₦airaland Forum

I’m and will remain committed member of the Awolowo family — President Jonathan

The Nigerian president condoled with the family of the deceased.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday visited the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Hanna Awolowo, in Ikenne, Ogun State, to commiserate with the family over the death of Oluwole Awolowo, the Publisher of Nigerian Tribune Newspaper.

Mr. Jonathan landed in Ikenne in a chopper marked NAF 571 at the Ansar Udeen Primary School from where he moved to the home of the Awolowo’s. The president was joined in his official car by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Segun Adesegun.
Mr. Jonathan, in the condolence register, said he was sad by the death of the late publisher and son of Premier of the Western Region, Obafemi Awolowo.

“Ordinarily, at three scores plus, one will be grateful to God,but still, this death of Chief Oluwole Awolowo is very painful to all of us. May God grant his soul a peaceful rest and let the family have the fortitude to bear the loss,” the president wrote in the condolence register.

While speaking to the family of the bereaved, the president said he was short of words to condole the Awolowo family.
“It’s a period that we lack words, even though as a teacher and politician, in some cases though, I’m generally somebody of very few words. But in some situations, even the very few words disappear. So we really lack words to express our feelings,” the president said.

“Ordinarily at that 70, which is why I have said that from Biblical injunction, three scores and ten, is an age where you thank God to attain, especially in a country where the average life span is quite below 50. But under the circumstances, his death is painful to all of us.

“To me, I’ve seen the way the Awolowo family has taken me as their own and I would have loved to be here almost every day. Gbenga Daniel (former Ogun State Governor) can attest to that. You have taken me as your own; this is not the period to say it and I have the opportunity to say that and the whole world can know.

“I remain grateful to you for integrating me into the great Awolowo family. That is why I asked the first time I heard about the death that have they informed mama? It was Douglas that told me that they have not informed her and I asked him to go to Lagos and follow this’.
“I pay my personal condolence to mama and the entire members of the family and I also condole with the children, especially the younger ones that are still expecting significant parental care.
“I join the Bishop to say God knows everything and he knows the reason for everything. On our part, we will continue to be members of the family and any little thing that God has given us the privilege to do the children, they are my children and my brothers.
“So mama, it is painful but God knows best and we pray that you don’t experience this again and God will see you through. Mama, I’m your son, I will continue to be with you,” Mr. Jonathan stated.

Earlier, while welcoming the President, the eldest child of the Awolowo’s, Tola Oyediran, expressed the family’s appreciation to the Federal Government.
“On behalf of the family, I want to really appreciate you. You have no doubt identified with us in this journey, even when we thought it was too big for us to carry, you were there to help us carry the load.

“We did not think at all that you would come and see us. What you have done today, it will remain forever in our hearts and we pray for you and your entire family that you will never know sorrow in Jesus name. Everything that you desire in your heart, we pray that the Lord will grant it to you.

“I want to welcome you on behalf of Awolowo family and mama and to assure you that your stay here will be peaceful,” Mrs. Oyediran said.
In a related development, the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, also paid a condolence visit to the family and prayed for the soul of the deceased to rest in peace.

“We have lost a brother, a progressive and ideology in this country. I pray that God should (grant) him an eternal rest,” the OPC leader wrote in the condolence register.

The protesters had given prior notice to the Police before their protest.

The Police in Bayelsa on Tuesday arrested 30 unemployed graduates for participating in a mass protest in Yenagoa over lack of job opportunities in the state.

Scores of youths, mostly unemployed graduates, had earlier trooped to the streets in Yenagoa, protesting what they described as the high rate of unemployment in the state.

However, policemen from the Bayelsa State Police Command used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

The protesting youth were arrested at Yenizue-Gene in Yenagoa by teams of policemen and operatives of the state-owned security outfit, ‘Operation Doo Akpo’.

Among those arrested were five leaders of the protesting youths. Those arrested were detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department and underwent interrogation for their roles in the protest.

Numbering over 150, the unemployed graduates staged a peaceful protest in the state capital over the State Government’s alleged neglect and insensitivity to their plights. They had earlier given a 30-day ultimatum to Governor Seriake Dickson to lift the embargo on employment into the civil service to absorb them.

The protesters, under the aegis of Unemployed Graduates Forum of Bayelsa, claimed they had made efforts to meet with some top government officials to resolve the crisis. They said their efforts were fruitless as the one-month ultimatum given to the government to create 20,000 jobs for jobless graduates had lapsed without a shift in position by the government.

There was stampede at the Yenizue-Gene area of Yenagoa as the police sent reenforcements to the area with about 10 vans and arrested over 30 persons while the rest fled.

The protesters, who were dressed in white T-shirts with inscriptions, “We need jobs”, “Give us jobs”, said they would not be intimidated by the arrest of their members.

The spokesperson of protesters, Anthony Joseph, a mechanical engineering graduate, said that they had notified the Bayelsa State Police Command Command of the protest three weeks earlier.

“We are fighting a just cause, most of our graduates have been unemployed for between five, seven years and 10 years. We have met the Commissioner for Science and Technology and other top government functionaries in the state on the need to create jobs for us but all efforts proved abortive. Government should come and ameliorate our plight. We are pleading with government to create jobs for us. They should release our detained members,” Mr. Joseph said.

The Public Relations Officer of the Bayelsa State Police Command,Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the arrest of the protesters, saying they were being interrogated. Mr. Akhigbe recalled that the group had informed the Police Command of their protest but said that the permit was not granted.

The farms could help revive interest in agriculture among Nigerian youth, the government said.
The Federal Government said on Thursday that it would reopen the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) farms in each state of the federation.
The Minister for youth Development, Inuwa Abdulkadir, said this in an interview in Jos, Plateau State.
Mr. Abdulkadir said that the establishment of the farms would go a long way to complement the existing NYSC Loan Revolving Scheme aimed at engaging the corps members in agriculture
“Year in year out, every batch of the NYSC has been participating. But you know, it’s still a pilot programme but we intend to expand and re-open NSYC farms across the country and utilise them.
“This is going to be in partnership with the state governments and the Bank of Agriculture and the Small and Medium Scale Development Agency of Nigeria.
“The whole idea is to expose them to agro business enterprise so that at the end of the day, they can become self-employed or even employers,” he said.
According to him, once the youth are involved in agriculture, it will be of immense benefit to the nation as it will create employment opportunities and boost the economy.
“When they are in multiples the nation stands to benefit, because we will have more people involved in agriculture and that will boost the economy.
“The most concrete thing we are thinking of doing and we will start soon, is this partnership with the Development Bank to boost agriculture and to encourage young persons to go into agro-business from production, to processing, to marketing,” he said.
The minister said he was optimistic that the current drive at making agriculture attractive and lucrative to the youth would reduce the rate of unemployment in Nigeria.