Okowa Declares ‘War’ against Unemployment

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has, in a special Independence Day message in Asaba, called for a united front to tackle the problem of unemployment in Nigeria, describing it as alarming but not a justification for armed robbery, ransom kidnapping, fraud and other vices.

The governor noted that Nigerians must come to grips with the reality that government is limited in its capacity to provide jobs for the growing population of jobless youths in the country, saying the need to address the challenge led to the commitment of his administration to various job creation and empowerment schemes since 2015.

He added that all hands must be on deck to defend the country’s democracy as the best form of government, charging Deltans and Nigerians at large to refuse to be driven by primordial interests, ethnic, sectional and religious division in order to reduce insecurity and regional tension in the country.

Addressing the people at the Cenotaph Asaba, Okowa said: ‘’The issue of unemployment especially among our youths has reached alarming proportions. Previously, federal government held a dominant position with the state economy as a major employer of labour and producer of goods and services.

‘’Since opportunities for direct employment in the public sector are limited, unemployment has been on the increase and has become an issue of great concern. This is why early in the life of this administration, energy was directed towards creating opportunity that will improve quality of life for Deltans by job and wealth creation through skills acquisition.

“No doubt, the skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development is a life changing model. The philosophy here is to create a pool of active players in the establishment of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs),” he said.

The governor added: ‘’So far, we have laid the foundation for a critical mass of skills for entrepreneurship and business development. Over 20,000 persons benefited from our flagship Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) and similar programmes undertaken by the Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Commerce and Industry, Women Affairs, including Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency.

‘’My sincere appeal to beneficiaries is to avoid selling off the empowerment tools handed over to them. Such an act defeats the purpose of creating a group of determined SME operators who will turn the state’s and country’s economies around. It is expected that the progress they make can and should be the envy of those who opt for white collar jobs.

‘’Progress is deficient in a society that cannot feed itself, so we need to go back to the land but this cannot be done by government alone. It is on this basis that the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) has been restructured into Delta Agricultural and Rural Development Authority. We are making conscious efforts to revamp and revitalise the agricultural sector and setting up related activities to absorb the teeming number of the unemployed youths in our midst.”

According to him, ‘’Various opportunities have been opened by the state government, the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme and other agencies to encourage farmers at all levels. I urge our people to key into these avenues for the expansion of their production.

‘’However, the issue of unemployment among our youths should not be a reason for moral decadence, armed robbery, indiscipline and kidnapping, which are becoming worrisome across the country. Let me make it abundantly clear that as much as we believe that kidnapping and moral decadence among our youths could be manifestations of the prevailing economic situation in the country, we cannot fold our arms and allow youths to abandon the time honoured virtues, which constitute a source of pride and uniqueness to our people.

“More than ever before, there is the dire need for all patriots to join hands to check these manifestations of societal decay in the nation to avoid bequeathing to our children, a bleak future.”