Extend your employment generation drive to Oyo, Alaafin begs Dangote
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has appealed to the president of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to setup viable companies i no yo kingdom as he is doing across the country.
Speaking at the weekend during a meeting with the management of Dangote Group in Lagos, Oba Adeyemi lauded Dangote for employing thousands of Nigerian youths, noting that the nation would witness real growth and development when able youths are gainfully employed.
In his response, Dangote assured the Alaafin of his readiness to bring investments to the ancient town by exploring the agricultural potentials of the area to help reduce youth unemployment and vulnerability of women. he promised to mandate the management of Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) to look into social welfare projects it could undertake for the benefit of the people of Oyo.
Dan got es aid all hands should be on deck now more than ever before for job creation in view
of the growing insecurity in the country, noting that joblessness is a major factor breeding criminal elements.
“If we must enjoy what we have, we must be secured. The security of lives and property is not that of government alone, we all have a part to play. The whole thing still has to do with adequate funding,” Dangote said.
The business mogul told the Ala a fin that his foundation would put up a team to study the situation and come up with projects that could be undertaken in Oyo that would have positive impact on the youths and the vulnerable women.
Earlier, the Alaafin had told his hosts that he came because of the concern for the growing youth unemployment in his domain in particular and the nation in general, saying he needed to be assisted to create jobs for the youths.
Oba Adeyemi pointed out that Dangote is a phenomenon in Nigeria and his companies are noted for job opportunities across the country and pleaded that the company should help look into areas where the Alaafin’s Palace and Dangote Group can partner for mutual business relationship.
He explained that Oyo is rich in agriculture and urged the company to come and tap into the agriculture potentials of the town to the benefit of the two parties, adding that the agricultural sector has potentials for job creation and food security.
The Alaafin and his entourage were received by Dangote at Ikoyi global headquarters of the conglomerate together with the company’s group executive director, Devakuma Edwin, who told the monarch how the company had been contributing to the engagement of youths in parts of the country through the Dangote Youth Rice Farm project.
He then introduced Alaafin to the management of dan got er ice and assured that the team would take a study of Oyo town with a view to replicating the youth rice farm project which had earlier been introduced in neighbouring Iseyin, also in Oyo State, so as to create jobs for the teeming graduates.
Edwin explained that the Dangote Youth Rice Farm project is an out-grower scheme where the company would provide seedlings, fertiliser, chemicals and other input to the youth farmers and upon harvest buy back the paddy rice from them at the prevailing market rate and then process for consumption.
The GED regretted the growing youth unemployment, describing it as a serious issue that should be addressed quickly. He lamented that many youths have taken to crimes due to frustration arising from joblessness.
“A situation where a brilliant child could not go to school because the parents are not paid salaries is very frustrating both to the child and the parents. A situation where others struggled to go to school and graduated only to be job less could be very frustrating too,” Edwin said.
“All these are what cascade to social malaise like terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes because if the youths cannot get job to do, they just would have to channel their energy towards a direction. This is just one of the reasons we started the youth rice farm projects,” he said.