Lalong Advocates New policies for New Plateau
Umar Abdullahi, Jos
Governor Simon Bako Lalong has advocated for
vibrant youths and stakeholders on the Plateau, whose desire was to see to the
proper formulation and implementation of policies and programmes of Action for
the Youth was his delight.
Addressing the Plateau state Youth Council at
Azi Nyako Dadi Kowa in Jos North Local Government Council, Lalong said, this
nostalgic feeling was what nurtured my conviction and drove my passion to see
to the speedy resolution of the issues in contest which led to the litigation
that subsisted for a decade.
The dished out 10 million naira including a
Hilux Bus with 6million for the conduct of fresh election into the new exco
after 10 years of absence of leadership .
According to him," today’s event is
historic in the sense that it marks the formal assemblage of the Youth of
Plateau State under a common platform, for the first time in more than a decade
,this Assembly speaks volume on the power of unity in the pursuit of a common
goal".
"I recall with nostalgia the days of our
youth activism and how we looked forward every week to the Thursday meeting of
the Larger House", he added.
Lalong lamented that, it is regrettable that
politics, egocentric and ethnocentric self serving interest, played a critical
role in destroying the very fabric of our unity as Youth.
"I dare to say we lost the zest and avidity
that characterized our youthful spirit and we became pawns on the altar ego of
politics, thereby allowing ourselves to be manipulated by those who saw the
decimation of our potentials as a united force, a political strategy for their
uncensored leadership of our State" he explained.
“We all have seen where the Ibsen CE of our
voice and united action has brought us to and I am sure our resolve and
commitment to the reconciliatory process that midwifes our arrival at the
current destination, is a testimony of our renewed commitment to restore back
the glory of the Plateau Youth Council (PYC), he stated.
He commended the Leadership of the
Larger House under Chief Michael Makwal, for the efforts that kept what was
left of the Youth Council until its full resuscitation now. I must humbly say
our Government prides itself as having lived its promise of reviving the PYC,
with the quick peaceful resolution of contending issues and the conduct of
Elections across all levels, leading us now to the inauguration of the newly
constituted Executive Council.
Governor congratulated all the
elected officials of the PYC from the Districts to the Local Government and
State Councils for their individual and collective efforts in ensuring a
seamless and stormless election, that accommodate all under the principle of
zoning and rotation, has shown that this time-tested principle of give and take
which has nurtured our political experience as a State is worthy of
preservation.
He pointed out that his Government is a
product of this donation and it remains a potent means through which
representational and developmental injustices would be addressed in our public
space.
Speaking further he said, the Rescue
Administration is very conversant with the Universal declaration on Youth Policies
and the Programme of Action for the Youth as adopted on the 12th of December,
2016. The Commission for Social Development of the United Nations has outlined
different initiatives based on inputs from Member States for mainstreaming
youth participation into policy and legislative formulation. These practices
will guarantee robust and consistent cross sectoral efforts that will make for
the right focus on gender equality and empowerment for the girl child and young
women, marginalized groups and make for inclusive participation on all
programme of Action for the Youth. Your desire to have a Youth Summit to review
past Youth policies and have a Youth Development Plan is therefore welcomed; we
will support this initiative and collaborate with the Council to ensure it sees
the light of the day, as soon as you inform government of the modalities
outlined for this.
In the meantime our several interventions and
the various programmes of Actions and Structure as put in place have shown that
we are well on course. Upon assumption of office we established the Micro
Finance and Small, Medium Enterprises Agency (PLASMEDAN), which is saddled with
the responsibility for promotion of financial literacy, entrepreneurship,
vocational and skills acquisition, youth and women empowerment programmes.
Already through this Agency we have provided training to over three thousand
(3,000) youth and women in the State, out of this fourty-eight (48) people are
living with disability.
I have also flagged off phase two (2) of the
programme for which 200 participants are to be drawn from each Local Government
Area across the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas; a total of three
thousand four hundred (3,400) participants will be receiving training in
different entrepreneurship areas, and would be supported at the end of the
skills acquisition with start-ups. The PYC will need to in her areas of NEEDS
Assessment, liaise with the various Local Government Social Welfare Departments
for the various youth to be captured.
