Concerned youths of Ibeno, an oil producing local government area of Akwa Ibom State, have raised the alarm over the long abandoned skill acquisition centre in their community.
The youths under the umbrella body of Ibeno Youth Advocacy Network, IYAN, regretted that the facility built 16 years ago is yet to kick off or produce even one graduate trainee despite millions of naira sunk into it.
Speaking while conducting a sanitation exercise at the facility with his team, Kofi Asuquo, president of the group, said the local government has witnessed colossal loss both economically and socially due to the perennial redundancy of the facility.
He called on governments and relevant authorities to wade in and ensure the resuscitation of the facility.
While harping on the importance of skill development among youths in contemporary society, Asuquo said the functionality of the centre will help to lift them out of poverty, create employment, distract them from crime and boost the internally generated revenue of the local government.
“There are some persons who don’t have money to go to higher institutions. That skill acquisition center would have been a place to build a career from. Let the stakeholders see that it will be better to build a community of skillful people than importing experts to work in our companies or other places.
“Also, some parents may not have money to send their children to another local government or state to learn skills, we have one close to us and this is the time to put it to life.’’
Asuquo explained that IYAN is not an organization but a ‘movement’ saying, ‘we are made up of both males and females that have a common interest which is to change the narrative of our local government”.
Speaking on the sanitation exercise, he said, “So when we realize that the state says every last Saturday of the month is sanitation, we decided to use today to clean up the skill acquisition centre which has not been functional. We should not allow grass to take over the place, we still have hope that something will be done.”
He added, ‘Ibeno is one of the smallest local governments in our state but financially contributing highest to the state and the nation. In the whole local government we have only one government secondary school and no higher institution.
“The skill acquisition centre constructed since 2010 by the Federal Government is yet to be completed and commissioned for use, a lot of money had gone in already and we, the IYAN, are not fighting, we are not saying that government is not doing something, they are trying their best, but I think if they will turn their eyes towards this facility, they will create jobs.
“That place will create more than 1,000 jobs, it will empower the youths with various skills and keep them away from crime.
‘’We are looking at a local government that would be generating its funds, taking care of itself and will be self-sufficient, when government allocation comes, it will be an addition and if we can boost our economy as a local government, the next local government will learn from us.
“We want to tell the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs that this project is the right thing to look at. Building human capacity is the best investment they can do now.’’
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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