role models could help youths to be focused on the right path for their lives.

    She cited poor quality education, population explosion, and government’s inefficiencies as some of the challenges facing the youths.

    Five pupils got bursaries to cater for their academics throughout their secondary education at the event.

    They were: Osoko Hiqmot and Adefolu Sumayyah of Ansar-Ud-Deen College, Isolo; Abdul lateef Balikis, (Ansar-Ud-Deen Comprehensive High School, Okota; Isiaq Mistura (Estate Senior High School, Ilupeju), and Mohammed Rasaq (Ejigbo Senior High School, Ejigbo, Lagos).

    The Chairman, Governing Board of YOBEF, Alhaji Abayomi Aiyepola, said the vision of the foundation – to promote qualitative education among Nigerians – was at the core of the event.?

    Aiyepola said the annual lecture is organised to fulfil one of the foundations goal, others being providing scholarship for indigent students at all levels, as well as promoting and funding research.

  • 20 injured as youths cause mayhem in Anambra

    20 injured as youths cause mayhem in Anambra

    No fewer than 20 persons were injured while 13 buildings and five vehicles were destroyed when rival youth groups engaged in supremacy battle in Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    One of the rival groups protested the introduction of another youth movement, called Obiano Youth Vanguard by the state government.

    The angry youths were quoted as saying that they did not want another youth movement in the community.

    The youths said it was not possible that two movements should exist in Obosi at the same time and called on the Anambra state Governor Chief Willie Obiano to disband the newly introduced Chief Willie Obiano Youth Vanguard.

    Obiano’s youth vanguard was allegedly headed by Chimezie Chukwurah with immediate effect, in the interest of peace in Obosi.

    The Nation gathered Tuesday that members of Obosi Youths Movement swooped on their rival group when they were having a celebration meeting over the appointment of Chimezie Chukwurah as the Chairman of Obiano Youth Vanguard in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state.

    The attackers were said to have arrived at the scene with dangerous weapons, including guns, matchets and axes.

    Not satisfied with the situation, they thereafter moved to the houses of their arrival group members for further assault.

    Affected in the damages was the house of the President- General, PG, of the community, Chief Igbokwubili Dan Chimezie.

    In his reaction, the President General of the Town Union Chief Igbokwubili Dan Chimezie said, “You can see how they used machetes on my gate, my wife’s shop, the security lights and part of my residential building.

    “The youths said they don’t want parallel youth movement, that only the one which is under the control of the monarch will function.”

    Another community leader and retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, Chief Godfrey Emeka Okeke said, “I thank God that the rival group did not revenge, it would have been worse”

    Speaking from their hospital beds, Nonso Nwangwu, Chijioke Ejindu, Chukwuebuka Osadebe and Anene Maduka who had machete cuts on their heads, legs, hands, waist and chest stated that the Obosi land management committee council, otherwise called Obosi Youths took them by surprise.

    Ngozi Afoagu and Mrs. Ngozi Okeke narrated their ordeal and how their houses were touched adding that the only solution to the crisis was peace.

     

  • Niger youths get N3.5m NDE grant

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Niger State has given N3.75 million to 25 youths trained in gardening and animal husbandry.

    The state NDE Coordinator, Mr Abdullahi Babamini Mohammed, an engineer, who released the information, said that each of the 25 youths was given N150,000 each to enable them start up their own farms.

    According to him, the Directorate last year trained 1000 youths in its four core programmes in 2015 adding that more will be trained this year to reduce the high rate of unemployed youths in the state.

    Mohammed who lamented on the unavailability of soft loans for trainees called on the federal government and philanthropists to provide soft loans to enable these trainees start up their own businesses.

    “There are a lot of youths who do not maximize the knowledge they get. This is one of our challenges. We need to equip them to work. NDE can only resettle 10 per cent of the population we train. We want the state government and other philanthropists to come to our aid in resettling the trainees by providing them with soft loans and connect them to SMEs and cooperatives.”

    He then stated that the Directorate is currently giving coaching lessons to 48 secondary school graduates who failed their WAEC and NECO last year giving them a second chance to make their papers.

    He said that this will give them an opportunity to pass the examination with flying colors this year adding that the Directorate was encouraged to conduct the coaching classes due to the 80 per cent success it recorded in the pilot scheme last year.

