Tackling the Scourge of Unemployment through Economic Empowerment
The Lagos State Government recently took the bull by the horn, in its bid to reduce unemployment and poverty by organising an Expanded Economic Empowerment Programme through skill acquisition for thousands of citizens of the state, writes Tunde Abatan
For Jimoh Dolapo, 35, after roaming the streets for years looking for job that was not there, enrolling for the just-concluded Expanded Economic Empowerment Programme of the Lagos state government has ended her nightmares. After attending classes for four weeks, the lessons she took in the catering class at the Alimosho centre, has empowered the Economics graduate with the needed skills to start a new vocation of her own and end her endless search for job. She is now a caterer and employer of labour. Not only that, the mere fact that she paid nothing for the course for which she also got training kits, makes her life better and the course she learnt more rewarding. And for this, Dolapo is grateful to the Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), led government in Lagos state for the initiative aimed at giving self -fulfilment to unemployed graduates and also fights poverty. As for her, the training has also ended the nightmare of many households as housewives and men too learn one trade or the other during the three phases of the programme which has gone a long way in reducing unemployment and poverty in the state in particular and the country in general. She is not alone to tell her story to reporters who swam the centres to feel the pulse of the participants and beneficiaries.
“Now that I am self employed, I can pay my tax and fulfil my family obligations which have not been so for some times, says Rachael Aina, a B.sc accounting graduate of the University of Benin who participated in the second phase of the programme between October and November last year.
Another unemployed graduate, Fisayo Igeoluwa who opted for tailoring as a vocation at the tail end of her service year is grateful that she won’t have to join the overcrowded employment market for a job that is not there. According to her the training has gone a long way in preparing me for a future of a self employed graduate and took me away from the streets knocking offices doors in search of job’’. Ige who just completed her national youth service had a natural passion for tailoring aside her education, advised other graduates to get themselves busy by learning one vocation or the other adding, “unemployed graduates and other school leavers should be realistic that there is no job there in the labour market and the best thing to do is to help themselves by learning one trade or the other....”
Taking a cue from this, Kemi Adewale, another unemployed graduate of Accounting from the University of Benin who also seized the initiative in the first phase and opted to learn Bead Making to augment her family earnings and be less dependent on her husband observed that there was no discrimination about those who benefited from the training, adding that this government gesture, ‘’ has gone a long way in promoting unity in the country by making the training open to all and at no cost whatsoever.’’ ‘Fashola is working and that is why Lagos too is working and has become the centre of excellence. I believe that if other state governments in the country can follow the Lagos example, there won’t be the need for every unemployed to move down to Lagos in search of job but rather learn one skill or the other to make their family self sustaining and a responsible citizen observing their tax obligations.’ The participation in the three phase empowerment programme is not just for the women, the lowly placed and the youths but also those in the royalty are not left out of the urge to acquire knowledge and better their lives.
In this class is Chief Oladeinde Anifowose who at over 60, enrolled in the soap making class. In his own words, ’my motivation is to have something to feed myself and my family.’ A jewellery maker before he opted for the one month training in the second phase between October and November last year, he feels elated that in spite of the huge amount of money government has expended on the programme, the beneficiaries still went home with tools of their different vocations. ’This to me is the real empowerment because with the tools we were given free of charge after our training, we have no reason to be idle and look for job but rather to put into practice what we have learnt.’
Speaking while declaring open the first phase of the programme which initial government projection of registered participants in the 10 local government centres was 5,000 but which achieved an enrolment of 11, 862 made up of 1,843 males and 10,019 females, the state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) said the programme was part of the promise of the government to improve the different areas of life of the people . He said because of lack of electricity which made many factories to close down thereby retrenching several workers, such training which required no electricity has become imperative.
Governor Fashola said that the state government has between 1999 an 2007 trained 231,188 in its 18 skill acquisition centres who he said are now, ’self employed in diverse trades like shoe-making, printing, photography, automobile works, dress making, welding, hairdressing and so much more. ‘The government, he said, came about the idea of skill training to fill the gap in the lack of electricity which is the bane of several artisans adding, ‘instead of sitting down, we became creative to find a solution and that involved training you in vocations that do not require electricity, that you can do with your hands in your homes to earn money to support yourselves and your family’.
With the euphoria that greeted the first phase and the consequent increase in attendance and projections, the second phase also overshot its target as beneficiaries who enrolled for the programme increased to 17,220 made up of 2,091 males and 15,129 females.
Babatunde Olowo, 58, a retired marketing manager in one of the blue chip companies, also found an attraction in the vocation programme and enrolled for training in Disinfectant making during the second phase at the Alimosho centre. His reasons, “I had always wanted to become a producer of disinfectants having marketed the product for years for my company before I retired. Hence, I regard this initiative as a rare opportunity given by the state government.”
He did not stop at this as he canvassed for the state government to extend the programme to third phase so as to enable many people also benefit and by so doing reduce the poverty rate in the state through self employment.
As at the time the project enters its second phase in October last year, one interesting feature of the beneficiaries in all the centres from Lekki to Ojo, Ikorodu, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos Island, Surulere, Ikeja, Badagry, Eti Osa, Epe and Ikeja was that several people who could not get registered because of the limited space available at the centres are content with coming for the training without being registered. They were determined not to let the opportunity slip by and hence content with attending lectures where they have to manage to have a seat and receive the much sought knowledge they needed to start -off on their own. Amongst this category is Jolayemi Opayemi Kamoru, who praised government’s efforts to offer means of livelihood to Citizens. With his training in events decoration, “the job is no longer a magic to me.” Chief Olaide Anifowose who also put aside his royalty to enrol in soap making was also determined to uplift the status of his family adding, “I have to enrol in order to be able to feed myself and rely less on perks of the office which in most cases are not always forthcoming there.”
However, with the commencement of the third phase of the training programme In February, the enthusiasm of the beneficiaries knows no bounds with the result that thousands of others who could not get enrolled in the first two phases turned up. In all, 11,176 enrolled for the third phase which kicked off in the first week of February and ended on February 27.
At the graduation ceremony in Agungi,,one of the ten centres for the third phase, some of the beneficiaries who receive their certificate from Her Excellency, the deputy governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope -Adefulire, who performed the ceremony in two other centres, Apapa and Ilasan, were all praises for the state government for the privilege of the training
Amidst pomp, one of the recipients, Akinjole Oluwanbe, thanked the state government for giving her the opportunity to benefit from the programme. As a housewife, her experience in the make -up class has further enriched her knowledge and is sure that she would make a living from the programme.
Speaking at the occasion, deputy governor of Lagos state, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, whose ministry, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), supervised the training, said the programme was part of the efforts at alleviating poverty through the training of men and women as well as young graduates in entrepreneurial skills in order to make them self- employed rather than seeking for white collar jobs.
While congratulating the trainees for taking the opportunity provided by the government, Princess Adefulire said the third phase was in response to the yearning of those that missed the two previous phases of the programme that started in September last year. According to her, about 36,243 residents of the state irrespective of state of origin, religion, ethnic group or party affiliation has benefited from the programme during the three phases.
Earlier in her speech, the wife of the vicepresidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, urged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the rare opportunity provided by the training and extolled the virtues the deputy governor, Princess Adefulire, adding that she had always been at the forefront of changing life in the country.
The three -phase empowerment programme took place in 30 centres spread all over the 20 local governments and 37 LCDA in the state. It was a great leap in the efforts of the state government- now the fastest growing city in the world, to alleviate poverty through skills acquisition and self employment in the face of high rate of unemployment among schools leavers occasioned by the dwindling economic fortunes of the country.