[size=14pt]Fashola visits Remand Home, Skills Acquisition Centre.[/size]

We've Provided A Better Option To Begging - Fashola

…Says everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the economy as he visits Remand Home, Skills Acquisition Centre

Feb 14, 2013

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Thursday paid a visit to the Eko Transport Company in Oshodi and the State Remand Home and Skill Acquisition Centre, Isheri, stating that for the State government, nothing is impossible to achieve.

The Governor who spoke in an interview with State House Correspondents at the Isheri Remand Home and Skills Acquisition Centre after the visit based his assertion on the successes recorded at the various vocational units including the Welding and the Electrical Pole Fabrication Department which has become a major production centre for the state's public street lighting poles and traffic light poles.

He also said the Wood Work Centre is where a lot of the State's School furniture and stuff are being made currently, adding that the major supply of the boots for Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and Neighbourhood Watch are being made at the Footwear Centre,

"We have been to the Refrigeration Unit, the Centre where they teach them basic refrigeration, maintenance, operational and management skills. We also saw the Centre where the young ladies were making foot mats, dresses and all of that. They would move on as they finish to the African Growth Opportunities Act Centre (AGOA) in collaboration with the US Government where they can begin to export some of their work", the Governor said.

Continuing, Governor Fashola explained how the centre plays a key role in developing skilled manpower even from among the indigent: "Clearly they are products of our technical colleges and also destitutes and people with drug problems taken through rehabilitation and introduced to the Centres to learn a skill and go back and become useful members of the society".

"So, when we say people should not beg on the streets, we mean it. The reason is that begging is not an option here, everybody must contribute to this economy. So those with drug problems or who are ill have the choice to go to our remand homes, where we feed them, rehabilitate them and treat them".

"So we have provided a choice and there is a law against street begging and we will enforce that law. The evidence of what that choice is has been demonstrated here. People have moved on to become very useful members of society", Governor Fashola explained.

lekanolas:

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday marveled at the ingenuity and the entrepreneur skills displayed by highway hawkers in some Nigerian cities, especially Lagos.

He described the traits displayed almost simultaneously while selling on the highways as misused skills.

The governor said there is nowhere in the world where youths dominated the highways with such entrepreneurship skills.

He said: “I have travelled a little bit and I am not sure if there are many places in the world where we will find young people, running through traffic, balancing their wares on their heads, chase the moving cars and selling their goods, calculating how many they have sold and doing mental sums and giving you change.

“If you just pause to think on the skills displayed, the flexibility and adaptability that is required to carry out those functions. I don’t know how many of us can do it.

“So, let nobody come and tell me that Nigerians are not skillful, let them not also come and tell me that they are not enterprising. If that is not a display of skills and a display of enterprise then you know what it is.”

Governor Fashola, however, lamented that such skills were unfortunately wrongly deployed to unsustainable business, adding that the state government is determined to divert such skills and enterprise to a more promising and sustainable business model.

http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/fashola-marvels-at-hawkers-skills-in-traffic/

1oracle:
Then the moderator that allowed this useless and meaningless thread to be on the front page is the highest and biggest bigot ever to exist on earth. Any useless post that will tarnish the image of the Igbos easily makes the front page but then latter many post will be hidden especially those posts that insults the yorubas.
Shame on the so called moderators on Nairaland.com that sees nothing wrong on threads like this before bringing it on the front page.

PeterKbaba:


And what will PDP do? Simply steal all the money and leave you 10 times poorer!!!

evagre8ful: Hello faculty,please I want to be sure before going to the skill centre,Is it FREE.
I have 2sisters that are interested in sowing(tailoring)and bead making. please anybody that know more about these centre should talk about it here as in how reliable it is. Am nearest to women development centre,agege.

Ammanda :
Aom4 is a bigot moderator
He will not hide and ban his yuroba tribe for these tribal post the same way he descends on other tribes when they do same

Tribalistic people with tribal marks

Send E-Mail Message To aryzgreat

Time registered: March 13, 2012

Time spent online: 1 month & 12 days

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Banned by sexkillz in Politics for Tribalising a thread. Ban expires on 4:30pm On Aug 07

Policewoman: i thought this thread was LOCKED earlier on.