    “The training which is very intensive is free of charge and has skilled hands to ensure that these youths do not fail these examinations again.”

  • Youths in Boko Haram region

    SIR; The March edition of the monthly situation report by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and International Organization for Migration (IMO) indicates that there are seven million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Nigeria, including 1.9 million displaced by the Boko Haram conflict. Ninety-two percent of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being hosted by low-income host communities, bringing already-stretched services and resources under increased pressure. The armed conflict has directly affected four states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Gombe. The current humanitarian response covers all four states, with Borno State being the most affected and the epicentre of military operations and displacement of civilians. Thus, these areas have the largest number of young people affected by the war. These young people are either forcefully indoctrinated, killed, forced out of schools; kidnapped as sex slaves; their local businesses and farm lands destroyed; separated from their relatives (parents); orphaned or their thought line affected by trauma of wars and poverty.

    Though, some reports have shown that recruitment of young people is via conscription, abduction or coercion, it is the lack of opportunities in their communities, poverty and illiteracy that most often leads young people into a life of violence and terrorism.

    As peace is gradually returning to some of these areas and the government is planning on how to smoothly return IDPs to liberated areas, the role of young people is critical in sustaining the fragile peace and long-term stability. Designing projects and programmes for community protection and avoiding future conflict in these communities cannot be successful without involving young people.

    Projects should be carefully-designed in such a way that there is a strong synergy between affected states and the federal government, while also involving donor agencies and NGOs in the areas of funding, monitoring and evaluation.

    Young people in the Boko Haram war ravaged zones are strategic figures in efforts to reconstruct, rehabilitate and resettle their communities. A well-planned programme for them will fast-track the healing of the scars of war, help to restore basic infrastructure and local economies, and return these communities to their pre-war or even better conditions. However, collaboration between all the   tiers of government, aid from the international community and the involvement of NGOs both local and international are as well very important in planning for young people in the Boko Haram conflict zone.

     

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

    Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • Unemployed youths likely to suffer depression — Psychiatrist

    Unemployed youths likely to suffer depression — Psychiatrist

    A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Abiodun Adewuya, says unemployed youths in the country are likely to find themselves in a state of depression due to low self-esteem.

    Adewuya, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

    “An unemployed youth is likely to be one, who, when he wakes up in the morning there is nowhere to go.

    “So, the first thing that will be affected will be his motivation.

    “When an unemployed youth has a reduced motivation, what you are likely to have is a reduced self-esteem.

    “So, when you have someone, who has a reduced motivation, leading to reduced self-esteem, these will have a link to reduced interaction, reduction in social lifestyle automatically it leads to depressed mood.

    “Another one will be that for someone, who went to school, studied, got a degree and has not been able to get a job for quite a while, what you expect is a serious disappointment, not just in himself.

    “He can be disappointed in either himself, his family or the society; it will automatically lead to low mood, which can be depression or it can lead him to react negatively against these disappointments.

    “But it is very clear that more than half of people that finish from school stay at home for at least one year before getting any paid job.’’

    The consultant, therefore, spoke of the need for government at all levels to meaningfully engage young people by creating employment opportunities.

    “I think there should be an enabling environment for companies to grow and develop; without that, there will be nowhere to employ people.

    “It is in production lines that you need people to get employed; if you have 10 companies, each of the company will employ 20 people, which means 200 people are already employed.

    “So, you need to have an enabling environment to actually expand the number of companies that invest in Nigeria.

    “How do you do that? You fix the electricity, fix the roads, basic things, you can be so sure that companies will come.

    “So, have a centralised system that everybody can submit their CVs to; we need a strong employment directorate.

    “I do not think we all need to have certificates to work; what I think is that, we should shift our education from basic university base to technical base, which means real handiwork.

    “If you are trying to be a chemical engineer, you must have worked in that field; that is what we really need so that we will not just produce people with certificates who have nothing to do.’’(NAN)

  • Rotary trains 150 youths

    Rotaract Club of Omole Golden in conjunction with Lagos State Community Youth Volunteers (LSCYV) has offered free vocational training skills to 150 youths in Iju Ishaga area of the state.

    The youths undergone training in photography, cinematography, soap making, make up and head gear tying, web designing and blog profitability.

    The club’s  District 9110 Nigeria World Class President, Akani Michael said the gesture was part of Rotary way of assisting its community, nothing  that the vocational skills would enable participants get self employed through the knowledge they have acquired.

