Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has warned the youth in the
state to avoid being used by any individual or group to destabilize the peace
and progress of the state.
The governor, who gave the warning in Ibadan on Monday while
speaking at the grand finale of the 2013 Youth Week celebrations, also urged
them to shun all forms of vices detrimental to their well-being.
He described the youth as great assets to any nation, having
constituted a great percentage of the manpower that drives the socio-economic
development, stressing ``this is why proper attention must be paid to issues
that relate to their growth and well-being’’.
According to the governor, bearing the importance of the youth in
mind, there should be governmental social interventions geared towards their
empowerment and development, in order to make them purposeful, resourceful and
responsible citizens.
This, he said, was why his administration had taken the issue of
youth empowerment seriously from the outset through the provision of immediate
employment opportunities to 20,000 youth in a scheme tagged Youth Empowerment
Scheme of Oyo State (YES-O).
``In spite of its teething challenges, this is still about the
biggest leap forward by any state government in Nigeria in solving the problem
of youth employment in its state,’’ the governor said.
Governor Ajimobi disclosed that some of the YES-O cadets had been
given permanent employments in the State Civil Service, specifically with the
State Road Management Authority (OYRTMA), Ministry of Works and Transport
(Vehicle Inspection Office), BOTAVED and the Auditor-General’s Office among
others.
Besides, he added that some of the YES-O cadets had also undergone
specialized training in different vocations with the Industrial Training Fund
(ITF) such as Auto-tronics, Tie and Dye, Tiling and Interlocking, Food
processing and Graphic Arts.
Some of the cadets who had gone through these vocational trainings,
he said, were being encouraged to form themselves into cooperative groups, with
a view to accessing the state government/Bank of Industry Partnership Fund,
after they must have submitted their considerably good business proposals.
Governor Ajimobi noted that the wealth creation programme organized
by the Agency for Youth Development in 2012 provided opportunity for the
participants to go through Intensive Skill Acquisition Training in Branding and
Customizing, Hair-dressing and Barbing.
This, he said, was apart from the three-month internship provided
the youth by government with qualified trainers after which shops were rented
shops for the participants for one year and necessary equipment provided for
them as starter-packs for their business start-up.
According to the governor, all these efforts are geared towards
making the youth to be gainfully employed after exiting from the YES-O
scheme.
``Our youth must also reciprocate the kind gesture of government
by being law-abiding and obedient to constituted authority. As the adage, which
has become a cliché, says, to whom much is given, much more is expected.
In his address, the Chairman, Oyo State Agency for Youth
Development, Hon. Olugbenga Olayemi charged the youth to give their fullest
support to the Ajimobi administration, stressing that the governor was
determined to transforming, reforming and repositioning the state to an
enviable position, not only in Nigeria but also in Africa.
He charged them to imbibe the spirit of patriotism, volunteerism
and virtues of honesty, hard work and love to fellow human beings.
Also speaking, the Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria,
Mr. Akeem Babalola pledged the support of the youth for the Ajimobi
administration, saying that the youth appreciated the governor’s efforts in
addressing youth unemployment.
