THE NATION, 31 OCTOBER, 2012

THENATION WEDNFSDAX,OCTOBER 31,2012

Imoke's wife urges women, youths to . embrace agnc T en:o chedt runl-urban drift and

=~'~rt~p':;:

·M ...

A

culture, the wik of Rh'!'r Statr..

MB Cbioma Jmokr has said. ~madeitdear, thou2h.!hatwhat sheMfvoc:aIe is not thtdfud~ and almost unprofi~1e activity of most subslsitent grow~, bul lIOfllethln$ that will make them "II~ as shII! pull'! II. rather tMn mere ~ ers. MI'lI Imoke 1100 llf"SOO youths to tllkr up agriculture..

He-Woras;"1hinreanNGOand our first (ocus i5 on agriculture Of the 5Q~'lI 3.1 millim J'"JP1e. aboul 7S"4 an' SUbsistEnl famleB Uvins in rural communities. I-~, the stair, like the relt of Nigeria and other countries in the woJid, 1:5 fadn~ the rrob),pm of rural urban migTBtion and an

lmok~

.,Em~nChlgbo

aging farmer population.

-It IS ther~(oTe impt;rative that women who lire the iK::knowledged fNinstayof many families.. and yuung ~ who iIfI.' the ideal catalyst ki signilic:ant change should be eraJUr·

asredloadopthlrmingasaprofession.~ artirulated thOse points in Port Novo, Rtpublk 01 Benin. when! she WII5 invite;! to co-dWr II lhree-da)' workshop titled' The Women an(t Youth 115 Cahllyst in Agnbusine55.

~bjhe-~1Jinoctor5,

Comml5!lion~ for Women Affa irs and !lOme other M!nior officials, all n':liIds led 10 the Republicol8erun. The loumev_viathe~bu5t1.ingrom-

inertialdtyofl.ago5.throoghBlidllgry

known fat its inflmOU5 sla~ rou~ Thr:Seme8order, wrnch is the boundMY betwftn Nigeia and the Republie of Betin is not (lir off It's a tiny borda but thing5 happen tIlere, tra6e in different rommOditi~ being the most prD!Tlinent of them all, and tha i then riIarked the O'O!I!I 0"Ier into Benin Republic..

In this country, 1M ro.ds look the same and.50 do !he people And thm you wonderwh)' ttmill'l" twodilfft· ent counlnt'S and not onr - until you is!akand gel billflk st.1r~ in exlndee::I in thill near but mraway and, you get to realise that it is not ~ 115 U5U1I1. ""Good mom-

· Continued on PIIgr 4ft

NAMBRA Stale Guvemor ~

tl"'la' hi!

trr Cti M"I 'ven

~~ ill

new song. new in£nIstmctures wen! inauguntted in Nibo community and envlruns, the resident!> hav~ been praisIng tht" gover· TlOf, sayirlg he hll5 give"l them I. new uo;e of life In Nibo, Obi inaugurated a water Kheme worth over N25D million. In the same communit)'. a multi-milbon matenUty and • block of das&rooms, III""" Ezei1c.ot!s':!!fhfa<School have ....... .",.,._

Aoo, !he gtrVftl'Of ga\-~ N6 million 10 the community to DWId 1TlIndas5rooms.

TM people's checn ~ sponta~ becallSl" m the l.ut twodticades,. if not more, there wt're no public " ""'Iler Kheme.s in the state. The Anambra slate water 5Chem~ WM ~II= nothing _ working That picture ha5 changed Obi has embarbd (WI II scheme 10 be managed by the host communities.. People now have waler In thdr neighbourhoods. not in the rompound of .some WMIthy individual Aside the small-iown water protects. Cb hll5 sunk bormoIes in almost f'Vety femaJ~ school in the state and :some~' school5 all well 115 m~ry institutions. Communiti~ and institutions wen': not left ~I.

