OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

1 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

Speech of

Her Excellency Mrs. ‘Funmi OLAYINKA Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria,

At the Youth Summit organized by the State Government and RISE Network as part of activities marking the One year in office of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi led administration in Ekiti State, on Tuesday

October 11, 2011.

Protocols Great youths of Nigeria and the youth at heart, I welcome you all to this Youth summit put together by our state government in collaboration with RISE Network for our youths. This summit is organized with the intention of providing opportunities for youths to reassess their contributions to national development in general and particularly that of Ekiti State. I am aware that the objectives of this summit amongst others are: • To ensure cultural transformation and capacity

building that will ensure wholesome mental, financial and intellectual liberation of the average Ekiti youth.

• To provide guidance and direction for their thought process, ideas and aspirations; positively affect their

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

2 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

mindsets and refocus their creative energies on purposeful endeavours.

• To encourage Ekiti youths to value education again, while we create a first level platform for talent discovery, intellectual and skill empowerment in order to strategically position them for gainful employment after school.

• To re-vitalize the time honoured values of Ekiti fore-fathers of enlightenment, discipline and dignity of labour.

On behalf of your governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi (Ph.D), a lover of the youths who had put the issue of youth development on the front burner of the administration of the state, I welcome you to this important summit, where we hope our youths will sit together in a relaxed atmosphere to chart a new path of self development for themselves. The 8-point agenda of this administration re-emphasized our belief in the youth as leaders of tomorrow. This is partly why four items on the agenda are aimed at encouraging youths at achieving their full potentials. As you are equally aware, the administration of Dr. Fayemi because of his strong conviction in youth development has in the last one year reduced unemployment among our youths, while also planning to engage not less than 20,000 Ekiti youths who would be trained in mechanised agriculture by 2014.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

3 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

Another item where the governor has being engaging our youths is industrial development under which the state government intends to create technology and industrial parks for small and medium scale enterprises and establishing micro-credit facilities for young entrepreneur. I am glad to inform you that no fewer than 20 young entrepreneurs have been empowered financially to establish their own businesses and many others are on the queue to benefit from the programme. If there is any area which the state government has excelled in the last one year, it is in the area of job creation for the youths. It is on record that over 5,000 of our youths have been taken off the streets and absorbed into the state government service under the Job Creation and Youth Empowerment programme of the government. Just this morning, I had at an earlier event, opened a training programme for another batch of 2, 500 youths under the state Volunteers Corps scheme. This programme is ongoing and our plan is to take thousands of our youths off the streets through gainful employment in the years to come. May I assure you that the programme is receiving accolades and fast becoming a model as exemplified in the applause it received recently from the Minister of Finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who recommended the programme to other states of the

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

4 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

federation as a way of combating youth unemployment in the country. While the state government is concerned about the future of our youths, it is disheartening that some of our youths of today are daily endangering their lives by indulging in social vices that can compromise their futures as leaders of tomorrow. Many of our youths in higher institutions are daily being recruited into secret cults that promote criminal activities exemplified by the upsurge in crimes such as armed robberies, internet frauds and rape cases which have further dimmed the hope of a brighter future for some of our youths. It is in this light that I call on the federal government to take the issue of youth unemployment seriously and find solutions to various problems associated with our youths, as it portends great danger for the future of this country. I hope the relevant authorities at the federal level will redouble their efforts to engage our youths in meaningful and productive ventures for the good of the country. In Ekiti state, the greatest challenge facing the youths is in the area of complacency and lack of willingness to work on the part of an average youth.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

5 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

Also as identified by the organisers of this summit, another major challenge is the inability of an average Ekiti youth to measure up to their contemporaries in neighbouring states and the sub-standard quality of education and graduates churned out by tertiary institutions. Beyond this is the perception of the youth in the state that government and politics are mainstream industry and must be responsible for their livelihood. I am happy that this summit has been packaged to address some of these challenges and assist our youths to rediscover themselves towards becoming responsible members of the society. It is expected that this summit will provide a springboard for the indigenes of the state and other youths from diverse disciplines within the society to teach, interact and mentor Ekiti Youth participants, birthing in them a greater vision for life and inspiring them to greater heights as they scale the ladder of success. I wish you a successive summit and thank you for listening.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

6 | P a g e S p e e c h a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e Y o u t h S u m m i t o r g a n i z e d b y t h e S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h R I S E o n T u e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 1 , i n A d o - E k i t i .

H.E. MRS. ‘FUNMI OLAYINKA DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE, NIGERIA October 10, 2011