It has become a norm on social media platform that whenever any political observers raise an eye-brow or make observations on the affairs of Kogi state, it either that such person is insulted or cursed for pointing out the negative side of Alhaji Yahaya Bello’s administration.
Courageous people who had publicly frowned at the undoing and inaction of the present administration in Kogi State were labeled the enemy of the Governor, enemy of Kogi Central and more still termed as opposition party Man whose interest is to bring down the government of the day. Some were even condemned that their criticism was pre-emptied on the political appointment not given them.
The Yahaya Bello’s Social Media Attackers had even erroneously accused Critics of being jealousy of the youngest and the only digital Governor in Nigeria. The attitude being displayed by this class of people have made many political Pundits who ordinarily would have had something to say to keep mute and remain silence on issues that needed the contributions of all because of fear of attack.
Thus, no matter how unsavory the political atmosphere is, it is instructive to note that Kogi State belongs to all of us and because of that persons like me are not always cowed or being dissuaded by any negative remark or misinterpretation on any of articles in as far as i know that the center point of my criticism is for the collective interest of the general society.
Recall that on assumption into office of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the executive Governor of Kogi State, he nominated some people into his cabinet. Among the fortunate once was Prince Abdulkareem who got nominated as the Special Adviser on Job Creation and Small and Medium Development enterprise. His office mandate is to look into the unemployment in Kogi State with a view to come up with workable plans and programme on how to address mirage of unemployment problems in Kogi State. It was based on this that his office was given premium in Kogi State 2017 Budget and quoting Senator Dino Melaye’s remark in one of his article recently, he said whooping sum of N25million was allotted for empowerment in this year.
The Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME Development last wek rolled the drum by commencing vocational skills and human empowerment training programme. According to his media aide, areas like website design, e-media, soap making, bead making and some few others were targeted. The training was strata into three different locations, one in each senatorial district in Kogi State.
The one of Kogi Central was designated at the Federal College of Education Okene. Whilst many people presumed that the programme is just starting, three days into the commencement of the vocational and human empowerment training, the Personal Assistant to the Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and Development announced that the first batch of the training in Kogi Central fully completed and 700 participants fully trained pointing out that the next phase shall be on Kogi East.
The aforementioned issues on the training caught my attention and this predicated the subject matter of this article. My interest here is basically on the period of the training and the number of people claimed to have been trained. My concern is also on the quality of the training as programme of this nature ought to address substance.
I must therefore say that the selected areas for the training are well in order but i have salient points to raise before the Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME development.
Can the Honourable Special Adviser on Job creation point his hand to his chest that the trainees got value for the State sponsored training programme?
Can the Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME development says those who came for bead making have acquired the right skills within period and could produce bead after that 3days vocational training programme?
Can the Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME Development boost to the public that those who came for the website design training had acquired html, php, cms development, database development and management, hosting and web programming skills and now they can go and pursuit a career in web design after that 3days training?
If the answer to above questions is no, where then are the jobs created and why fooling the public?
I want to remind the Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME development that before joining the ruling class, person like me and him had at one time lampooned our past leaders for not doing enough to better the lot of our youths. We have serially chastised them for playing to the gallery on issues that affect the welfare of our youths. We had condemned them for getting bogus allocation for a project and done half hazardly while the said chunk of the budgeted fund goes into their private pocket with little or no commensurable at the end of the day.
Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME Development, what are the different between what you are doing now and what we have had from our failed past leaders?
As a youth, one would have thought that you should start on a very impressive note because you are one of us and know where the shoe pinches. Honourable Special Adviser on Job creation and SME Development to the Governor, i want to equivocally declare to you that you also need thorough breed Special Adviser on vocational skills to give you good advice on how to go about your work to enable you give the best to the Governor who had delegated part of his assignments to you?
I show concern on this because the aggregation of success of all the political appointee are generally perceived and viewed as Kogi Governor’s overall general performance? Do you know that where you are failing the Governor is generally termed to be failing too?
To crown it up, i want to make it clear to you that vocational skill training like this ought to have been handled by different companies or training institute with Participants sent to learn and acquire the skill for a period of say not less than 3 to 6 months before the State can now announced to the public to have fully trained and boasted that participants had acquired skills to be on their own.
Honourable Special Adviser on Job Creation and SME Development it is by doing this your office can now say jobs for the unemployed Youths created in Kogi State. It is so by doing you can now see yourself as having impacted positively in people’s life when you served as Special Adviser on Job creation and SME Development in Kogi State.
May I point out to you that anything contrary amounts to playing to the gallery while you leave substance? The ball is in your court now as you still have time to amend.
– Shaibu Stephen Ojate is journalist and public affairs commentator writes from Abuja.
He is reachable on 08052666344 or 09075716360