Commissioning the water !Cherne til Nibo, Awb SOuth Loa.I Govern!l"ell. Ch said IN! pro;m b the lUst 01 "17 5UI:h 5d1eme5 ~ IUs admini5-

==

~~the ibo plan ItidcThe ~·emor.5iUd: '"W~ ~ ~ 10 COmmISSiOn our mid-term water scheme. W~ ha~ ZJ of thrm. This is . ,the first lI.'e aA': comrnissionirlg. J a~ peal 10 Nibo community 10 take hill owneship ollhe ~ I made the 51.m~ charge to other communities to ensu.re that they lake charge of gm-rmnJftIt proj«tsin Ihmcommunities. We will lake charge for six months and by February nrxt yeM we m\i9 ha~ moniknd IIw ~ and quit for the community to man!lg~ it You can see Ihllt everything is new and it b working."

Q)i further inlOI"l1\td thai M ad· ministrali(lfl i5 investing much in Nibo communit)' and other communities, . that he and his team will al~ roods 10 link Nibo with othe- pms of the sUbe. Commissioner for Public Utilities, water Resources and Communily Oev~lopmenl, Hon Emeka _.~wankwu. noted that the iNugum\ion of the Wiltl"r achm1e was II tniJe.. stant in the ac:hifovemell of MillenfUum~leo.ts(MDG'5) in Anambnl state under the Cbi admini5tl"illion.

Nwankwu said: ""The prtMSion of ~blr "'-ale" 5Upply WII5 last heard 01 in Anambnl Stille in t~ 00s and ~1I!)dll v pi~bome water supply ill wearing II better look, not just in Nibo of Awb South local Government Area but also in Agulu. Uga (AgUlta), Nimol Abagan& / EnuguUkwu. Awkuzu / Dunukofia, Ukpo, Amichil Azip/ Ukpor , Nnewi. etc.

1he rompleted scheme has I'nOUgh

· COYft"nOl" openln Ihe ,,",aiu Khrm~ in Nibo

Obi revives public water schemes From Odogwu EmtIh Odopu,

Nnew!

~~ty 10 supply pipe-bome ~ , Nibo rommunity.

water

As His Excellency commi5!lions thi5 ~ today. the guvrmment of Anamb~ State, in line with inlernatronal best practic:e, tt..s pLanned 10 fMt'IIIg~ the !IChcme for about six mooths lhrough the conlnlctor and involvement Of Water Coruumen AlI5ociaHon (WCA) 10 stabiliM the s)'l'ilem before handing over 10 the comm unity for"ownersfiip. opcrntion and mainfrnancr' and mlInllgl!Rlenl 10 eru;u~ _tUnability.

"May I conrptulale the peoplr of Nibo and Nisi: communities for be~g '!,monS the

benefJCiMie5 of His I:JcceIency's magnanimity and good

govern&nce ...

The utilitits rommiMioner further said that the cont""clor. Glitz Intralefv Ltd, WII5 given l~ contrad March 2011 and fias comf'etrd il within specification as he laid distribution pipe line networks wUhin Nibo, N'tSe roads 10 Mbaukwu and Umuawulu . covering II dl5tance of about 12km and proVided 60 Mandpa!t5 and 5efViae points in about IS

locations.

Nwankwu informed !hat the contractor rehabilitated one existing bor~hole, drilled an additional borehole. rehabilital\'d and expanded an edst in~ pum~ ~, n!hllbili: : : :'nk.f')U!ling .crop:uon 0Yef"' He said the contnctorequally c0nstructed 100,(0) ttaIk:ns 01 O\ofthead tank. instaflf:d 2lI.IKV A tTansfurmer, J50KVA gen~rator, inSlalled t""'O n iP boo5ter pum~ the pumf lIl8tion.liryin~ of six .

HOPE pl~ tral\!f1li!.ston Ii~ from the Stonlgr ~ 10 the d istribution reservoir c.'O'Vfting a <fu;tance 01 about 2km.