PeterKbaba: what you people fail to realize is that all Yoruba's are one, they all originated from Osun state (ile ife), then spread across SW Nigeria, West Africa.... If you are Yoruba, you can claim anywhere, any state in SW Nigeria

PeterKbaba: what you people fail to realize is that all Yoruba's are one, they all originated from Osun state (ile ife), then spread across SW Nigeria, West Africa.... If you are Yoruba, you can claim anywhere, any state in SW Nigeria

chidyhels: And when did hawking become a crime?
They prefer them stealing and living big ba? Afterall everyone in lagos has to be rich. SMH

seangy4konji: But IGBO people have some kinda inferiority complex problems...chai

dangiwa09:

The IGBO people do NOT hate anyone, especially Yorubas. It's well demonstrated in the IGBOs ability to live in any part of Nigeria peacefully, learn their language and cultures, and even marry there and bring up a family. Rather, it's other tribes, [b]especially the Yorubas that hate IGBOs, from the days of Awolowo, to this day. Fashola, on the other hand is an outlier to this fact. He's doing what is politically, economically and morally expedient for him, AC and Lagos State. Do not forget, people VOTE where they reside and registered, not necessarily in their forefather's state. Tinubu had a long standing agreement/understanding with IGBOs regarding their support, IGBOs insisted on having a say in government, and an enabling environment to do their business and live their lives, this is why the most influential person in Lagos state government BESIDES the governor is an IGBO man, BEN AKABUEZE, he has been so from the days of Tinubu till today. In exchange, the IGBOs will support AC. If NOT, the IGBOs can easily shift the political landscape of Lagos State and give PDP an edge.
[/b]

seangy4konji: what did you mean?

dangiwa09:

How and When are Yorubas ONE?

An Ijebu man will kill an Abeokuta man b4 killing a snake, and an Ekiti man will kill an Ijebu man b4 killing a tiger that's about to kill his son.

Obasanjo engineered/supported what happened to Abiola.

Abiola NEVER recognized nor supported Awolowo.

Obasanjo lured Bola Ige to become AG, then what happened to Bola Ige, and what did Obasanjo do about it.

Did Obasanjo lift a finger to recognize, nor immortalize Abiola.

Throw Omisore, Arisekola and Akande in the mix and you'll get 3rd world war amongst same Yorubas.

Yorubas are ONE INDEED!

[size=14pt]Fashola tells okada riders to take up farming.[/size]

Says there's no going back on new traffic law

Article | September 12, 2012 - 4:11am | By Gbenro Adeoye

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos has told commercial motorcyclists in the state to turn to farming should the new Traffic Law prove too stiff for them.

At a meeting with the state leadership of commercial motorcycle operators, popularly called okada riders, on Tuesday, the governor said their members were free to leave the job.

Assuring okada riders of government support, Fashola advised that their members who could not cope with the law could "register with the Skill Acquisition Centres across the State or take to farming as a profession."

No going back

Reacting to public pressure to suspend the law, Fashola said it had come in force since the day it was signed.

"From the day I signed it, it became a law, so the idea of suspending the law is not something I can do even if I wanted to," he said, stressing that the law was not intended to put people in jail.

"Our intention is to explain to you why this law is in your interest and in the interest of other citizens."

Pointing out the scores of public petitions he receives about the activities of okada operators, the governor added, "Now you think I am restricting you; some people want you banned”.

In his address, Fashola explained the objectives of the law as including the promotion of safety, good health and improved quality of life for all.

He also urged the operators to first comply with the law before complaining, promising that operational adjustments could be made where genuine complaints arose.

Noting the challenges posed by not regulating the activities of the motorcyclists, Fashola said many women and children had been widowed and orphaned, and some had been maimed by their recklessness on the roads.

“You have a right to do business but that right is not absolute. It means you must respect other people’s rights so that they will respect your own," he added.

