| |
FG urged to create cluster
mega communities
From Oluwole Akinboyewa, Abuja
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
|
Photo:
Sun News Publishing |
|
|
The Federal Government has been urged to create a cluster
of mega communities in the 774 local governments, and equip
each group with youth-building character and skill acquisition
programmes, to enhance an all-embracing development of the
country.
A Former Special Assistant (Communications) to the former
Secretary to Government of the Federation, Barrister Dupe
Ajayi-Gbadebo, who gave the advice at Ilase-Ijesa recently,
also said that such villages and hamlets if well harmonised
in the nation's economic mainstream, through identified and
recorded youth development strategies, could help facilitate
the actualization of the aims of Vision 2020.
Ajayi- Gbadebo who was a Guest Speaker at a lecture organised
by the Federation of Ilase Students Union (FISU) stressed
that Vision 2020 should make a great impact on the lives of
Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora when the youths as direct
beneficiaries of the goal possessed proactive character moulding
and job skill which would make them independent .
She explained that the culture of character training being
recommended must lay emphasis on honesty, fairness, truthfulness,
loyalty, hardwork, service to society, humility, perseverance
and compassion among other attributes while the skill acquisition
strategy should dwell on additional knowledge besides the
theoretical school learning experience.
"The traits must include certain quasi-intellectual right
and wrong, what it means to be good or bad, cause and effect,
basic logic to everyday affair, the difference between need
and want and the vastness and appropriateness of Yoruba adages
as the case may be among the ethnic groups"
The Communications Strategist stressed that the solution to
enhancing the economic welfare of the nation's economic-stagnant
communities was a re-definition of the school curricula, which
tended to reverse the routine learning culture of a loose
sense to a developmental, impact-oriented one, promoting the
interest of community development through character training
and skill acquisition at all times.
Barrister Ajayi-Gbadebo emphasized the need to care for the
marginalized , the aged and terminal disease victims, the
building of strong community-based participation in development
programmes, the strengthening of Parents Teachers Associations,
dynamic school participation programmes, micro-financing and
cooperative societies for the parents and literacy activities
aimed at poverty reduction in the communities.
She explained that such trades, including hairdressing, barbing,
crafts and more, were innovations which would open the skilled
door to the sleepy quiet communities and reduce the negative
tendencies for crime among the youths or the frustrations
of the aged.
"I believe that for the Ilase community and others, it
is possible to become the source of provision of such needed
skills like carpenters, mechanics, hair dressers, bricklayers,
and more through a deliberate effort to institute a well-trained
manpower with the establishment of vocational centres in the
towns and villages", she stated.
Barrister Ajayi-Gbadebo praised the effort of the FISU in
marking the 1st anniversary of the union led by its National
President, Mr. Johnson Adeyemo Anibijuwon, who disclosed that
the zeal of developing the Ilase-Ijesa rural community had
encouraged the membership to establish the association and
selfless contributions of the membership to its growth.
Anibijuwon who praised the Guest Speaker and described her
as a good Ambassador, enjoined others in her shoes to enhance
the community's rapid development through selfless contributions
in all fields of endeavour.
|