President General of the commu· nity, Chi~f Good luck Okr-y Nwankwo rKllned the numerous su~ and ~ by the Cb. admtnistnltion for the Nibo community and ll5lIured him of continued

lanrhn"!"J:!

suWa!5ured that the flood problem at the matemity would be kandied by th~ community tellm of enginef!T"ll Ill! an IIppreciation of numerous good things the Obi admlnistratian has d(Wlr in Nibo In her closing rr-marb, the Com-

mi55ioneT for Economic Phmning Budgei. Prof Stella 0Irunna informed thllt the international O f gllnisa tiOM like UNICEF, UNOP, lI mong others, ar~ partnering with Ihc sta~. lind not 0(I00I"5 as people wrongly Mid, !line.- Ih~ project!! with the sta~ lin! jointly~.

She- !laid government would take charge 01 sUch pro;ects for a time befm-e handing over to the community. She furttier said that Government i5 not happy thai project!Iln communities COn"F- ~Iy aner its cunstructlon beCaU5e they were not handed over to the communi-

and

tie but today !he community will sign II documr-nt of hllnd over 10 tab ownenhie At anolher foru m Okunna informt'd that hen c~ 'orth thai the government would pllrtner more with development ~ coming in w ith free Nnds ntthr-r than loanS and said there would be harmonization 10 avoid partnen fUl'lhng Ihe $II~ progral1\5 while ot~ areas $utrer.

Special Adviser, M(X;s. Mrs Vivian Nwandu Wll!l IImong th~ dignitaries who wilnes5~d the event.

D o you wa n t to be t h e 1-1 to receive

III&WJS ,...... ..,Cefplam IWTHE ;""!ATION

46

THE NATION

WEDNFSDAY. ocroBER 31 . 2012

N[W~a

Youths petition Aregbesola over kingship tussle HE Drill' Owu Youths Forum in Osun State has c;an.vassed for the installation of Muyiwa Adejobi a! the traditional ruler 01 the community. maintaining that both I:r<Jditiorial and spiritual roMultations have revealed thai it is only the descendant of the IateO>a who can Tq1lace him.

In a letter add~ to Governor Raul ~besol. dated Sep.. tcmber 15, lOTt. the youths ~ the unwritten law COI1cemmg the existence of some ruIing houses, a~ that there are no.documents 10 buHress any ,rotahonal ,sche?uJe of th~ Ruhng Houses m ~ Owu In thr letterSlgned by the 14 Jead-

T

woo

By Gbe"g' "der.nll ers of the forum and whKh was copied to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. Chainnan of Ayedaade Local Government Areil, Chairman of Qo;un State Council of Oba.!, President of Ayedaade Traditional Council and the OlolYu-ln-Coundl. they said "the death of the late Adejobi has throv.-n the whol~ ancient city of Orile Owu into confusion 'for such incident was strange, unnatural thus, a taboo in Yoruba tradition."

In another letter dated Septem-

her 19, 2011 to the Osun State .......• ernment, the Muslim commcirity emphasised that maklng Pnnce Muyiwa the traditional ruler wouJd engender development to the rommunity. Though Muyiwa Adejobi Is a Quistian, the Muslims have pitched their lent with him..

"Without minting words, we are convinced about the sdection or installation of one of the af!Plicants who Is from Afclcl~ Rulmg House and incidentally a son to the late 0kJwu of 0riIe Owu who died,- they 5ilid Even if Muyiwa wants 10 back out right now, it may be difficul! for him to do so becaust' Adejobi's

Monarch makes case for youths

H

IS RDyal Highness, Oba

John~n

Oilltamide hu urged li!.ovemment, the corpor..te worla as well as individuals to evolve more r.0uthfriendly initiatives that WIn p~ pare the young for leadership and busines!l opportunities in Nigeria.

OIatomide made this appeal at the in.. uguration of the Wesco Pool Limited complex in Ore, Ondo State.

He said Nigeria Is a country full 01 enterprising youths who need support 10 explore the emeJ"ging opporturuhes U1 theu- country . Olatomide said that the increuing wave of crime in parts of the country have been attributed to joblessness and idleness. prevalent among the rural youth wtudl often times lead theni to unplea5ant behilviour.

