Obasanjo tasks monarchs on youths development, skills acquisition in Ogun

Considering the rising rate of unemployment and underemployment in the country, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the traditional rulers and community leaders to get involved in youths development through skills acquisition and vocational training for a better Nigeria.

The former president said that the statistics showing the increasing level of unemployment and underemployment in across the states and Nigeria as a whole, is alarming, and monarchs as well as community leaders, especially in Ogun state should work with government to find a common solution to unemployment and underemployment as failure to do the needful will worsen the insecurity being faced in the country.

Obasanjo, who spoke at the 13th Gbagura Day as Oluwo Oje – a leader of Gbagura community in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital at the weekend, declared youths must be well taken care by the elders and the government in order to secure the future of the nation by giving them needed education and skills that will not only make them employable, but also self-independent in order for them to contribute to socio-economic growth and national development.

“Gbagura Day is indeed a celebration of unity and the unity must be extended to the entire Egbaland (Abeokuta), there must be unity in Egba and among our Obas (monarchs). What our monarchs should be doing now is to be more united and develop Egbaland.

“You must develop our youths, our Obas should find a way of developing through skills acquisition, vocational training and education in order to make them employable and self-independent”, Obasanjo.

Also, Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman of Sifax Group, the co-sponsor of the 13th Gbagura Day, corroborated former president’s statement on the need for Egba and Yoruba monarchs and traditional rulers to be more united and chart a new course of socio-economic development for Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.

Afolabi, who was the distinguished guest of honour, said, “maintaining unity and togetherness is the key element in achieving any kind of progress as a community. I urge you all to support and pray for His Royal Highness, Oba Saburee Babajide Bakre, Agura of Gbagura and the Council of Chiefs as they discharge their duties as leaders.

“I wish to applaud all industrialists, business men and women and captain of industries of Gbagura origin and Abeokuta as a whole for their efforts in their various areas of endeavours and I wish to urge them to always remember that the community cannot develop as much as it should without their generous inputs and contribution”, he added.