    Chairman, District Rotaract Committees, Rotary District 9110 Nigeria, Benedict ‘Okhumale noted that the training was needful following the present state of the economy.

    According to him, the programme is a form of economic empowerment, adding that the skills taught are basic daily needs to humans.

    He said: “A lot of young people are unemployed not because they are not educated but because there are no jobs. A training as this will provide alternative skills to young people with which they can provide social services in their economy and earn extra income for themselves,” he said.

    Olu of Iju Ishaga, Oba Abass Amope Ajibode, urged the youths to be attentive and make good use of whatever they learn.

    LSCYV Zonal Cordinator Olaibi Emmanuel said the training is an opportunity for the youths to be self employed.

  • Boost for Akwa Ibom women’s, youths’, disables’ participation in governance

    Boost for Akwa Ibom women’s, youths’, disables’ participation in governance

    A Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO) under the aegis of ‘Women United for Economic Empowerment’, (an NGO for women economic empowerment) working in partnership with an international Agency in Nigeria, ActionAid Nigeria, has taken further their drive to  increase effective political participation among  women, the youths and the disables in Akwa Ibom State.

    In a two week event titled “Strengthening Citizens Engagement on Electoral Processes” ( SCEEP) in Akwa Ibom State, which took the groups to 18 communities in six local government areas in the State covering the three Senatorial Districts, the groups also officially launched and presented to each of the 18 communities the WUEE/ActionAid Community Development Charter.

    The Programme Officer, Aniema S. Nyong said the collaboration is to last for four years, 2015 to 2018 and  slated to cover a total of 180 communities in 10 States of the Federation.

    She said,”before the 2015 general elections, the Women United for Economic Empowerment (WUEE), an NGO with the mission to promote women/children rights, human development to the rural and urban poor and other vulnerable groups through empowerment programs, stormed randomly selected 18 Akwa Ibom Communities in six local government areas of the state with the project tagged “Strengthening Citizens Engagement on Electoral Processes (SCEEP).

    “With Actionaid Nigeria as implementing collaborator in Akwa Ibom State, WUEE came with the mandate to work with women, youths and persons with disabilities with the objective of not only enhancing citizens participation during electoral processes, but to also promote inclusiveness in the Nigerian electoral system by understanding duties owed communities by politicians and how to go about getting political office holders to fulfil those obligations”, the Program Officer stated.

    She said the programme which was  directed at 18 Akwa Ibom communities drawn from six equally randomly chosen local government areas of Abak, ?Ikono, Nsit Ubium, Uruan, Okobo and Ikot Abasi local Government areas of the state, WUEE, before the 2015 general elections organized training workshop where participants brainstormed to identify challenges communities are confronted with during elections.

    The forum provided the select communities the opportunities to identify and tackle issues mitigating against peaceful elections. Having gathered insight into how to present needs of the communities to politicians seeking votes, the communities were better prepared not only to participate during the election but on how to bring political office holders accountable to the people.

    Since non of the select communities had any written document which identify the people, who they are, their resources, occupation, means of earning a living, income/expenditure, health, number of persons with disabilities, education, origin, constituent families, rulership, community map, social conditions, assets, climate / weather, challenges and other things that could aid easy identification and presentation of their needs and expectations to politicians in return for votes. This therefore provided need for what WUEE tagged “The Village Book”.

    Aniema explained that after the 2015 general election, WUEE and Actionaid once again stormed Akwa Ibom communities earlier educated on electoral processes to brainstorm and come up with the Village Book, tied to the need of individual community.

    To achieve this goal, the NGO said it  selected 15 members from each community for a focused group discussion and were able to come up with the map of such community, resources, challenges, festivals, seasons and what obtains during each season.

    Explaining the rationale behind such investigations, the Executive Director of WUEE, Mrs Iniobong Frank, during the official launching of Community Development Charter (CDC)/Village Book at Abak Local Government Secretariat said the intention was to empower and give insight into the challenges facing communities.

    “It is that empowering process that also equips them with the right skills to bring about solutions to these challenges and subsequently built their active agency as a people and recognising the inherent power they possess as a group to bring about transformation in their respective communities”.

    “The near absence of accountability has often characterized Nigeria’s electoral democracy. The community charter is an attempt ?to initiate an accountability spectrum that transcends the pre-election period into the period of the public officer when elected and in office. Often, promises made by politicians are almost forgotten as soon as they are elected.

