How ex-militants ventured into fish farming ... Vow to be employers of labour
The Federal Government, through its amnesty programme, is empowering ex-militants from the Niger-Delta region in agriculture. In Edo State, 28 ex-militants were trained in fish farming for one week. This is aimed at making them self employed, as well as employers of labour.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that after the one week training, which commenced last Sunday and ended on Thursday, the ex-militants are to be empowered with tools in fish farming, poultry, piggery and rice farming, depending on their areas of interest.
Speaking with our correspondent during the one week training in Benin, the programme facilitator and managing director, Nolia Consult Limited, Charles Odemwingie, said the training was designed to move ex-militants out of the creeks and make them useful to the society. He explained that the training was in line with the presidential directive to integrate restive youths in the NigerDelta into the society through the amnesty programme.
“To ensure the success of the programme, the Federal Government allowed the trainees to choose what business they wanted to go into. The 28 we are training here today chose fish farming. Some were trained on poultry, piggery and other farming businesses.
“The training is in phases. The first phase is this one week training on the rudiments of fish farming. The second phase is to empower them with all the equipment and tools needed for the business and open an account for them, while the third phase is monitoring and mentoring for three months to know their challenges and ensure the success of the programme. They will also be trained on how to make fish feeds,” he said.
Odemwingie further said that lands, ponds, stalls, water tanks, storage tanks, pumping machines, generators, wheelbarrows, protecting and harvesting nets, fishes, feeds, signposts, fencing wires, tapoleen, mental angle bars and anything that contributes to the success of fish farming would be provided for them.
According to him, the trainees would be grouped into three, four, five, six and maximum of seven persons close to their residences.
“We have to put them in clusters for easy monitoring. Their activities and performances would be monitored for three months to enable them jointly do things at a cheaper rate,” he said.
He said it would be easier to monitor them in clusters than have the fish ponds scattered in different locations.
“At the end of the training we will carry out an evaluation to know how they would cope. This is because the amnesty programme also has its own monitoring process,” he added.
Odemwingie commended the special adviser on amnesty programme, Prof. Charles Dokunbo, for ensuring that the training took place.
One of the trainers, Mrs Patricia Danyil, charged the participants to take the training seriously, assuring that they would be empowered.
One of the trainees, Joe Adoweiuwagboe from Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, said he would apply the knowledge gained from the training for his benefit and that of his family.
“With the knowledge received here, I will prosper in fish farming. I chose fish farming because I already have experience in it. Once I get the equipment the government promised to provide for us I will start immediately,’’ he said.
He appealed to the Federal Government not to renege on its promise of setting up the business for them. He recalled that in the past, government trained some ex-militants but only bought lands for them without tools.
Also speaking, Festus Megbulio from Ovia North East said the empowerment programme would move them away from the creeks and enable them have their own means of livelihood.
“If they can help us with the equipment after the training, it will help us and our families. I am ready to go into fish farming because there is no job. I really appreciate the Federal Government for this gesture,” he said.
Godwin Koro, who hails from Ovia South West Local Government Area, said he made up his mind to go into fish farming because he didn’t want to stay idle anymore.
“I commend the Federal Government and Nolia Consult for the programme. We have been trained. And during the one week training they were paying us N3,000, stipend,” he said.
Another ex-militant, Jackson Sologidi, from Olojama Camp, Ikoro, in Ovia North East Local Government Area, appealed to the Federal Government to fully empower them with all the necessary equipment so that they could become employers of labour.
“We don’t want to be like our colleagues who were empowered halfway and abandoned. I am ready for business because I have been trained,” he said.
They will also be trained on how to make fish feeds