Rising from the meeting, Tijani Pekis, Chairman of the Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State, promised to initiate programmes to sensitise their members to ensure total compliance.

He added that the association's leadership would also assist in the enforcement of the law.

“One big statement that has been giving me problem since I sat here is, am I going to ask my child to come into this business? I think that question has personally knocked me out of the okada business," he said.

bubbllie: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday said he had sent one of his children to a carpenter’s worshop to learn vocational skills.



He spoke during the maiden edition of Governor’s Education Award held in Lagos on Thursday.



One hundred and twenty six schools that distinguished themselves in the utilisation of the Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project (Eko Project) were rewarded with N2m each by the state government.



The Lagos Eko project is part of the government’s effort at improving the overall quality of education and learning outcomes of pupils in the 629 junior and senior public schools in the state over four years.



Fashola told the audience that he was surprised that his son could not fix a plug after six years of sound post-primary education.



“I called my son and asked him, what do you want to do now that you have finished your secondary education? He replied, ‘I want to do something with my hand.



“And I asked him, can you fix a plug? He said no. Then, I knew there was a problem and we (my wife and I) decided to send him to a carpenter’s workshop to acquire some skills,’’ the governor said.



Culled from The Punch Newspaper, Thursday 1st June 2011.

naptu2: .

Ishilove:
Your siggy is now less alarming

naptu2:

The "large arses" have gone. Finally we have a sane title (both controversial words have been removed).

[size=14pt]Where Have The Skilled Artisans Gone?[/size]


Sunday, 30 June 2013 01:00 By Femi Alabi Onikeku Sunday Magazine - CityFile

“CARPENTER wey no know him work, na swegbe; tailor wey de sew like carpenter, na swegbe… carpenter wey know him work, na kpako; tailor wey dey sew like tailor, na kpako,” sang the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti in 1971. Rendered in pidgin, 42 years ago, the afrobeat maestro highlighted the problem of competence (kpako) and incompetence (swegbe) among the country’s artisans. Ironically, 1971 was a time many, with nostalgia, would describe as a golden era: the days when things, at least, worked.

Gone with the wind, perhaps. Many Nigerians, today, would reel out stories of sad encounters they have had with craftsmen. The scenarios are similar: an artisan’s appearance, workshop, business card etc give the impression that the job would be done satisfactorily. Money, time and trust are committed. And then a letdown follows. Sometimes, the service enquirer even finds he or she has more intelligence about the work than the so-called expert.

“I saw this plumber and had the impression that he could fix the problem,” said Mr. Akolade, a Lagos resident. “I brought him on. He spent some time at work. But the job was badly executed. The man, eventually, picked up a quarrel and left. It appeared he did that to escape from his glaring inability to deliver. Later, another man was called, who fixed the water pipes successfully. The new man, clearly, exposed the incompetence of the first plumber.”

Mr. Oyerinde also shares his experience: “My car developed an engine fault. But it was manageable; I could still move around. I simply wanted to forestall things snowballing into unknown crisis. The mechanic explained the problem away and went to work. Surprisingly, the car refused to start afterwards. We began to push it all over the place; something that didn’t happen before I visited the workshop.”

Alhaji Azeez recounts his ordeal with tailors: “Many of my clothes have been spoilt. They get clothes from elsewhere and display them in front of their shops. You would think it is their handiwork. The day you come to retrieve your cloth, you will not meet them in the shop, perhaps, so that the errors will not be noticed until you get home. They destroy your cloth.”

So, why are mediocre craftspeople suddenly everywhere?

Mr. Adeola is a professional welder with 30 years of experience. “Apprentices, these days, are impatient,” he said. He added that many are distracted and buckle easily under the weight of peer pressure. “And if they fail to learn the core principles of the job, they don’t perform well when they become independent.”

Mr. Adeosun, a tailor, since 1990, said apprentices, unlike their peers several years ago, lack ability to endure hardship, and “youths, today, are only interested in how to get rich quick. They prefer to sell GSM recharge cards and work as pay-phone operators. They believe that by so doing, they will still get some daily returns.