Worthy of mention is the fact that in order to
guarantee access to a revolving low interest facility for business start-up
funds, we have almost completed documentation with the Bank of Industry to
access two billion naira (N2bn) fund. As we access this fund for which we have
also captured our counterpart contribution in the budget, it will also open
access to funds for the development of our creative and entertainment industry
on the Plateau, which in itself is an employment provider.
“Our three (3) E- Dimensional Approach
of Empowerment, Employment and Engagement of Talents, will see us exploring and
expanding on the viability of the Agricultural Value Chains, to provide
employment and economic empowerment to our teeming youth while also
guaranteeing food security. The opportunities in integrated animal farming, the
agricultural process and packaging industries, crop and vegetable production
should be areas of interest for our youth.
As a State we have already keyed into
the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Fadama
III Programme, Fish Farming with the resuscitation of the Panyam Fish Farm and
the Dry Season Farming Programme. The Tractorisation Policy of Government will
see us subsidizing up to 40% for the purchases of tractors for massive land
cultivation, and with the Bokkos Fertilizer Blending Plant now in production,
ease to fertilizer as an essential farm input is guaranteed. This I believe is
not an opportunity the Youth will allow to be spirited away on the ground of a
wait for white collar jobs.
In the areas of Education, we are doing our
best to ensure that the schools first remain open. We remain committed to
maintaining industrial harmony and this can be seen in the way we negotiated
and resolved the industrial unrest, that almost crippled the sector from the
primary to tertiary institutions.
We have also not relented in the
payment of bursaries and scholarship; the goodwill we have shown in paying
inherited arrears for the Law School Graduates and Students on International Studies,
will be sustained until we clear all pending scholarships for students. You
will agree that our current financial challenges have been a major source of
concern, hence our broad based approach now to mop up all revenue from all
taxable sources, to enable us meet up the demands of governance.
“You will also recall that in order
to sustain excellence in learning, I made a declaration at the first
convocation of the Plateau State University (PLASU), that all First Class
Graduates of the State in any University, will be granted employment and
training up to Doctoral Level. This is our effort in ensuring excellence in
learning while also raising indigenous Academics for our various Tertiary
Institutions.
“This directive has already been
given effect and would be sustained all through the life span of our
Administration. We are also not resting on our oars in funding the various
institutions for facility improvement and Man-power recruitments, so as to
secure Accreditation for the various programmes being run in all the Tertiary
Institutions in the State.
“I have taken the opportunity of this
Inauguration to not only unveil our programme of action for the Youth
Constituency, but to appropriately charge you on the right conduct and line of
action expected of you, if we are to break the circle of despair occasioned by
present economic realities. This period calls for critical thinking, strategic
action and commitment to all economic empowerment programmes that will
guarantee self-reliance. While Government provides the Platform and facilitates
the process, the entire Youth must show an indomitable will to the realization
of the empowerment programmes.
“As I conclude on this
Speech in the expectation that this session is only a first in the series of
many other interfaces, the Plateau Youth Council (PYC) will be having with
Government after the convocation of the Youth Summit, I wish to put forward the
following concluding charge for a better PYC.
“The PYC as a corporate body must
remain non-partisan and non-religious. You should remain a pressure and
advocacy group serving as a resource centre, for the identification of youth
empowerment outlets and avenues for self sustenance and actualization. You
should strive to engage structures of Government progressively, consolidating
on gains rather than engaging in confrontation.
"Being a rich reservoir of voters, you
must not allow yourselves to be used as canon fodders for conflicts or
political brigandage but avail yourselves to the process of a search for
credible leadership and peace building in our State and Country.
“ Finally, be guided in all your
life’s pursuit with the fact that there is no short cut to success; the road to
success is passed to a desired destination only through hard work,
determination and the wise application of knowledge. Experience, Education and
Exposure must combine to bring you to a desired end. In this wise I conclude
with the words of the late Mahatma Gandhi on the seven social sins that will
destroy the world. The antidote of each
of the ‘deadly sins’ is an explicit external standard that is based on natural
principles and laws. These are a living life of;
“Wealth without work,
Pleasure without conscience,
Knowledge without character,
Commerce with morality,
Science without humanity,
Religion without sacrifice and
Politics without principle", Lalong
stressed.
Lalong Advocates New policies for New Plateau
Reviewed by IFEDAYO AKINWALERE
on
4:21:00 am
Rating: