ANENIH ACCUSED OF HIJACKING PDP FOR PDM AGENDA

The recent reconciliation tour embarked upon by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Chief Tony Anenih, to seek peace  and reconcile  members of the party may have worsened the crisis of confidence rocking the biggest party in Africa. It  has stirred up a huge controversy within the party as some stakeholders  are accusing the foxy politician of seeking to hijack the party for the agenda of the Peoples Democratic Movement  (PDM) tendency within the party His tour of Rivers State and the public courting of the Governor,Rotimi Amaechi  last week is being seen by some top members of the party as part of the PDM script . Chief Anenih was and remains a top ranking member of the PDM founded by the late Major-General Shehu Yar'Adua A top placed source within the party  described the PDM agenda as seeking  to enthrone a presidential candidate  for the 2015 elections other than President Goodluck Jonathan. According to the source," the  reconciliation visits were used to discussed more than  peace and unity in the party." Opponents o the  BOT chairman's reconciliation tour  insist that it is not the duty of Chief Anenih to be begging party members like he did with his visit to Governor Rotimi Amaechi because PDP as a party is bigger than any one individual."After all, this is a party that once deregistered its members, don't get me wrong,I'm not advocating for that, but we will not allow any one individual to hold us to ransom no matter how  highly placed or important .The party must be supreme to all members, its policies must be accepted by all who claim to be members of the party  and not some members seeing themselves as more important" a top politician from the North Central fumed. Sources informed that it was as a result of this feeling of being important than the  party that forces loyal to the presidential ambition of President Jonathan decided to cut Governor Amaechi to size by seizing  the party structure  in Rivers State from him using his one time Chief of Staff and presently Minister of  State for Education, It was gathered that most of the party's apparatchiks who support the presidential ambition of the President, think that rather than  Chief Anineh going on a reconciliation tour of the states, the party Chairman and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party ought to have  been empowered fully and exclusively to embark on such a tour. "The chairman of the Board of Trustees  is like a father to all and as such should not get involved in what ought to be the duty of the chairman of the party who is in charge of the day to day activities of the party. So by dabbling into reconciliation tours, Chief Anineh is indirectly undermining Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, creating the impression that he is not effective. This does not augur well for the party when we are not too far from the next election"" a chieftain of the party from the South-South region said. Investigations revealed that it is the alleged inappropriateness of the reconciliation tour that  that has led some members of the party to  suspect that the Chief  Anineh embarked on the tour for his own end. Hence the allegation that the tour was meant to revive the PDM tendency in the PDP  now that battle for who flies the party's ticket in the 2015 is in full swing, in order to foist its agenda on the party. "The agenda is simple, get another presidential candidate ,other than the President to run for office in 2015." a party stalwart revealed. It was gathered that what appears to fuelling speculation that ,Chief Anineh is working for the PDM agenda is a recent text message sent out by a known acolyte of Chief Anineh in Delta State asking for  a financier for the PDM tendency in Delta North (Aniocha area) in Delta State. "This text message started going out immediately Anineh embarked on the tour. How come the coincidence of such a message from  some one so close to him?" asked the source. What appears to be giving credence to the ongoing speculation of a hidden agenda by Chief Tony Anineh  on his tour is that sources in Abuja say the tour was bankrolled by two Ministers in President Jonathan's cabinet who are known to have fallen out with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur over their gubernatorial ambitions in their states. According to PDP sources the Ministers wanted the PDP National chairman to support them in their bid to hijack their state  executives of the  party in pursuance of their gubernatorial ambitions  without due process but Alhaji Bamanga refused. Investigations revealed that among stakeholders in the PDP,it was only one elder of the party from the South-South region  who confronted Chief Tony Anineh on why he was embarking on a reconciliation tour  when the chairman of the party had just concluded one ,pointing out to him that such a move is divisive at a time the opposition is trying to come together. " The elder told him pointedly that going on reconciliation tours of the states was not one of his duties as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party. He told him that he was undermining the Chairman and the NWC of the party by such an action and therefore he should not do that again and give the chairman maximum support to ensure that President Jonathan emerges as the presidential candidate of the party as well as become the president in 2015 elections" an influential member of the party informed.

Government, Create jobs now!