“Some come, and after a few days’ realisation that there would be no immediate access to cash, they zoom off. Some are signed in for a three-year apprenticeship. But they leave after the first year. Anyone who wants to learn a trade, proficiently, must be able to endure. Suffering precedes pleasure. But youths, these days, don’t want to hear that.”

Adeosun thinks the government can reverse the situation by providing incentives, but not until he had lamented a certain “Federal Government allocation for entrepreneurs and apprentices that was announced on radio but which hung mid air and wouldn’t fall into their hands.”

Some of these youths do not have apt backers to sustain them through the years of training, he said. “Imagine an apprentice who comes to the workshop hungry, how would such learn? In my time, I would head for work with 20 kobo. And it was sufficient for my feeding. That is impracticable now.”

The society has a very wrong understanding of craftsmen, as being second-hand citizens, said Rev. Fr. Stephen Omoniyi, Rector of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Onitsha, even as he called on government to step up awareness on the importance of craft in the development of the nation.

One major culprit that might have pummelled the fortunes of artisanship is the widespread use of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada: thanks to a harsh economy and perhaps some government officials’ interpretation of job creation and poverty alleviation. With the chances of raking in quick hundreds of naira daily or even thousands, erstwhile apprentices have snubbed the idea of learning a trade.

But the ban on the use of Okada, in Lagos and other states of the country, might have forced a change of mind. According to Mr. Adeola, the prohibition might be a positive measure that could change the face of apprenticeship. “Many of them are returning to their former trades,” he said. And by implication, persons with a view to taking up Okada riding for a living, might well shelve the idea and learn some trade.

But notwithstanding the poor quality of craftsmen in society or government’s paying of lip service to technical education, credit could be given to one geopolitical zone- the southeast- for ingenuity. People of Igbo extraction seem to have maintained a consistent streak whenever it comes to skills and innovation. This would explain why many Nigerians have happily taken home goods ‘made in London, Italy, France or the United States of America’; never able to prove they were actually crafted in Aba or Onitsha.

“The informal sector in the Nigerian economy is in serious crisis,” says Dr. Bello Raji Abdullghafar, Senior Lecturer, University of Ilorin. “It is not like the formal sector that has methods of registration and rules guiding them. There is free entry; anybody can come from anywhere and claim knowledge on a certain trade.”

Bello enumerated a number of factors responsible for incompetence in the sector.  He identified poverty with a resultant erosion of social values, like honesty. Also fingered is lack of adequate monitoring by parents and pressure: “Children are not yet ready to be independent, but because the parents are depending on what the child will bring, they quickly want such to be independent, despite being half-baked.”

Another factor, according to Bello, is inadequate monitoring of government intervention in the sector. The National Standard Organisation and the National Orientation Agency also need to do more, he said.

“An informal education should be organised for these informal workers, especially craftsmen and artisans. Programmes should be put in place to educate them. They constitute the largest number of listeners to the radio. When they work, they put the radio beside them. If programmes are run on the radio, on redirection and re-orientation, there will be improvement,” he said.

Bello also called for improvement in electricity supply across the country. According to him, “Lack of sufficient power has caused a lot of distraction, to the extent that people who work with electricity prefer to venture into other menial jobs that do not require power supply. And here, we are not talking about learning and perfection; they are just there to make a living. If this problem is not dealt with, infiltration into other profession cannot reduce.”

Is the situation hopeless?

[b]The Lagos State Government will not have its officials speak to the media, without an express order ‘from above’. As a result, the name of the Principal of one of its 17 Skill Acquisition Centres, and the location of the facility, will not be disclosed.

When The Guardian visited the spacious, neat and green premises, about three hundred or more students were seen in various classroom-cum-departments receiving lessons from instructors. There was no shortage of instructional materials in every room. And the students beamed with enthusiasm.

“Tuition is free. The state government set up the facility to fight poverty through skill acquisition, and also to rid the society of crime,” said the Principal. He disclosed that participants are tested periodically and upon graduation they get certificates of proficiency. They, thereafter, receive loans from the Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI) to set up their private businesses.

