Osun State Deputy Governor, Titi Laoye-Tomori, wants politicians and other well to do Nigerians to engage in youth empowerment programmes as a way of giving back to the society.
Mrs Laoye-Tomori is of the opinion that the gesture would go a long way in reducing the level of unemployment and crime rate among Nigerian youths.
The Deputy Governor was speaking at the graduation ceremony of about 200 youths trained in Information Communication Technology (ICT) under a scheme sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Honourable Akinwale Adegboye, in Osogbo, the state’s capital.
While lauding the gesture, she stressed that the government alone could not do everything and called on the well meaning Nigerians to rise up and lend the government a hand towards making life better for all and sundry.
“It is a way of giving back and I believe it is worthy of emulation by other members of the Assembly and those who are well to do in the community. The government cannot do everything.
“We have quite a lot of our youths roaming about the streets without anything to do. A lot of them are intelligent but they do not have the opportunity to be gainfully employed.
“By empowering them you get the best out of them and this is the way we can keep them from being miscreants within the society. So, I am highly impressed by this programme,” the deputy Governor stressed.
Honourable Adegboye, said the empowerment scheme was his way of giving his constituents their own dividends of democracy.
“We have promised them during the electioneering campaign that they will enjoy dividends of democracy and we have come back today to fulfil our promises despite the dwindling economy,” he said.
“Widows from across the 15 wards in Osogbo Local Government State Constituency were given rice, drugs to keep them healthy and we also gave monetary help to 73 communities” Honourable Adegboye added.