Biodun Esan, Ilorin
Kwara State has expressed its commitment to improving the well-being of its workforce and creating an atmosphere for them to live a decent life after retirement.
A statement issued on Friday by Mashood, Abdulrafiu Agboola, Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Government House Ilorin said that the Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi disclosed this at the maiden Kwara SDGs Convention (1st KW-SDGs).
Alab declared Government support for the realization of the 17th World Sustainable Development Goals, adding that part of these goals centre around ensuring decent work for people and growing the economy.
“The era where Kwara civil servants retire and have nothing to do has passed. What the administration is trying to focus on is to make sure that after you retire you have something to fall back onto.
“The state government is in support of the SDGs which is a blueprint for the global future. We are creating an atmosphere where an average retiree can say, ‘Yes, it paid me when I was working with the government, and I have something meaningful to be doing afterwards’,” the Deputy Governor said.
The Deputy Governor was represented at the occasion by the Commissioner for Communication Bola Olukoju.
Alabi urged participants to see the convention as an opportunity to make necessary inquiries and network towards building a solid foundation for a better tomorrow.
The Convention was organized by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on SDGs, Hon. Mariam Nnafatima Imam, and featured lectures and panel discussions.
The convener of the Convention, Nnafatima Imam said they organized the programme to equip participants with relevant skills and strategies needed to harness opportunities and thrive in agriculture, entrepreneurship and ICT.
“Our goal is to explore vital topics that will not only help us navigate the present but also ensure a prosperous and secure future for everyone, especially those approaching retirement in the Civil Service.
“We aim to equip participants with the knowledge and strategies needed to harness opportunities in agriculture, information and communication technology, entrepreneurship, and other related fields of endeavour so you can thrive both professionally and personally, which is in line with SDG Goal 8, 9, 11 and 12,” she said.
Imam said they conducted surveys and realized that many civil servants usually develop phobia when going for retirement, adding that they need enlightenment on how to cope after leaving the Service.
“We are focusing on civil servants because after conducting surveys we realized some sorts of retirement syndrome that come up when civil servants are about to retire.
“From the survey, we can find out that they need an enlightenment programme like this so that they don’t have a phobia and they can move on even after retirement. Let it be an incubation period for them to carry on smoothly,” she said.
The SSA said the training will be a continuous exercise, adding that the plan includes introducing how the trainees can access loans, international grants and other skills for them to grow.
The Convention was attended by some government officials, Permanent Secretaries, and other top civil servants on Grade Level 15 to 17, including Commissioner for Finance, Dr Hauwa Nuru; and Commissioner for Business Innovation and Technology Hon. Damilola Yusuf-Adelodun.
Among the Speakers were the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Innovation, Ishola Kayode; founder of Tamirah Entrepreneurship Center (TEC), Rukayat Yahaya; and a serial entrepreneur with a focus on Water, Education and Agriculture, Gegele Yahya Olushola.
Others were Managing Director, CNN Limited, Nelson Daramola; and an associate Professor of Enterprise Creation, Incubation and Development (ECID) at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Dr Rahman Oladimeji Mustapha
Ishola, in his lecture, spoke on some of the opportunities in digital innovation, including how it enables the government and participants to diversify the economy.
He said the digital world offers a lot of opportunities that retirees can leverage to network their businesses and meet their economic needs.
“For us to be able to bring life into Sustainable Development Goals in our state and our country, we have to leverage digital innovation.
“In this hall, we have retirees, government officials, and people from civil society groups speaking on collaboration, accountability and transparency. These are key things that can only be driven through the adoption of digital innovation,” he said.
Olushola Gegele, whose lecture was titled “Agricultures: Sustainable Practices and Opportunities for Retirees”, dwelled on how participants can harness the potential of organic waste to create wealth and become self-sufficient.
He said sawdust and rice shafts, after burning and left for a while in a container, can generate mushrooms; whose waste he said can be used as manure for farming.
“Let’s go for waste management if we want to harness the future. Using what we have locally to create economic prosperity.
“This is where the World is going. Retirees can look at what they see as waste around them and strive to turn it into what can give them income,” he said.
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