By Adeot. Ogunlade

He said there are immense 0pportunities for potentiaJ investors In areas which include informalion commurucation technology, agriculture, manufacturtn~ con· struction and fashion whiCh can be del·eIoped to actively engage the youths.

Olatomide further lauded the ef· (ort of the Wesco Group in provk:l~ ing job5 for over tOO youthSl" the state.

He said: ..1t Is .. step in the right direction as its showS how private establishments can be committed in providing good jobs to I~ n.ual poor .. I the Ii!.f1IS5TOOI5.

-We need"more private investors to invest in arms ihIIt will provide jobs for young people whO are

increasing faced with the ~ of joblessness. hun~er and other baSic needs of life.

In his opening address, the Chief Executive Officer, Wesco Pool Limited, Mr. Adewale Q;inubi stated th3t the pooI ..nd lottery buslne!ls is one of the highest employers of labour wfiich government must take cogmzance of and provide the enabling environment for the 0perators.

He noted that the objective of the company is to alleviate pov~ and bring jobs to the: generalities of Niserians.

Osinubi said that the complex will provide jobs for over 100 youths lind .. s _e nts including women in Ore, Okitipupa, Owo, Akure, Ondo town and its enviroru;.

family has pn!5I!!nted him as their so1e candidate.

However, Pranet: Mu),iwa. in a letter to the Olowu in Council (Chiefs), said he is willing to offer himself as a - sacnfice for the town.Prince Adem:;rl Iwa argued that since the death the tate Dba was not Mtural and unhmely. filling the \'aCaRt stool cannot follow any existing statutory guidelines or declaration.

While there have been arguments and rounler-arguments on the kingship rdUming 10 AfeJele Ruling House, Muyiwa insisted thai there were precedents in Yoruba land. He irisisted that care must be taken in selecting the ~

"".

"'With sinrerlty, I know and believe that his demISI!: was untimely. thus W\I\iItural. I may not haw the full knowledge of the clrcumstana!S sulTOUoomg the death of the late Olowu, Oba Adelobl whose dreams had not been fully fulfill'"

-On the heels 01 this uncommon incident,. it is expected that thr entire comDllUlily most especi.. Uy. the elders, would take all necessary to tradi~~I~W5tigate ..steps nd unravcl them . sur· rounding his death (car accidenl) which is ~uaUy, in our CU'l10m5 ~lrnW~, a~~inY~

land Unequivocally, the .spiritual consultati(ms Ofl these incidents are prerequisite to has replarement ~ the thione. '"Be that as it may, it is not out 01 poinl to state th3t SLnCe the late a;,a did not die .. 'natural' death

oMuyiWOll Adejobi and his death untimely, thus. hIS replamnent may and cannot follow any existmG; statutory guidelines Of declaration - ) hereby wish to llIle the duds and community to veify these assemons of mine to know that hIS blood (son) wiD be the omy '§acri· Ace' needed to cleanse the town and otowu throne for the betterment 01 Owu-Orile.

-Based on these afon!rT1ft'ltioned l155ertions, I, Prince Olumuyiwa Oladunmoye Adejobi of Afelele Ruling 1Iou5e, wish to register my interest .. nd deslR!d commitment to become the next OIowu of OrikoOwu I want 10 succeed the laic Cba M.O.A. Adt!JObl who did mit complete his aSSignment before the untimely death, Irrespective of any rotabonal schedule of ruling houses on ground,- the leiter whid'l wa5.ro-signed by the heM! or Adejobl 'S f.. mily, p~ Amu", Oyerinde Adqobi stated

Imoke's wife urges more women, youths to embrace agric

~ --­

Agribusiness holds the key to increased food security and grea t wealth creation.

With passion and commltme.nt on th e part of aU s takeholders. the challenges involved in attracting and engaging women and yo ung people in Agribusi ness can be overcome . A portion of soy. bf:.1n fann al SonSh,1i farms