Bayelsa govt to outlaw youth restiveness, destruction of national assets through vocational trade

AGAINST the backdrop of several cases of pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and restiveness among youths, the Bayelsa State Government has shown unwavering commitment and determination to outlaw youth restiveness and destruction of national assets as it targets to train 2000 youths in different vocation and trade to redirect their energies to productive use.

The government is implementing this through the State Commissioner for Youths Development, Hon. Collins Cocodia, who noted that presently a total of 1000 youths were earmarked for training, just as he noted that government had applied three concepts to enable it succeed. The concepts were training, orientation and engagement.

The commissioner averred that 150 youths had just been trained at the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality in the field of event planning, interior decoration, catering and baking, even as he pointed out that the ministry of youths development had sent out 500 forms to designated outlets in the state for youths to be trained in aluminum fabrication, poultry management and snail farming.

According to him, government’s desire was to mop up idle hands in the state, which would in turn dissuade youths from engaging in nefarious activities, even as he noted that government had already paid its counterpart funding because the training would be done in collaboration with ITF.

Cocodia emphasised that the catch them young programme were ongoing, stressing that principals of secondary schools had pleaded with government to increase intake from 300 to 600 from the Senior Secondary (SS1- 3) students; and pointed that the programme had kicked off with 300 students at the Tungbo Grammar School in Sagbama Local government area of the state.

Accordingly, he posited that at the end of the programme starter packs would be given as well as soft loans with minimal requirements after the presentation of two guarantors from the private and government officials to ensure that loans were recovered for other graduating students to benefit.

The Commissioner averred that a Self Reliance Economic Programme is also in the offing at Odi, in Kolokuma/Opokuma council area and that no fewer than 300 person were earmarked for training to enable them become self reliant, as well as employer of labour in the near future.

Cocodia, who lauded Governor Seriake Dickson as a youth loving governor, said the Bayelsa Airport and the Agge Deep Sea Port would also require local content and as such government was committed to train more youths to ensure availability of manpower to fill vacancy when the project is completed.

He informed that youths would be trained in the area of ticketing, traffic control, and handling of luggage to service the airport, while certified divers would be trained for the Agge Deep Sea Port, as well as other vocations.

The commissioner bemoaned the inability to find 20 certified divers in the Niger Delta, stressing that the trainees would be sent to lagos and warri to engage in theory and practical training and thereafter deployed back to the state.

He was emphatic that peace could not thrive in a state when there were retinue of idle hands among the youths, stressing that Bayelsa was enjoying a peaceful society and environment because government was committed to training, orientation and engagement of youths in the state.

According to him, orientation was necessary to encourage the youths to embrace training, against the backdrop that some might just be interested in the starter packs/loans but not the training which is the most important ingredients.

He posited that money was not the biggest challenge, but the reorientation of the young minds to embrace the window of training opened by government, even as he posited that it may be difficult to get all monies because of the recession but that Governor Dickson has been supportive as every kobo in the ministry is channel to train the youths in order to give them a future that would also translate to peace in the state.