Empowerment is not just about gathering a group of jobless persons, giving them money to start business, and abandon them to their fate with little or no orientation on financial management or putting them through basic skills on their chosen endeavours. It is about equipping the empowerees with the necessary intellectual capacity and skills to be able to manage the grants or loans being offered to them. When government talks about empowering her citizens, the gospel might only be for those in the city centers who have access to news and close to the epic center. A majority of other citizens living in the rural areas might be left in the lurch about many government programs meant to benefit them. It is instructive therefore that the Enugu SME Center in realization of the seeming information gap between the people in the city centers and those who dwell in the hinterlands has taken the bull by the horn to mount aggressive sensitization drive about the activities of the Enugu State SME Agency to reach every nooks and crannies of the state. Governor Ugwuanyi and his acolytes understands the power of information dissemination. No government program ever gets a massive buy in if it is not properly explained to the people whom it is either positively or negatively meant to affect. The Enugu State SME is a positive force and a movement meant to affect Ndi Enugu positively. Therefore, the move by the Agency to preach the gospel of economic development to the people and closer to their domain is highly regarded.
Again it is expedient to recap some of these far reaching skills acquisition programs laid out by the Enugu SME Agency under the encouragement of His Excellency, Rt Hon. Dr Ifeanyichukwu Lawrence Ugwuanyi. As a matter of fact, many youths have been enrolled in such skills as the Auto-Revamp training, Fashion Designing, product design training, computer programming, digital marketing training and those who have successfully completed their training have been provided some soft loans and grants to kick start their business. There is no doubt that the Small scale enterprises is a serious catalyst to economic development and growth in a given society. Governor Ugwuanyi having realized this, have left no stone unrolled since he assumed power to crystallize the economic potentials of the vast citizens of Ndi Enugu for accelerated growth.
The Enugu SME sensitisation programme has already recorded tremendous success across so many local government areas of the state. The sensitization team birthed in Udi LGA recently as the vibrant, and visionary Udi LGA Mayor, Hon. Paschal Ifeanyi Agu ensured that the people of Udi across the 20 wards were heavily mobilized to take part in the sensitization program. Hon Arinze Chilo-Offiah has truly put in much effort and strategy to ensure that the success of this sensitization program is replicated in other LGAs. It is has been an exciting experience and joy bespoke wherever the Chilo-Offiah team landed to preach the gospel of self reliance such that a massive buy in are being recorded on daily basis from the citizens of Enugu state.
J. K. Rowling once said, “… we do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already”. His Excellency, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s led administration has shown that human capacity and SME development do not require magic, rather, Enugu state has all it takes to practically cause systemic economic revolution in the country. Consider the number of tech-experts already produced by the present government, consider the number of fashion designers which Enugu SME Centre has produced, and consider the number of small and Medium businesses that might productively utilise the orientation programs, plus loans and grants which Enugu SME Centre offers, imagine the level of transformation Enugu state’s economy will experiment in a short period of time from now. This is why it is right to say that Governor Ugwuanyi led administration is actually causing economic revolution in the state. The Pacesetter Governor has empowered businesses that can empower and reproduce other businesses in the state in the near future.
Speaking on the importance of the sensitization tour, the press statement made public by Enugu SME Centre, wrote that it is an effort geared towards ensuring that those at the grassroot level benefit from its programs. It further buttressed that the Local Government Sensitization Tour as Championed by Governor Ugwuanyi, the people’s Governor is an avenue to enlighten the people at the grassroot on what they stand to benefit from the programs made available by the Enugu State SME Agency.
Jane Goodall was once quoted to have said, “what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Governor Ugwuanyi understands this maxim and has decided to invest in human beings— through wonderful educational programmes
Truly, Enugu state is in the hands of God
May God bless all supporters of the good governance initiative of our Amiable Governor, the Project Ambassador, The Permanent Good Man.
For further information about Enugu SME Center, go to No. 2a, Market Garden Avenue Opposite Ebeano Tunnel, GRA, Enugu. Kindly contact on 08089344768; 08084998224; 09042439495; 09013484336; 07018098225 for all your inquiries. Www.enugusme.en.gov.ng; @enugusmeagency (twitter and Instagram) @Enugu State SME Agency on Facebook.
Bibian Anekwe News added …We learned that economic growth and environmental protection can and should go hand in hand.
Written by
Izuchukwu Ochewari Udewaeze
A Political Analyst
Media Team Member: Enugu Di n’Akachukwu Movement