    Drawing from the engagement platforms, the Community Charter/Village book has provided a structured approach towards ensuring that the needs of the people are at the core of development interventions at their level of priority”, she said.

    With the community challenges clearly articulated, the Executive Director said it had become very easy for policy makers to key into the people’s development plans and actually use them to engage different levels and tiers of governance and different arms of government.

    The representative of Actionaid Nigeria, Mr. Effiong Obo said the target of the SCEEP project was to discourage citizen’s mentality of merely participating in electoral processes and thereafter leave politicians unaccountable to the people. He expressed optimism that with  the village books, communities were  better equipped to identify their problems and know how best to tackle the most pressing ones, using political office holders.

    The communities of Ikot Iyire Ukpom, Abia Okpo and Eriam Afaha Obong in Abak LGA, Nkwot Ikot Obok Idem, Ukpap Ikot Idang and Nung Ukim Ikot Etefia in Ikono, Ikot Okoro, Ikot Okwot and Ndiya Ikot Ukap in Nsit Ubium, Idu, Nwaniba and Ibiaku in Uruan, Akanawana, Annua and Akai Ndyo in Okobo and Uta Ewa, Ikot Akpaidiang and Atan Ikpe in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area,  took active parts and appreciated WUEE and ActionAid for the opportunity. They saw the relationship with the WUEE/ActionAid as a huge eye opener.

  • Youths and perverted opinions

    SIR: Listening to one of Ben Murray-Bruce’s Common Sense series recently re-affirmed my belief that some of our leaders could fairly be said to be truly passionate about the future of Nigeria. At a time when youths across our nation are in dire need of inspiration, the distinguished Senator has stepped up to the challenge to provide the much-needed platform for true unison and patriotism.

    As Nigerians, I dare say, we have been divided along some stereotyped barriers of religion and ethnicity rather than unity of purpose for too long. Ours is not a case of two different nations intricately at loggerheads by any means, but one of a people who have allowed impish reasoning to fester and divide us in the same land.

    The late Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and educator Chinua Achebe once said “A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership.” Looking at the demographics that form the “educated” class in Nigeria, you would think that the attempted proliferation of perverted opinions fueled by rumors, mistrust and irrationality would collapse from its own weightlessness. That thought is earnestly far from being true as we seem to have youths that are educated yet have their minds massively under the growing control of corrupt and incompetent leaders and their sycophants.  Suggestions and opinions frequently raise war of words among readers.  A peep into the comments section in most media reports or opinions, or facebook pages related to national issues will give you a brilliant description of what I am talking about.

    Since the future of every country greatly rests on the mental direction of her youths, safeguarding their psyche from disunity and control by conspiracy is a fundamental guarantee for a nation’s continual existence and development. The youths might fail Nigeria if we ignore the clarion being sounded by Senator Murray-Bruce and other well-meaning Nigerians.

    Nigeria is a land of many languages and multiple religions. The republic was a dream that began many years ago by many of our founding fathers with the hopes of creating one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. As a result, their efforts in spreading unity across the country gave birth to a language of inter-ethnic and economic communication in almost every region. Today, selfish leaders are championing the dilution of that national identity through politics of religion, regionalism and tribalism.

    Even though unity has always historically been the most difficult challenge to many countries and empires, no people in history have ever survived as a “nation” with separate identities and spreading corrupt opinions within her people. From the Roman Empire, to modern day Syria, history is bursting with failed empires and states that broke up or fell apart due to lack of unity, national identity and solidarity amongst its people.

    If people succumb to in-fighting and continue to do so in the face of falsity, they will never succeed in putting up a joint strategy against the enemy. Falsehood is highly resistant to correction once it gains acceptance and is adopted by an individual.

    It is time for people of integrity, who form the nucleus of our political league, to unite in the struggle for the common cause of the nation regardless of the difference in ideology, political views and religious beliefs, and work collectively for the well-being of our fatherland by calling errant office holders to order.

    We the “participatory followership”, need to maintain a healthy mindset and develop strong sense of reasoning that will help us distinguish between fact and falsehood so as to avoid the chancy consequences of proliferating perverted opinions. If we fail in this, we may one day find ourselves as an educated people robbed of the will power required to pursue unity, liberty and happiness.

