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LGs should assist in employment, crime
reduction � Ogwuegbu
Prince Okey Ogwuegbu was recently appointed the supervisor in
charge of youth, sports, information and culture, of Ihitte Uboma LGA, Imo
State. In this interview with TENNYSON OGUERI, Prince Ogwuegbu says his
priority will be the empowerment of the youth to help make them less prone to
crime. Excerpts.
TO what extent have
you been able to assist the youth since your appointment considering the crime,
poverty, and unemployment level in your LGA?
I must confess that I was really touched
and challenged by my appointment in view of the fact that I have strongly
confessed that there was need to seriously address the problems of the youths if
we are really interested in curbing crime in the society. Recently, our
Governor, Chief Achike Udenwa, came out with a tripod vision of
Industrialization, Agriculture and Re-orientation. With my appointment as the
supervisor for youths, I believe that this vision can be realised through youth
empowerment; I have since gone onto my drawing board.
Are the youths happier for it?
At the end of the day, they will be. We
have lined up a good number of programmes to ensure that those of them who idle
away as a result of unemployment in spite of their high level of education are
encouraged by both the private and public sectors.
Already, with the permission of my
chairman, Chief Toby Onyekele, we have made arrangements for the youths to form
cooperative societies. With this, they get involved in small and medium scale
enterprises inorder to attract loans from banks. Of course, many of our youths
are not aware that the Federal Government compelled all banks to set aside 10
per cent of their profit to be used for the development of small and medium
scale enterprises. These loans are lying idle in most banks. We are now holding
regular meetings with our youths to sensitize them and help them to have access
to these loans based on the industrial potentials that are available in the
local government.
You mean your LGA has mineral deposits
which you intend prospecting?
Actually I have this strong belief that
God endowed every local government with one mineral deposit or the other. For
instance, we have large deposits of stones and lots of water reserves that can
be utilised for fish ponds.
You made mention of large deposits of
stones. How do you intend to harness these?
We are looking at a situation where the
LGA, the state and the Federal Government will be available to give assistance
through provision of mini-quarries that can be used by the ordinary crushers.
Presently, they crush these stones with their hands to earn a living.
I tell you in spite of the fact that they
carry out this in a very crude way, these stones can be used for various forms
of construction works in roads, drainages, homes and various aspects of civil
engineering construction. The provision of mini-quarries will definitely channel
the energies of many youths into the business and reduce unemployment. It will
also earn revenue for the local government. Don�t overlook the fact that the
whole of Isikwuato in the former Imo state has large deposits of chippings from
which all major road construction works in the South-East have been carried out.
Such potentials abound in this area which will soon put us in the industrial map
of Imo State.
This will definitely involve a huge amount
of money especially as you operate under a system that denies availability of
funds even for such laudable projects. How do you intend sourcing for the funds?
Many at present, see non-availability of
funds as an impediment even when they have not been able to articulate what they
intend doing with the funds. The state and Federal Governments are interested in
curbing youth restiveness, even non-governmental organisations and donor
agencies. Apart from that, we have a low land area for rice production in Uboma.
How does the youth come in here?
Agriculture is the major revenue earner
anywhere in the world. The reason why the youths appear not to be fully
interested in it is because we are still in the rudimentary stage. It can be
mechanised to such a level that the youths can give it total attention. I am
aware that our chairman, Chief Onyekele has put a lot of things in place to
ensure that agriculture here is mechanised as we are venturing into becoming the
real food basket of Imo State.
You talked about donor agencies. How do
you intend to attract them?
Though I am a supervisor here, I still
spend time and money browsing for information in the internet. I have discovered
such agencies that are interested in assisting the growth of the youths and have
gone a step further in getting in touch with them. For sure, it�s our level of
commitment and interest that will attract them.
What other projects are you putting in
place to assist the growth of the youths?
We have completed a survey to set up
information centres in all our fourteen wards. We will establish phone booths in
these centres which will generate employment. Parents and such local people can
have access to their children and relations at subsidized rates. After the pilot
project and seeing how successful it is, we will go a step further into loaning
youths money for their own outfit which in the long run will have a multiplier
effect.
Again, we intend inviting them from time
to time to inform them of the goings-on in the state and country. For instance,
the national council of youths of which my LGA is a member conducted their
election recently. We sponsored our youths. Five of them. Today, the state
financial secretary is from this local government area. We are doing everything
to carry the youths along.
What were you into before your appointment
to this position and how has it affected your actions so far?
Actually I had been in active business for
nearly 20-years which had brought me close to the reality of youth unemployment.
I had been involved in Agriculture, fish farming and construction. I have
youths, fresh from the university looking for menial jobs to do. Local
Governments should device means of assisting the youths by harnessing mineral
resources within their area to enable them provide employment for youths and
reduce crime in the society. We must do something to assist the youths else we
will be sowing dangerous seeds that will bring more destruction to our people in
the future. Our future leaders are suffering.
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