BY FIDELIS EGUGBO/JOSHUA ERUBAMI
Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that to tackle the huge challenge of unemployment in the state and to succeed in the quest of bringing prosperity to all Deltans, all unemployed graduates must actively play their role, noting that the solution to the challenge cannot be found outside the unemployed.
Governor Okowa also charged all unemployed graduates to embrace entrepreneurship, not primarily with the aim of making brisk wealth, rather the need for value creation, which he said, was the only means to sustainable development.
In his remark during the premier conference of the Nigerian National Union of Unemployed Graduates (NNUUG), Delta State wing held at the Express Hope Christian Centre, Asaba, Okowa averred that the hydra-headed socio-economic challenge of unemployment is on a national scale with multidimensional problems which have, over the years, struggled to defy possible solutions.
The governor, who was represented by the Delta State Chief Job Creation Officer, Professor Eric Eboh, opined that the challenges of unemployment can be viewed from both its demand and supply sides.
On the demand side, Okowa explained that there is a structural inadequacy in the country such that the economy is growing but jobs are not being created commensurate with the growth of the economy”.
to the supply side, the governor faulted the educational system for not being able to respond to the needs of the society and the economy. He disclosed that the National Bureau of Statistics reveals that one out of every four unemployed cannot find job, saying, however, that the Nigerian situation is not the absence of job opportunities rather, it is lack of job-ready skills on the part of the job seekers.
He advised the hundreds of youths, who gathered at the event, which theme was, “Graduates for National Development”, to be observant enough to identify the major demands in the market and, then, devise a means to innovate them so as to create values for the consumers.
His words: “do not be deceived that entrepreneurship is not about making money. Leadership by product is not about money-making because when you have good products, money follows: it is a principle that applies in all professions.
“I want you to go home with this admonition of trying to create value. Look at your environment and identify the missing gap which needs to be filled. When you fill that gap, you will create goods and services that will be demanded by people; you will create revenue for the state, generate income for yourself and create jobs for others. That is how societies are built and, anything other than that is not sustainable”.
He continued that his administration is willing to accept and integrate worthy development proposals from any Deltan. “If you have any entrepreneurial proposal that is feasible, particularly the one that people can come together to execute as group, put it in writing and, then, come to discuss it with us at the office of the chief job creation officer of the state”, added Okowa, who was invested with the honour of friendliness with the unemployed in Delta state.
The governor, who reiterated that job creation was central to his campaign promises, enjoined the unemployed graduates to see their current situation as a spring board to a brighter future. Consequently, he added, the philosophy behind the SMART agenda is to equip all job seekers with the requisite skills, resources and the right orientation to be more productively engaged and self employed.
To this end, he continued, the government has rolled out six jobs creation schemes which are geared towards creating the needed jobs and wealth for all Deltans.
Earlier, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Delta State University, Abraka, Prof. Austine Anigala, in a lecture entitled: “Factors Required to be a Graduate that can Assist in Nation-Building”, identified the celebration of excellence, promotion of patriotism and restructuring of the educational curriculum, among others, as the urgent steps that will rejuvenate the unemployed citizen.
He stressed that “graduates need to be persuaded to pull off the garment of pessimism and be made to re-affirm their belief in the Nigerian project”, adding that “they should be properly harnessed and coordinated unto productive ends, without which, nation-building would be a speculative mirage”.
In his address, the National Patron of NNUUG, Bishop Greatman Nmalagu, described an unemployed graduate as “a male or female who had gone through the due process of education, studied at the higher institution either trained academically or skillfully, yet after graduation had not got job directly or indirectly”.
Bishop Nmalagu believed that the spate of violence in the country was borne out of the challenge of unemployment among the youths, noting that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.
Meanwhile, to fast track the completion of Sapele Market, Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said the sum of four hundred million naira has been released to the contractor handling the project.
The Governor dropped the hint yesterday when members of Ukoko R’Ivie R’Urhobo, which is the umbrella body of government recognised traditional rulers from Delta Central Senatorial district, paid him a visit at the Government House, Asaba.
Governor Okowa stated that allocation of the market stores would be based on preference to the original traders in the market who had stores that were destroyed for the reconstruction work to take place.
He assured the traders and concerned stakeholders of fairness and justice in the allocation of the stores, stating that he will ensure close monitoring of the construction process for speedy completion of the project.
“It is an EXCO decision that the original store owners will be the first to be allocated stores while the rest will be by ballot. If this agreement is not adhered to, it will be unfair and unjust to those owners, or is it because an original store owner does not have the political clout so she cannot get a store? We believe in fairness and we must adhere to it”, he said, assuring, “due process must be followed in allocating the stores.”
The Governor also informed the traditional rulers that interviews for the empowerment programmes of his administration would commence next week and commended them for the roles they played during the collection and submission of forms by applicants for the programmes.
He stated that the programmes would last for six months and after six months; another batch of Deltans would be empowered, assuring that fairness, justice and equity would be the guiding principles of his administration.
Earlier, the Chairman of Ukoko R’Ivie R’Urhobo, HRM Ovie, R. L. Ogbon, the Ogoni-Oghoro I, the Owhorode of Olomu Kingdom said traditional rulers from Delta Central Senatorial district were happy that Governor Okowa has successfully assumed office.
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