On September 10, 2013, I was going through The Guardian newspaper and saw an advertorial on pages 72 and 73 placed by Abia State government which detailed the 244 recipients of free vehicles courtesy of Abia State Youth Empowerment Programme.
Also contained in the advertorial, apart from the names of the beneficiaries, were their personal phone numbers and the vehicles’ chassis, engine and plate numbers. It was further stated that apart from the published recipients, another set of beneficiaries would be handed over vehicles by the end of this month.
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Before the publication I had read in the newspapers, stories of how the Abia State government, through the youth empowerment scheme, had given out several tricycles, sewing machines, computers, cars and others to many unemployed youths in the state.
Initially, I thought the publication was a farce and part of the media propaganda or razzmatazz prevalent among governments at all levels ahead of the 2015 general elections.
I also recalled once reading articles in newspapers written by Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko and Mr Odimegwu Onwumere in which they strongly criticized and condemned the youth programme and alleged that the government was giving out rickety vehicles to graduates in the name of youth empowerment in the state. But surprisingly, some of the published beneficiaries of the programme were from Anambra and Imo states who were born, brought up and are still residing in Abia State.
To confirm the authenticity of the programme before commenting on it, I put a call through to one of the listed beneficiaries by name, Chinwike Ukpaka from Anambra State. Asked about the kind of vehicle given to him, he said it was a fairly used (Tokunbo) Toyota Camry 2003 model.
He said that he was surprised over his selection as one of the beneficiaries, having graduated from university some years ago without any means of livelihood. I asked him if he is a member of PDP in the state, he said no, but he was born and brought up in the state. He further informed that the car is presently being for commercial transportation in the state capital Umuahia.
So the question is, in which way has the state government erred through the implementation of the Abia Youth Empowerment Scheme to warrant some cynics and hatchet jobbers to be criticizing it on the pages of newspapers?
From every indication, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the programme, especially as it is being used to address the massive unemployment among the youths, which has become prevalent in the country and is today one of the greatest challenges facing the nation.
If unemployed graduates can easily engage in kidnapping as confirmed by Mr. Mike Ozehkome (SAN) who was recently released by his abductors in Edo State after being held captive for days, what is wrong in empowering such graduates by giving them free vehicles so that they can use same to earn a legitimate living?
If well managed, beneficiaries of such gesture from government do not need any white collar job because they can be employers of labour like great transporters of our time such as Young Shall Grow Motors, Peace Mass Transit, Chisco Transports, The Lord Is Good Motors and others.
The collapse of major industries across the country did not begin today; rather it is as a result of long years of neglect by successive governments before now. And it is clear that the industries cannot be fixed overnight because of the huge capital and technical knowhow required, having been neglected for decades.
So investing a huge chunk of public funds in their revitalization will surely affect other critical sectors of the economy that also require urgent attention. In this regard, while the Abia State government is working on revitalizing the ailing industries it inherited, her idea of doing something in the immediate to tackle youth unemployment through her youth empowerment scheme should be highly commended.
Waiting until the ailing industries are brought back to life before the unemployed youths could be empowered will only create a time bomb. That is why states across the country should adopt the Abia Youth Empowerment Programme Scheme model to pre-empt possible youths restiveness. It is a more practical approach to youth empowerment. Also the long_ term approach, which has to do with the revitalization and construction of industries should be worked on.
The Abia scheme is the surest way of taking the unemployed youths out of the streets to reduce crime rate. No wonder the crime rate in Abia State has reduced drastically since the commencement of the programme.
The success of the programme is predicated on the fact that it is being carried out in a most transparent manner which has made it difficult for politicians to hijack it for selfish political purposes. There are no middlemen between the beneficiaries and the state government to avoid exploitation and fraud.
Despite the baseless criticisms by few hired individuals who have failed to provide clear alternatives, the state government should continue with the programme and also impress it on the in_coming government in 2015 to sustain it, at least pending the final completion of the ailing industries that are undergoing rehabilitation in the state.
