Emmanuel Kehinde, ilorin
A member representing Ilorin East and Ilorin South federal constituency of Kwara state, Hon. Abdulganiyu Cook Olododo, has presented 100 laptops to youth in the constituency after a one-week empowerment training in ICT.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the training/empowerment programme in Ilorin on Friday, the federal lawmaker said that youth in the area had missed several job opportunities due to lack of ICT knowledge.
The situation, he said, had held back the youth in the low economic class where livelihood is very poor, adding that ut had contributed to high poverty level among the people in the area.
“Youths in llorin East and llorin South Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kwara State are hardworking and industrious people, but several economic opportunities have eluded so many of them because they do not possess certain very important skills that will qualify them for some key employment opportunities or better still, skills required to establish and run their own businesses effectively.
“Hence, despite the passionate drive of so many of them to succeed they are held back in the low economic class where livelihood is very poor.
Hon. Olododo, who said that ICT skill is a very important skill that an average youth in the 21st century must possess to compete favourable well with his/her counterparts, added that, “The ICT space continues to be widening on daily basis thereby providing more avenue for economic empowerment.
“ICT provides opportunities for economic self-reliance, wealth creation, job creation, sustainable national economic growth and development, and overall improvement in the social-economic status of the citizens of any nation.
“The foregoing and my passionate desire to lift as many members of my constituency as possible out of poverty informed the design and eventual implementation of this extremely important capacity building and empowerment programme.
“I congratulate the handful of you (fifty persons from each LGA) who are privileged to be beneficiaries of this particular edition of the several empowerment programmes that God has used us to facilitate.
“I have been briefed of your commitment and willingness to learn. I wish to confirm to you that these characteristics are the hallmark of successful people. I, therefore, implore you to continue to make very good use of the knowledge and skills that have been impacted on you in this training programme; build yourself up the more in this area and watch yourself become more relevant in the scheme of things within and outside the country.
It will, therefore, be completely out of place for you to consider selling it at any amount no matter how appealing. Selling this device is closely akin to exchanging the very tool that guarantees your prosperity in the nearest future for ephemeral gains now. A man who does that will get to the future and meet it empty because he squandered it before getting there.
I know that is not you. I know you will not do that.
At this juncture, I wish to appreciate the Federal Government of Nigeria most sincerely for releasing fund to execute this project; the amiable Management of the Nigerian Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI), llorin; and the Project Consultants for the very good job they have done to ensure that this workshop holds and positively impacts the dynamic youths of llorin East and South Federal Constituency.
End.