Investing In Empowerment Programmes Will Reduce Poverty Rate In Nigeria – Ooni

 

The Ooni of Ile Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has called for change in approach to tackling financial crises facing the country, suggesting a well-planned empowerment programme for only women to reduce the poverty rate.

According to him, engaging women in productive ventures, will aid wealth creation and eventually reduce the rate of poverty in the country.

The monarch who spoke during the 2018 edition of the Ooni Women Empowerment Forum which took place at Okunade Sijuade Hall, in Ile Ife, Osun state, urged Nigerians to ask questions that can check excesses of people in positions of authorities.

Decrying the increasing population in the country without plans to productively engage them, the monarch advised women trained under the programme to make maximum use of the skills acquired to improve their earnings and be financially independent.

He said over 500 women drawn across the country benefitted from the programme and therefore, called on people in leadership positions to assist local product makers in growing their businesses by buying from them.

In his remarks, the Director General of National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Dr Nasir Mohammed, commended the monarch for lending a helping hands to the beneficiaries, urging privileged Nigerians to assist the less privileged acquire skills that can make them productive and earn decent living.

He assured the beneficiaries that the NDE will assist them to market their products, starting with those in Internally Displaced People camps.
Mohammed also said the directorate will later assist them to package and sell the products to some West African countries.

“Privileged Nigerians should help the downtrodden. They all need to learn from Ooni. He is passionate about helping his people. We will assist to market these products the beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes have produced.

“We will try to liase with the relevant government agencies and sell the products to the IDP camps. After we have helped them package the products, we will then sell to other West African countries”.

The NDE boss also noted that women have proven to be better in loan repayment, saying that on that basis, the organisation plans to go to rural areas and organise women into cooperative societies, through which they can assess loans to finance their businesses.