NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

*Nigeria: Skill Acquisition In Post Amnesty Era

By Ifeatu Agbu

Engaging the youths in meaningful ventures after a long spell of militancy in the creeks of the Niger Delta poses a tricky challenge that requires some delicate balancing of reorientation and training. It is an integrated process that will not only change the mindset of the youths but also prepare them to be productive citizens with marketable skills.

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Amnesty Committee, Mr. Timi Alaibe, said the final stage of the post-amnesty programme, which is reintegration, is where a lot more work is required. At that point, the ex-combatants are expected to return to normal life and gain sustainable employment. “It is essentially a social and economic process with an open time-frame, primarily taking place in communities at the local level,” Alaibe said.

The Ledum Mittee-led Niger Delta Technical Committee took cognizance of this, when it recommended the creation of a Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) – where 2,000 jobs will be provided in each local government council in the zone, to keep the youths meaningfully busy and away from the temptations of militancy and other untoward behaviour.

Much as it is critical to change the mindset of the former militants, it is even more crucial to arm them with skills that will give them financial freedom on a sustainable basis. Unfortunately, the Post-Amnesty Programme may not adequately address the challenges of providing comprehensive training for the former militants because of the constraints of time. Yet, skill acquisition programmes and other short-term trainings must be of such quality and duration that would give optimum value to the beneficiaries. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militants

It makes no sense to hurriedly rush the youths through training programmes with little time and facilities to impact the necessary skills. For instance, you need more than a three-month crash programme to train a good mechanic. It is only when the trainees are given sufficient time to master the skills, that they can put it to full use. Adequate training would ensure that the successful ones would utilize their take-off funds or starter packs, where they are provided, and not sell them as is often the practice.

No matter how well the programme runs, chances are that some of the youths may still be irredeemable. Already, some isolated cases of misdemeanours have been reported at the camp in Obubra. First, some personnel at the camp, including Mr. Alaibe, were said to have been manhandled by some aggrieved ex-militants. Again, two of the ex-militants were arrested recently for allegedly smuggling illicit drugs into the camp. This is in spite of the camp rules which say that anyone caught using such drugs risks outright expulsion.

Obviously, it would take some extra efforts to reintegrate youths with this kind of background. This means that the development agencies, such as the oil companies, the federal, state, local governments, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, must come up with more imaginative ways of dealing with them. It is not enough to put them through skill acquisition programmes The beneficiaries of the programmes must be empowered to set up their own businesses and given access to micro-credits to enable them take off on solid foundation. They should also be monitored and mentored until they acquired enough confidence to stand on their own. Artisans, such as welders, carpenters, mechanics and bricklayers should be given opportunities to update their knowledge and sharpen their skills through hands-on-training in established workshops. This will enhance their ability to render better services and expand their businesses to employ more people.

It is only then that the maxim of dignity in labour would begin to make sense to the youths who have become accustomed to getting quick money without much sweat. If the training is thorough and the mentoring consistent, the strange scenario where some youths that have benefitted from skill acquisition schemes and were given starter-parks to enable them to be self-employed sell the tools and return to the labour market, would be avoided.

Another strategy for getting around this problem hinges on team efforts. Since it is difficult to get the youths to utilize their start-up capital well, a more effective tactics is urgently needed. One government agency that is currently using a new system to achieve better results is the NDDC. The interventionist agency now insists that the beneficiaries of its skill acquisition programmes must form cooperatives before they could access the micro-credit scheme meant to help them to establish their businesses. To ensure the success of this arrangement, the commission works in partnership with training and financial institutions to not only enhance the skills of the youths but also bring them together to take advantage of the opportunities available in the region, particularly in the oil and gas industry. Of course a key component of sustainable development is to create sustainable livelihoods, because the best form of development is to develop the people. ( Continues below….. )

The NDDC has been running skill acquisition programmes since 2005 and no less than 8,000 youths of the Niger Delta have benefitted from the various schemes. In 2008, for instance, 7,732 youths were trained in diverse skills. Out of this number, 2,204 were trained in computer literacy, 1,929 in welding while 3,599 young boys and girls acquired skills in such areas as automobile mechanics, aluminium and furniture works, electrical installation and maintenance, home management skills, outboard engine maintenance, printing, photography as well as refrigeration and cooling technology.

Similarly, a total of 1,920 welders have so far been trained by the NDDC under its Human Capacity Development and Empowerment programme. The commission also donated 15 multi-purpose welding processing equipment and 500 KVA generating set to the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Warri. During the flag off of the “Train the Trainer” welding programme at PTI, and commissioning of the welding equipment and generating set, the Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Chibuzor Ugwoha said that the commission’s target was to produce 5, 000 professional welders certified by the International Institute of Welding in the next three years.

Ugwoha, who was represented by the Director, Commercial and Industrial Development, Mr. Aniete Usen explained that graduates of the “Train the Trainers” programme would further proceed to South Africa Institute of Welding for advanced welding and fabrication programme. According to him the graduating youths would subsequently be deployed to train a large pool of welding apprentices waiting to be trained and employed in the various sectors of the economy, particularly in oil and gas. ”We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the Niger Delta youths acquire necessary cutting edge skills and education that will give them the competitive advantage, especially in the oil and gas sector of the economy that the region is naturally, endowed,” he said.

Mr. Ifeatu Agbu ( ifeatuagbu@yahoo.com ) writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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*Tags: Nigerians, Niger Delta, Abuja, MEND, Lagos, Skill, Acquisition, Amnesty, Jobs, Africa, Masterweb