The Lagos State initiative at providing competent hands and its ability to keep its skill acquisition centres running suggests that much money and resources have been deployed. According to the Principal, the Lagos model has even drawn the attention of other states with a view to replication. It will be recalled that during a visit to the Egan, Isheri and Mushin skills acquisition centres, wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, had expressed satisfaction at facilities put in place by the Lagos State Government.

The Principal noted that a list of qualified graduates and their areas of expertise could be found at the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.  But if the state has invested so much on these centres, then members of the public, who require specific services and quality, should have ready access to these artisans. Why tuck the list in some ministry’s cabinet?

The Guardian’s investigation revealed that attempt to meet the centres’ graduates would entail writing “a letter to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. This would be sent to the Deputy Governor for approval. And in the next seven days, you are going to get result.”[/b]

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education in 2011 launched a new curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools, which will feature 34 trade/entrepreneurship subjects. According to the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof. Godswill Obioma, the curriculum will equip SSCE graduates for higher education and provide technical, vocational and entrepreneurship skills.

If the initiative works, the nation could have more people with basic knowledge to ‘fix things’ both for themselves and for others. But like all things government policy, proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[size=14pt]FULL TEXT OF GOV. FASHOLA'S ADDRESS AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE LAGOS STATE MICRO FINANCE INSTITUTION.[/size]

PROTOCOLS
There was a deep feeling of fulfillment within me as I drove here this morning. I looked out of my window and I saw those poor women selling roasted plantain, groundnuts, roasted corn and yam as well as pure water; I saw the vulcanisers,  mechanics, carpenters and other artisans by the roadside; I saw the barbers and hairdressers in their small shops and kiosks working hard to earn a living. I felt good with myself that today we are launching a scheme that will offer renewed hope to millions of the poor; we are laying the foundation for lifting them out of the poverty net. Each time we fulfill another campaign promise there is immense joy and satisfaction in my heart. Every promise kept strengthens the confidence of the people in the integrity of our word as a government. It deepens that trust between government and the people that is so essential for the progress of our society.

 

The Lagos State Micro-Finance Scheme, which we are launching today, marks a great leap forward in our determination to make poverty history in this state. As we are aware, the central policy thrust of our Administration remains poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development. In this respect, we are continuing with the policy direction of the immediate past Administration and accelerating the pace of our onslaught against poverty. We believe that poverty is the greatest threat to human existence. Poverty anywhere is a threat to the collective security of society everywhere. Poverty imprisons human potential. It erodes human dignity. It breeds the social vices and violent crimes that endanger our collective future.

 

It is an irony that the problem of global poverty has worsened at the same time as rapid technological advancement has phenomenally increased the capacity of man to create wealth on an unprecedented scale. The problem of poverty is indeed made more acute by its co-existence with so much wealth enjoyed by a minority of the world’s population. Realizing the danger of allowing the persistence of such pervasive poverty, the International Community observed the period 1997-2007 as the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. The Millennium Development Goals designed by the United Nations are currently being implemented worldwide with the objective of reducing world poverty at least by half by 2015.

 

Even though the phenomenon of poverty is global, it assumes even more devastating and alarming proportions in underdeveloped societies like ours.  It is so embarrassing, for instance, that in its Y2007 Human Development Report, the UNDP ranked such a resource endowed country like ours157th out of 177 nations in terms of its Human Development Index (HDI). This is a reflection of the unacceptably high and poverty-induced Human Misery Index in the country. Our dismal Y2007 HDI ranking further confirmed a 2006 UNDP report that less than half of the population of Nigeria had access to improved sanitation while those with access to clean water dropped from 48% to 46% in the last 14 years. Again, about 1% of the country’s population enjoys 85% of her oil revenue.  Other manifestations of the country’s poverty level noted in the report include a low average life expectancy put at 43.4 years, high infant and maternal mortality rates  and inadequate power supply to name a few. This situation is clearly unacceptable for a country that has about $50 billion in external reserves and a rising Gross Domestic Product.

