Ebonyi council empowers youths with N10m

Over the years, youth restive­ness has been the order of the day in the Okposi Com­munity in Ohaozara Local Government area of Ebonyi State. Here, criminal activities like kidnap­ping, robbery, cultism, violence and destruction of property worth mil­lions of naira have always held sway.

Recently, a renowned journalist, Nze Magnus Eze, was appointed Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre by the state governor, Chief Martin Elechi. And he has since put machinery in motion to checkmate the activities of the youths and put a stop to the ugly trend.
In a bid to curtail youth restiveness and reduce youth unemployment in Okposi Community, 35 youths have been empowered through various skill acquisition programmes worth N10 million by the Okposi Development Centre.
The first batch of the programme, which is in partnership with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), had earlier empowered over 768 youths from the development centre.
Eze, in his remarks during the formal inauguration of the youth capacity building and empowerment programme, said he was committed to extending the frontiers of result-based governance as represented by the administration of Governor Elechi.
“Therefore, in furtherance of the Chief Martin Elechi administration’s commitment to wealth creation and in a bid to mitigate our recent history where youth restiveness ravaged the community, Okposi Development Centre is today officially instituting a well-mapped out skill acquisition programme for the youths.”
He said he was determined to confront the challenges of youth unemployment within the limit of available resources.
Eze said the centre would also resettle each trainee on successful completion of the training with a minimum grant of N100, 000.00 or its equivalent in tools and equipment, saying that such support would enable the beneficiaries to start small businesses to be able to create wealth and employment opportunities.
The coordinator said that while the training lasted, the trainees would be entitled to monthly stipends ranging from N5, 000 to N10, 000, stressing that the programme would cost the Development Centre about N10 Million in a period of 12 months.
He recalled that three persons who were trained through the partnership with the NDE in May were already doing well for themselves while 10 other persons who commenced in August were currently undergoing similar training.
The coordinator also said that the 10 beneficiaries of the partnership with NDE, comprising six males and four females were being trained in welding, aluminium fabrication, printing, catering, auto electrical and electrical installation.
“We are totally averse to doling out handouts to the youths in the name of youth empowerment. Instead, we strongly believe that the best way to go in this circumstance is the Chinese approach of ‘teaching a child how to fish, so that he could go fishing by himself.’
“This noble path is the most ideal; it does not only engender self-reliance, but is sustainable. Our target in the Youth Capacity Building and Empowerment Programme is that at least 100 youths from Okposi Development Centre would be trained and fully equipped and empowered before the end of Governor Martin Elechi’s administration,” he said.
Eze apologized to the numerous beneficiaries of the monthly handouts dispensed by his predecessor in the name of poverty alleviation; which he stopped on assumption of office, saying that some of them were not even from the development centre.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Rural Development in the state, Mr. Celestine Nwali was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. P.C.I Umoke. He expressed happiness over the empowerment of the youths.
“I am particularly thrilled by what I have seen today. That a development centre is embarking on this kind of laudable programme to empower our youths and remove them from the streets is quite commendable. It is very auspicious because the coordinator understood that the white collar jobs are nowhere to be found; hence he has packaged this programme to engender self-reliance and create wealth amongst the youths of Okposi,” Umoke stated.
He said that the programme was timely due to the youth’s crisis that was recently witnessed in the area.
“There is a popular saying that an idle man is the devil’s workshop. So, I believe that the beneficiaries of this programme would not be tools for any form of social vices again in life.
“As for the trainees, I charge you to take this programme very seriously because your life and future depends on it. You are lucky to have a man who thinks deeply about your well-being. With the thorough manner the programme is packed, involving the NDE and a financial institution like First Bank, I have no doubt that it would bear good result.
“We are prepared to partner with the NDE at a larger scale to create jobs and wealth for our people. The ministry will give you any kind of assistance you may require because this is not a small project. Please don’t hesitate to run to us in case you need any assistance,” Umoke stated.
The Coordinator of NDE in the state, Mrs. Ngozi Ihenacho, said the NDE had found a good partner in the Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre.
She said: “I must confess that the coordinator has uncommon passion for his people, and that is why we are partnering with the development centre to create jobs and empower the youth of the area. So far, at least 15 youths from this development centre are benefiting from our various training programmes.
“With what I have seen today, we will continue to assist the development centre in training and empowering the youths. We will always consider your area in any opportunities we have.
I charge the trainees to be very committed and ensure that they do not toy with this golden opportunity you have offered them.
“My advice is that in resettling them, upon the successful completion of the programme, please do not give them cash. Our experience is that when you give trainees cash, it is usually subject to misuse. So, in resettling them, provide them with tools and equipment. Don’t give cash to them.”
Some of the beneficiaries commended the coordinator, Mr. Eze for the gesture, promising that they would utilize the opportunity by paying attention and learning the skills for their own benefit.
They noted that the coordinator had wipe their tears by engaging them in skill acquisition which they said would make them to be self-reliant after the completion of their programme. They enthused that social vices and hunger had become a thing f the past in their lives.