Biodun Esan, Ilorin
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State is building on how to properly engage young people, put money into things that interest them
that help their talents, and refocus the economy to suit the situation of the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor (CPS), Rafiu Ajakaye said this in Ilorin on Thursday at the 37th Media Parliament of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kwara State Council.
Ajakaye said the Governor is investing heavily in human capital development, and critical sectors to make the state economically viable, self-sufficient, reduce poverty, and boost quality of life.
“In all of these, there is a reality we must all live with; not only is our demography changing at a fast rate in favour of young people,
but the government also has never been designed to provide jobs for everyone.
“Many young people are now looking beyond the traditional 9-5 job cycle. Except as a last resort, and for want of better opportunities, many now dream to be their bosses or to find their feet in the private sector.
“While many want to invest in their businesses, a horde of them are leaning towards the opportunities offered by new technology, arts, and entertainment,” he said.
Ajakaye spoke on the topic: “Unleashing Kwara Economic Potentials: AbdulRazaq’s Magic Wand for the Next Four Years”.
He explained that the government has invested in road infrastructure to lessen travel time, ease the movement of goods, people, and services, improve productivity, and boost quality of life.
“The Governor has prioritized spending on infrastructural renewal and expansion within the metropolis and other areas,” Ajakaye said.
He listed such areas to include support for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSE), creative industries, entertainment, tourism and
conferencing, arts and culture, innovation and technology, trade,
agro-processing, and human capital development, adding; “This will create direct jobs, reduce poverty, and lessen crime rates.”
According to him, investments in roads and other social infrastructures and services may not be measured by what economists call return on investments, which are quantifiable in naira and kobo, but the benefits of having them and the consequences of not having them on businesses and human existence.
“For instance, only residents and travelers along Osi-Obbo Aiyegunle, Ilesha Baruba to Gwanara, Yebumot-Adeta, and Adeta Roundabout to Pakata Roundabout, to mention a few, can tell the life-changing impacts of these projects on businesses, transporters and the people of the area.
“There are more than three dozen of such major roads either completed or ongoing in different parts of the state,” Ajakaye said.
The CPS said the administration’s success between 2019 and 2023 in stabilizing things across many sectors like education, health, rural
access to basic amenities, and civil service, accounted for its gaining public trust, and assisted in steadily unfolding its economic
direction for the state.
He said the ready-to-take-off garment factory will, for a start, be sewing ready-made clothes on an industrial scale with corresponding benefits to the state, adding that it will create at least 2,000
direct jobs along its different value chains.
Ajakaye also said the administration has chosen to complete the Osi and Ilesha Baruba campuses of Kwara State University (KWASU) because the campuses will cause rapid socioeconomic development in Kwara South and Kwara North.
He added that phase 1 of the project is now more than 80 percent completed.
“Visual Arts Centre is not a facility without a ready-made market. Kwara has bred some of the finest talents in the creative industry, hence, the government will have beneficial partnerships with the movers and shakers of the industry.
“A corollary to that is the Sugar Factory Film Studio, which is another big movie production facility sited in the old Tate and Lyle building, hence the name sugar factory film studio.
“These facilities; the visual arts center and the sugar factory film studio will help to promote related courses offered at the Kwara State
University and other institutions, thereby creating a unique link between the gown and the market.
“The sugar film factory is 85 percent completed are not just an extension of the school.
“This administration has chosen to complete the Osi and Ilesha Baruba campuses of KWASU because these campuses will cause rapid
socioeconomic development in Kwara South and Kwara North.
“From less than 35 percent in 2019, Phase 1 of the Osi campus is now more than 80 percent completed.
“Once these schools welcome students and lecturers, it will be one of the best strategies to drive economic and physical developments to the
two axes. Jobs will be created, and properties will become more viable.
“Wherever a school exists, a whole gamut of ancillary economic.activities also spring up.
“Private individuals will build hostels, people will sell things for the well-being of the new population, and a lot of service providers will migrate to the area. In all of these, the people benefit,” he said.
Ajakaye said that the intention of the Governor, a great lover of nature, is to refocus how we live and work for a sustainable future, adding; “This is what the Kwara State Master Plan seeks to achieve”.
He added that under the first phase, which is a 20-year Ilorin City Master Plan, at least three satellite towns will emerge from Ilorin, each carefully designed to allow for sustainable living and rapid
development.
“These cities are to respect the limits already imposed by climate change, thereby preventing avoidable loss of lives and properties.
“It may also interest you that the much-talked-about Industrial Park (Phase 1) is now being constructed on the Ilorin-Eiyenkorin- Ogbomoso Highway.
“At 48 percent work level for its preliminary works, it spans over 20 hectares of land, with huge economic potential.
“It will be a standalone community on its own, comprising its schools, hospitals, malls, police station, warehouses, shops, and other facilities.
This in itself will generate thousands of jobs for our people, and.help to spread economic prosperity. Another industrial park is planned.for Kwara South, and talks are still ongoing in that regard.
“In Kaiama, the administration is constructing a Shea nut processing factory which harnesses the potentials of the local community in Shea nut.
“This factory will employ hundreds of workers, mostly from the local community, and will overtime spur improved economic activities.
“Barring any unforeseen delays, the Shea nut processing factory will be delivered in the last quarter of this year,” he said.
Ajakaye urged the people of Kwara State to continue their support for the Governor and thanked journalists in the state for their continued trust in the government.
“To the media, I say to you that we truly cherish your fairness. I bid you to walk with us in good faith, as you always do,
“Kwara journeys to a new level of economic prosperity anchored on productive engagements of its people and every stakeholder, including
the organized private sector,” he added.
END