08074420617 sms only Published on Peoples Daily Weekend, 28-04-2013 Last week on this space, I took time to explain the worrying rate of unemployment in the country, many people agreed with me that the doom day is just too near. Also the kidnapped Council chairman of Ejigbo Local government in Lagos Kehinde Bamigbetan, who was   released same  Saturday brought back more worrisome feedback from the kidnappers den. He said his   kidnappers are graduates who have been on the street and could not get jobs "They said they were graduates and this country has not provided jobs for them and the same country that has rendered them unemployable spend billions of naira everyday on wasteful projects. They graduated about six years ago with no employment and they have to do this, take the risk. They have to take part of the national cake." Just like many victims of violent crimes in the country, their assailants are mostly young educated and brilliants, How do we explain to our unborn children that our best brains in our country, are force to take to crime due to unemployment ? It is absolutely wrong. it's time the government looks into creating jobs, it very simple, let the country works effectively! let the textile sector be restored to its past glory, let the Delta Steel Company works at its full capacity, let the Ajaokuta steel mill is set on the run, millions of youths would be off the streets. Hundreds of job creation projects are suffering setbacks under the present administration, a project to create more than 10 million jobs in ten years has been swept under the carpet at the Planning Ministry, yet this government look helpless on creating jobs. What are the Nigeria Directorate of Employment NDE, Ministry of Youths doing, are they running short of ideas to tackle this menace?  My findings reveals that every states in this federation has more than two integrated manufacturing companies that has close shop, let them be revived. Revival of our manufacturing sector, controlling our level of importation  would go a long way to reduce our unemployment rate. Our rural schools lacks teachers, the government should put efforts in place to train graduates to become teachers, while business environments are make conducive for young entrepreneurs, the power sector must be fixed, a stable power supply will create a revolution in the industrial sector and a flourish of the informal sector will take millions of youths off the street.  All these and many more which the government am sure are aware can save the country from the time bomb of unemployment. No country has ever developed with this high rate of unemployment in its land.   Re the doom day is here I will try to keep as tradition on this platform to publish every first five comments I received from  my readers, thanks Our government has forgotten that an idle hand is the devils workshop, thanks for reminding them once again- Kefas, Numan Yola Insecurity is a social problem Nigeria urgently needs social help- Ibrahim, Suleja The government is trying its little best, the youths should complement by being creative in creating jobs, you just painted a government that is doing nothing to address the issue, it's not fair- Nosa You did not apologize for the long break in bringing this column, 'Unemployment is a global phenomenon, we must learn to live with it'  - Aliyu Adamu (AA)Bauchi  Bad Governance is the major cause of our woes; we have good resources but bad leaders, may God help and deliver  us

Making Graduates Employable

Published On: Mon, Apr 22nd, 2013 Peoples Daily Newspaper In Nigeria, working experience has been a challenge for  graduates looking for jobs. In this report AYODELE SAMUEL writes on efforts to tackle it Oluwaseun Akinwale is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife Osun State, since her completion of NYSC in 2011 all her efforts to get a befitting job has been futile. Armed with her degree, discharge certificate, and other relevant professional certificates, Oluwaseun misfortune had always been more than two years work experience which most firms are demanding from her. "one major problem have been facing in search of jobs has been working experience , no company wants to give me a trial, they don't want 'try and error', and are not ready to spend on graduates training, all they want is a perfect applicant, who has got the experience to improve their organization, "Oluwaseun told Peoples Daily. In Nigeria today, many young graduates like Oluwaseun, are struggling with 'years of work experience' which makes it difficult to secure dream jobs from multi-national organizations. However succor has come the way of Oluwaseun, as the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Public Works, Youth and Women Employment Component of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P) established the (Graduate Internship Scheme) GIS, which aims to provide the unemployed graduates youths with job apprenticeship opportunities that will expose them to skills and experiences relevant to the current labour market and enhance their employability. Such interns can use the opportunity not only to gain working experience and enhance their employability , also provides graduates interns with a monthly stipend of N18,000.. Launched in October, 2012, the Project Director of GIS, Mr Peter Papka said it is a social scheme to ensure that Nigerian graduates are not subjected to unemployment due to lack of experience. He said GIS is one of the windows the government is opening to create opportunities for jobs for the Nigerian graduate. Speaking during the first orientation session in Lagos to interact with the firms and interns in order to train the interns on work ethics, motivational issues and to exchange ideas on how to move the programme Lagos, Bayelsa, Ondo and FCT has the highest number of applicants, but the scheme might be considering 1,000 interns per state of the federation. According to Papka, deployment of graduate interns has commenced with more than 13,000 graduates applied for the scheme in Lagos. He disclosed that of the first batch selected for the scheme, 158 interns are to work in 50 firms in Abuja while another 168 had been selected to work in 60 firms in Lagos, saying that one of the aims of the scheme is to target graduates who the present administration believes should be strengthened by building their capacities for post-scheme employment in their places of their deployment. "The project has commenced registration of firms and over 88,000 beneficiaries have been registered, this is beyond our target of 50,000 allotted for the scheme in any given year, however the government might increase the numbers of participant to accommodate other unemployed graduates who are queuing up to partake in the scheme. The Project Director therefore advised the graduates to see the opportunity as a rare opportunity for self-development that would encourage the companies see their productive potentials and by implication, avail them opportunity of employment after their one year engagement. "Go in there to build your skills in sectors which I believe will create avenues for you and an opportunity for you to demonstrate you have an opportunity to demonstrate you have something to offer and can be employed "The firms have assured us that some of you will be retained and I hope you will go in there and change the face of the way organisations render their services." He said the GIS would engage the Small and Medium enterprises in Lagos to ensure that they benefited from the scheme. He said the private sector which is the major driver of the economy would not employ fresh graduates who lacks employability skills and experience to move the organization forward. The Major challenge of the Graduate Internship Scheme is that the level of buy-in from the firms is below expectation, Papka said very few firms have applied for the interns despite the advantages that will accrue to such firms. "They get to enjoy free labour at government expense as government will pay the monthly stipends of the interns, they get to select the best interns to join their workforce and they get a cost-free opportunity to render their Corporate Social Responsibility. The project is also planning other incentives like tax rebates for companies registered with the Project. He added that as part of efforts to rev up interest of firms and multinationals across the country , is the planned interactive session between the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and captains of industry and heads of national and multinational corporations on the 29th April, 2013 at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton. This is to be followed by state-level engagements with firms all over the country. Communication Advisor SURE-P Community Service Women and Youth Empowerment Programme Mrs Mary Ikoku Said the scheme is set to increase jobs opportunities for graduates by making them employable "we have the complains that many of our graduates are unemployable, the government under the present administration decided to create the component under the SURE P programme targeted at delivering a prominent job opportunities for the teeming unemployed graduates, the scheme basicly is to provide employability skills and also skills to make our graduates employable, you will agree with me that some of our graduate are unemployable this has been the complain from job providers, various stakeholders where consulted to put this programme together. She said the SURE P is using the scheme for providing jobs for women and youths by reinvesting the subsidy funds into training of the graduate, women and youths Nigeria through the Youth and Women Employment Component. She said some mechanism have been put in place to monitor and evaluate deployed interns, to ensure the graduates works in a safe environment, to ensure they are well taken care of, they are treated at par with the other employees of that establishment, we let them know that whatever guiding principle that exist in any establishment is attainable to them, they must submit themselves submit themselves to any rules and regulation obtainable in any organization they are assigned to go and work. She urged youth across the country to ensure that their skills have been developed towards empowering them to be employable in the short, medium,long term. GIS will ensure that youths are attached as apprentices in reputable public and private firms for a period of one year where the skills of such individuals will be sharpened as well as boost their chances of becoming self employed. While the GIS is designed as a short-term measure, it has high prospects for job creation in the country. http://peoplesdailyng.com/making-graduates-employable/

