Date: 2011-09-28

The World Bank has expressed its readiness to partner with the Kwara State Government on youth empowerment in order to address the problem of youth restiveness in the State.

Professor Folusho Okunmadewa of the World Bank disclosed this when he led a special team of the Bank on a courtesy visit to the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House, Ilorin.

Prof. Okunmadewa told the governor that their visit to the State was more of a fact finding mission especially on what the State government is doing on youth unemployment with reference to the Malete Youth Farm and what other interventions are in the pipeline.

He thanked the Governor for the opportunity given the team and requested the presence of the representative of the State government at a stakeholders meeting to be organized by the World Bank starting from October 5.

Receiving members of the team in his office, Governor Abdufatah Ahmed assured them that every aspect of his administration’s developmental programmes will have an element of youth empowerment.

Alhaji Ahmed disclosed that everything his administration intends to do in the next four years must have an element of job creation to properly fix in the teeming youths roaming the streets as a result of joblessness.

The governor, who expressed appreciation to the World Bank for its positive impact in the State over the years, promised to partner with relevant agencies in addressing the problem of youth restiveness in the State.

He admitted that moving the country forward requires taking a cursory look at development from an empirical point of view which must include youth empowerment because they constitute bulk of the society.

According to him, "we have about 2.5million Kwarans. 70% of this are youths and 70% of these youths again are below the ages of 18. Therefore, whatever planning we are doing, we must incorporate the current and future needs of this generation of Kwarans and put them into consideration".

Ahmed, however, blamed the problem of high level of youth unemployment on systemic failure by successive administrations, incessant changes in government especially during the military era and inconsistency in government policies, which he said had resulted in serious social problem and the recent security threats in various parts of the country.

As an antidote to this social menace, the governor said, his administration established the Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme (KWABES), in which 2,000 unemployed youths were empowered during his first 100 days in office as promised during the campaigns.

He also spoke of the desire of the State Government to revamp its hitherto moribund skill acquisition centres and three technical colleges to emphasize skill acquisition, in addition to changing its Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to Education and Human Capital Development.

In order to fully realize this objective, he said government had set aside about N1billion to commence operation at the Vocational Training Institute at Ajasse-Ipo in Irepodun Local Government to train youths in various vocational skills just as the Malete Youth Farm was established to train youths in the art of modern commercial agriculture in the State.

Abdulwahab Oba
Chief Press Secretary
to the Kwara State Governor
28/09/2011