Yesterday, while minding my father’s business and nursing emotional cuts inflicted by the tactless Ole Gunner Solskjaer in his final face-off with the emerging spanish giant; peradventure my curious gaze perched on this quote by one of the Nigerian founding fathers and legal luminary, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He said, ” The sons of the poor man whom you failed to train will continue to disturb your peace”
Indeed, some of these nationalist were born prophets with no mean gift of clairvoyance which we underestimated and quickly consigned their prophecies into bin of history as we picked our way towards the present pastor-prenuership, those aerophiles. Their cautions where jetsam probably for their inability to dress swanky, seated in one large hall and roaring through megaphones. If only life can offer a spare , Awo as he is fondly called would not afford the luxury of staying a day longer in today’s Nigerian.
No country since modern history has gone under guillotine of public constructive criticism and destructive cynicism like Nigeria yet recidivism and offensive conservativism is the seeming standard of governance. Achebe, the doyen of Igbo proverbs and father of African literature wrote in his “The trouble with Nigeria”, that bad leadership is our bane not the land, airspace or the subsoil. If succeeding governments perhaps had regards to venture outside box creating opportunities from where citizens can build themselves in skills that tickles their fancy, undeniably things wouldn’t have been this bad. Emiliano Zapata conceived rightly when he avouched that ” If there is no justice to the people, let there be no peace for the government”
You need no validation from the province of ballistics to agree with Zapata. Justice is a word of ambiguous import and one of those legal concepts with no precise definition which cannot detain this piece here.
What is of prime importance is how can a reasonable government dispense justice to her people? Skills acquisition , providing level playing ground in teaching citizens how to fish with best implements availed them, ensuring enabling environment where they can thrive competitively amongst others are the dividends of justice.
Take for instance, the raging Enugu Skill -Up Project in partnership with Create Africa and Enugu Skillers Network Limited which offers both students and non -students arrays of chances to enroll in degrees of skills acquisition programs, involving electrical installation; POP installation, wall screeding, woodwork and furniture making, tilling and plumbing; all trainings in the above-mentioned Skills stringently accords with International best practices as elaborately sanctioned by the World Skills Standard Specification including any other concrete construction skills which apprentices find viably propitious.
It’s heart warming that these packages are birthed under Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi tenure, in a productive cooperation with his irrepressible Special Adviser, SME Development Head, Enugu SME Center, Hon. Arinze Chilo-Offia, the latter whose unbridled crave for change in Enugu students narrative for the better, remains enigmatic. One might launch oneself into a brain-teasing imagination of what the Chilo-Offia’s can do if allowed to handle spacious offices of greater responsibilities, with less doubt miracles and governance breakthroughs would be the consequences. For months now, the Hon. Special Adviser had taken it upon his shoulders to sojourn to every educational settings within the state sensitizing students on the need to delve into other life savings enterprise even as they run academic pursuits. According to him, willing apprentice can apply for the Zero Interest Human Capital Development Loan(HCDL) from @enugusmeagency if they don’t have the subsidized training fee at moment. Also, potential apprentice are to visit www.enuguskillers.com or safe the surfing intricacies and dash quickly to No.2A Market Garden Avenue by SME Roundabout, opposite Ebeano Tunnel, GRA, Enugu for manual registration.
I have always told a friend times and again that the panacea, the much sought after magic wand to cure our societal maladies is not outside jurisdiction but lay untapped within us. A sour example is what obtains in Nigerian varsities where part3 students are compelled to learn and present a handiwork, a very enthralling exercise yet what they learnt either went buried or forgotten prompted by government inscrutable aparthy to such vital schemes. The bottom line is that Enugu Skill-Up tilts towards economic emancipation of Enugu people, augument industry, encourage innovation and massive infrastructural facelift to reflect World Bank SDG Standards(SDG#8 and SDG#9)
Ikemsinachi Nwa-Onah
Is a Political Analyst
Media Team Member: Enugu di n’akachukwu movement
Writes from Makurdi the City of Benue