 

In Lagos State, our Administration believes that we are simply too blessed to have any business with poverty. Let me make the point that in fighting poverty we are not doing the poor a favor. No, we are only acting in the collective self-interest of the society. Very often, we tend to perceive poverty as solely an effect of economic underdevelopment. In reality, poverty is also a very serious contributory causal factor to a society’s lack of progress. The child who drops out of school and is denied an education due to poverty, for instance, becomes a liability rather than an asset to society. Such a child may turn out to be a social derelict when he or she could easily have become a professional of genius, a thinker or inventor. Society as a whole therefore becomes the greatest loser. This is why rolling back the frontiers of poverty must be a fundamental preoccupation of any responsive government.

 

 We are therefore launching the Lagos State Micro-Finance Scheme for indigent men and women, especially artisans at the grassroots, as a radical step to empower millions of our people to create wealth and shake off the yoke of poverty. Of course it has been demonstrated in several parts of the world, beginning with Muhammad Yunus’ successful experiment in Bangladesh, that Micro Credit is a very potent weapon for lifting the very poor out of the poverty net. This informed the proclamation by the United Nations of Y2005 as the International Year of Micro-Credit and the sustained campaign for governments, Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Society, the private sector and the media to join in raising the profile and building the capacity of the micro finance sector. By this initiative, we are poised to utilize micro-finance as a tool of economic empowerment for teeming millions of our people on a scale that is unprecedented in Nigeria.

 

All indigent residents of Lagos State who have skills or good business ideas but lack the collateral to access credit from commercial banks to finance their businesses will benefit from this scheme. However, we shall give priority to poor women in the implementation of the scheme. In the first place, women are the greatest victims of poverty. Again, they play very strategic roles both as mothers and wives in the home as well as key actors in the economy.

 

In modern society, women are now mostly co-bread winners with their husbands in the home.  Indeed, in several cases especially since the onset of the severe economic recession of the eighties, women bear the sole responsibility of providing for the upkeep of the family. A number of them are also either single parents or widows solely responsible for the financial needs of their children and dependants. It has been proven that one of the fastest ways of lifting a significant number of people out of the poverty trap is to empower women economically. This is because when you empower a woman, you are uplifting an entire family. We believe that women at the grassroots constitute a vital and crucial chain in the development of society as their successful participation in the scheme will in the long run have a positive multiplier effect on hundreds of families, children and society at large.

 

But then, the beneficiaries of this scheme will not be limited to women. It is our goal, through this project, to empower millions of poor men and women to function effectively as agents of wealth creation in society. With the official launch of the Micro-Finance Scheme here today, we shall commence the initial disbursement of the micro credit facilities through the Lagos State Micro –Finance Institution (LASMI) to short listed Microfinance Banks onward to initial beneficiaries of small businesses located within the state. Towards this end, the sum of N250 million has been set aside as initial seed sum for the implementation of the new Scheme and we will continue to grow the capital base of the micro-finance Scheme through annual budgetary provision to a target sum of N5 billion within the next few years.

 

As earlier stated, the Micro-Finance loans will be administered by the Lagos State Micro-Finance Institution (LASMI) through the services of enlisted micro finance banks and cooperative societies operating in Lagos State. The micro-finance banks will deliver credit/loans directly to borrowers at an interest rate lower than the prevailing lending rate in conventional banks.  Our aim is to empower indigent persons who ordinarily would be unable to access loans and credit facilities in commercial Banks to establish small scale businesses. Four micro-finance banks have been short listed on merit to commence the program based on criteria such as financial capacity, staff strength, professional expertise and area of coverage. The Micro finance banks, which will operate in the three Senatorial Districts of the State are:

   LAGOS WEST SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Integrated Microfinance Bank

LASU Microfinance Bank

Ojokoro Microfinance Bank

   LAGOS EAST SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Integrated Microfinance Bank

Mic Microfinance Bank

   LAGOS SENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Integrated Microfinance Bank

Gapbridge Microfinance Bank

As the capital base of the scheme is expanded we will license more microfinance banks to participate in the initiative. It must be stressed, however, that LASMI will at all times work only with microfinance banks that are able to meet the set criteria for the realization of the scheme’s objectives. Let me repeat that the emphasis of the Scheme, midwived by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) and other relevant agencies, is to make credit available to the poor who are skilled or trained but have no access to the very little amount of capital they need to do their businesses and take care of their families.