The doom day is near

I-Thoughts with  Ayodele Samuel  08074420617 SMS only (written for Peoples Daily Weekend 20-04-2013) Just in the last two weeks, have heard and read about more than 15 kidnapping cases in the South West region, the least of the ransom was 50,000, and in that same week have seen hundreds of unemployed graduates struggling for less than 30,000 monthly jobs . Well I advised many to return to farming! With unfolding developments here in Lagos,  those of us who believes the South west is the safest of all place to live would realize we still in dream land, waking up now is not just wrong . As a nation with  more than 50 million unemployed youths  excluding recharge card sells, Mai Ruwa (Water Vendors) Achaba riders,  nowhere can be safe in this country until something is done to engage these youths. In a nation were out of every 100 graduate 85 are unemployed, we should be not worried about robbery, kidnapping, advance fraud because we bargained for nothing less. Just if you don't know kidnapping is the fastest money making venture in the Southern part, second to armed robbery, ritual killings, selling of babies, advance free fraud among others, insurgents can be tackled through dialogue but the only language a hungry man understand is food . Growing insecurity across the country won't end, not with our government approach to tackle growing unemployment in the land. In a nation whereby less than 100,000 out of more one million annual graduates secured a job within same year, yet our governments at all level  look helpless on creating jobs. No nation in any part of the world will keep such an army of unemployed youths and would be secured for lives and property. Let me give a clear example, early this year a very young promising medical doctor  Irawo Adamolekun was shot dead  in Lagos by a group of street urchins.   At his funeral his sister Ojia gave this strong words which went unnoticed "My brother was not assassinated,  He was murdered because the country failed the individual who held the trigger. He (the gunman) who robbed my brother and killed him wasn't given the opportunity to go to school, he wasn't given a job. "Every citizen should be entitled to a kind of job whether he or she is educated or an illiterate and if not, the poor will continue to attack the middle class which my brother fell into." Ojia said the man who pulled the trigger and killed her younger brother must have been one of the many frustrated young Nigerian youths. She blamed Irawo's death on the failure of government at all levels to provide enabling opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the country. Also During the occupy Nigeria protest in Ojota, a placard caught attention of few eyes "one day the poor would wake and have nothing to eat than the rich", am pleased to announce that the doom days are near. When 50 Million youths would bounce on the ill gotten wealthy ones in their community, when ridding a flashy car would become a grave offense to the poor man next door,  their children who schooled abroad won't be able to walk freely on the streets of Nigeria for the fear attack of these angry youths, the doom day is near.   The only way to stem our growing security challenges is to give a better live for the youths,massive Creation of jobs across all tiers of government is the only price that will avert these doom days. Else   as unemployment continue to raise, our security agencies will continue to battle terrible security challenges which I hope will not over power them one day.