IT has been scientifically established that where people, especially the youth, are not positively engaged, they engage themselves in self-destructive acts. After all, the idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola made this statement when he addressed 20,000 volunteers of Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and people of the state at their passing-out parade.
In 2006, when he began his electioneering campaign for the governorship ticket of the then Action Congress (AC), he promised that he would engage 20,000 youths within 100 days of his administration as governor, if he was elected. To his critics, that was a political joke.
However, with the victory of Aregbesola at the Court of Appeal on November 26, 2010, the euphoria among the teeming youths populace was not only about the success of the struggle of the mandate, but also the joy that, at least, 20, 000 people would be gainfully engaged.
After the inauguration of the new administration on November 27, machineries were set in motion towards the actualisation of the governor’s pledge. Forms were printed and distributed freely to youths.
The distribution of forms gathered momentum across the state, forcing the agency in charge of the scheme to print and distribute more forms. Later, people were asked to download the forms from its website for convenience in order to reduce the stress the intending youths went through at the various local governments across the state.
The publicity secretary of the scheme Oyintiloye Olatunbosun had stunning information.
He said: “Due to long hardships, and penury in the state, over 150,000 unemployed youths have shown interest and obtained the Osun State Youth Empowerment Programme (OYES) Forms as against the 20,000 spaces available for this scheme. This is a reflection of the extent of deprivation of the people who desire and deserve gainful employment for their children and themselves.”
That was not the highest figure the scheme would record. In the closing weeks of the programme, over 200,000 youths applied.
The governor’s astonishment was evident. “When we made the call,” he said, “our people responded enthusiastically and beyond our expectation for 20,000 jobs; more than 200,000 vigorous youth responded”.
The programme eventually took off with the training of the shortlisted candidates across the 30 local government council areas of the state, ushering in a new dimension in governance in the history of the state. Not even the rival Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in the state could fault the objectivity of the compilation of the shortlisted cadets.
Although, there are still a lot more unemployed people in the state, the scheme’s consultant engineer Bimbo Daniyan believes much progress is being made.
"The past six or seven years have been turbulent ones for the populace of the state," he said.
"We must begin to take action now if we hope to experience a stable and enjoyable tomorrow; we must stop the idea of apathy and show concern about what happens to our dear state and nation in general. It’s time to empower our youths through active and proactive participation instead of being engaged as political thugs and constituting a menace to the society.
Governor Aregbesola also believes that it is only by engaging the youths positively that the nation can reduce crime rate and increase productivity. He said: "The greatest resources any nation can have its people, not gold and silver, not even petroleum. The world we create around us is the product of the spirit, intellect and might of the people therein. Where the people are in the right spiritual condition, their intellect cultivated and their physical strength deployed to good use, development occurs rapidly.
"This is the secret of the Western civilisation we all admire and benefit from. It is not magic or some inscrutable metaphysics; it is about treating people well and creatively engaging their abilities".
He advised the successful volunteers to shame critics who alleged that they were being given military training for use during the coming elections.
"I want you, through acts of Omoluabi, to shame and disappoint them, although some of them are beyond shame," he said.
"You must therefore shun any act that is capable of portraying you as criminals and derail the objectives of the scheme. The training you were given was meant to prepare you spiritually, make you to be physically fit and mentally alert and position you as agents of change in Osun State. You must therefore prove your mettle.
"Many of you are handling your first job, and your first responsibility in life. Do it faithfully and with all your might. By so doing, you will position yourselves for higher responsibility at the next available opportunity", he concluded.
The multiplier effect of the programme on the economy and lives of the residence of the state is also overbearing, as the uniform meant for the 20,000 cadets employed for the scheme was contracted to local tailors, numbering about 6,000 through their union and various associations. Also, throughout the training period of the cadets, food vendors were sought from among the residents of the communities where the training were held.
The OYES programme engaged 20,000 in 30 local governments areas and the area office at Modakeke, making an average of 600 plus per council area. This has to a large extent improved the lot of traders in the various communities and in no distant time the communities in Osun State would begin to experience positive changes from the service the cadet would be dishing out to their various communities, in terms of adding value to the various facets of lives.
Aregbesola, in 2005, pledged to engage 20,000 youths, three thousand above the state workforce. In his first 100 days in office, it is no longer a promise, but an achievement. The governor has also said the names of those in the database of the scheme would always be considered in other employment schemes his administration would be rolling out as the government takes root.
During a tour of the training centres, it was discovered that the cadets were not only given physical and mental alertness training, but were also reoriented in line with the new concept of Omoluabi, which forms the basis of character and value orientation among the residents of the states. The new administration is inculcating this in the members of the cadets to ensure that they do not just add value to themselves but also to the society.
The commandant of the cadets, Colonel Enibukun Oyewole (Rtd) said the training will help bring out their best in the service od the fatherland.
The cadets, according to Governor Aregbesola would be posted to six major areas where the state has urgent needs. These areas include public works, environmental beautification and sanitation, law enforcement, medical emergency and road traffic management.
These are the areas where the governor believes would help translate the commercial activities of the state and also increase its revenue generation within the shortest period of time.
According to him, "there is no doubt that the deployment of youthful energies will translate to socio-economic boom for the state".
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