 

Our aim is to empower the very poor and we will implement the program with objectivity and fairness. I urge the target beneficiaries to take advantage of this opportunity to improve your economic fortunes and that of your families. You must make efficient use of the loan facilities so that you can pay back on schedule and enable others to benefit from the scheme. [b]Graduates of our various Skill Acquisition Centers located in different parts of the state will also be able to access credit through this scheme to put their skills to commercial use. We currently have about 4000 trainees in 11 Skill Acquisition Centers receiving tuition fee training for varying periods between six months and two years. Another positive fall out of this scheme is that it will create job opportunities for young lawyers, accountants, economists and other relevant professionals who will write business plans and proposals for potential beneficiaries to access the desired credit.

 

Let me also say that apart from this Micro-finance Scheme every other activity of our administration is geared to create jobs, alleviate poverty and boost prosperity. Thus, our road construction projects, schools rehabilitation and construction, massive greening of the environment, among others, are also opportunities to generate thousands of new jobs and enable people earn a living. Indeed, one of our first actions on assumption of office was to create holiday jobs for 4500 vacationing students who earned N10, 000.00 monthly before returning to school. We are already planning towards expanding and sustaining the holiday job culture as part of our poverty alleviation efforts.[/b]

 

In the same vein, we are sustaining our free education program in all public primary and secondary schools as well as free health care for children under 12, the aged above 60 and free ante natal care for women. Some of the other specialized free health services we are providing include free Eko Malaria treatment, free treatment for tuberculosis, free eye testing, treatment and surgery including provision of free medicated glasses, free test for diabetes and hypertension, free open heart and other surgeries, free cleft lip and palate corrective surgery as well as free limb deformity corrective surgery. Indigent persons have access to free legal services through our Office of the Public Defender (OPD) while our new Lagos Mortgage Scheme will enable millions of low and medium income earners own affordable homes through convenient long term payment arrangements at an interest rate of not more than 10%. The cumulative impact of all these policies will be to elevate the quality of life of millions of our people and liberate them from the cruel tyranny of poverty. I want to assure the good people of Lagos State that we will not relent till we make poverty history. That is our vision and together we will achieve it.

 

We promised our market men and women that we would give you access to credit to expand your businesses, to own or buy your own shops and stalls. That promise has been fulfilled today. From Mushin to Tejuosho, Oyingbo, Oja Oba, Pelewura, Sandgrouse, Iponri, Alaba, Trade fair, wherever your market is, this is your opportunity to access credit if you need it. You can use it to hire a new shop or buy more goods to expand your business or start a new trade. The only condition is that this money is tax payer’s money and only those who have been paying taxes or show that they have been genuinely unemployed will benefit from it.

 

It is therefore, on this note distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, that I formally launch the micro-finance scheme for grassroots women, men and youths in Lagos State to the glory of God and for the economic advancement and prosperity of every family in Lagos State.

 

Thank you for listening.

 

Eko O Ni Baje O!

 

BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA(SAN)

GOVERNOR OF LAGOS.

 

5th March, 2008.

Koffiman: Attention Mr Seun! U have 48hrs to delete this post and rid this forum of all seccessional, sensational and treasonable posts that have caused ethnic verbal wars and malice, otherwise I will hurt u badly by drawing attention of the FG to this forum that promotes seccessionist tendecies- which is a treasonable felony. This is not a joke as I'm hell-bent on informing the national assembly and the presidency thru my vibrant senator and the SA to the president whom I'm close to. And I hope u know more than I do the consequences of this. Thank u.