     

    • David Dimas,

    Maryland, U.S.A.

  • Banks take financial literacy to youths

    Banks take financial literacy to youths

    The financial inclusion project of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) backed by the Bankers’ Committee is getting the support of many commercial banks. Skye Bank Plc has taken its financial literacy campaign for  youths to Bayelsa and Ogun states to boost their knowledge of savings and investment, writes COLLINS NWEZE

    The Bankers’ Committee is taking financial literacy for the youth very seriously and so are many commercial banks. For Skye Bank Plc, now is the time to promote financial inclusion, especially among the youth and grassroots. The commercial bank last week took its mentoring programme for students in financial literacy to Bayelsa and Ogun states to underscore the imperatives of the savings culture among the beneficiaries.

    The bank’s officials were at Biedomo Premier School, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State where they taught the students the fundamentals of financial planning, investment instruments and the need for imbibing the savings culture at an early stage.

    The bank’s Head of Sustainability and Consumer Protection Department, Mrs. Bola Adesanoye, who took the students through the various teaching sessions, explained the various bank account types.

    She, however, focused on the savings account, being the one suitable for students, in addition to other financial investments such as bonds, insurance, treasury bills, mutual funds, among others and the benefit of each of them. The participants had the opportunity to ask questions after the lecture sessions, with the successful getting various gift items which included children’s books.

    Explaining the rationale for the programme, Adesanoye said the programme was an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) designed to expose the students to saving money in banks. “The purpose is to catch them young and expose them to modern art of banking. The programme is an initiative of the CBN and we are to cover the 36 states. And from the responses of the kids, you would discover that the programme has achieved one of its aims. At least, the kids are now familiar with what we do in the  banking sector,” she said.

    “My appeal goes to the parents. As they are operating different bank accounts, they should impress the habit of savings on their children by opening an account for them. At Skye, we have Rainbow Savings Account which is specifically designed for children.’’

    Speaking further, she said the programme would make the kids money intelligent, disciplined and wise spending. “And in order to put the programme into practical purpose, Skye bank has come up with a special account known as Rainbow Account”, she added.

    While at Biedomo Premier School, Yenagoa, Skye Bank officials took the pupils through the basic principles of savings and the need for the them to start saving at a very early stage. Similarly, students of Leadway School, Divine International Primary School and Amass Primary School, all based in Abeokuta, also benefitted from the bank’s financial training and mentoring programme. The enthusiastic pupils were told to save money given to them so as to build a large pool of funds by the time they become adults.

    The lender, last year took the  training programme to Osogbo. Phobestar Royalty School benefited from the programme, with the pupils all exposed to the essence of savings.

    The Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Segun, disclosed that her joy knew no bound with the decision of CBN to choose her school for the lecture.

    She said the lecture would not only help the students to be money wise but would also prepare them to be financially independent when they graduate from the school.

    The bank had also renovated three blocks of 12 classrooms at Government Day Secondary School, Wuse 11, Abuja, under its ‘School adoption’ and financial literacy mentorship series in line with the CBN ‘Adopt a school project’. The renovated classrooms were handed over to the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Department of Education and the Principal of the school, Joseph Akor, in Abuja last week.

    The bank’s Executive Director, Abuja /Northern Directorate Idris Yakubu, said the lender was committed to creating conducive atmosphere for students and teachers to learn and teach respectively.

    For him, the bank has made investment in corporate social responsibility in the education sector, adding that it would continue to support the school and help it achieve its objective of producing high quality students. He appealed to parents to save for the education of their children as a way of overcoming the challenges of funding their wards’ education, noting that savings ensured that parents were not put under pressure over payment of school fees.

    The Principal of the school, Joseph Akor, praised the lender for its support for the school in the last three years, which has led to a positive transformation of the school. He said the financial literacy mentorship series of the bank and the provision of infrastructure at the school have significantly enhanced the school’s ability to live up to the expectations of both parents and the students in terms of adequate and conducive classrooms.

    Akor appealed to the bank to assist the school to provide sporting infrastructure that will enable the students become good sportsmen and women in the future.

    The Deputy Director, Education, FCT Department of Education, Gama Yakubu, praised Skye Bank for its outstanding contributions to education in the FCT.

    He urged other corporate bodies to emulate the bank by coming to the aid of public schools.