UPU At 90: Industrialization must be our top priority to check unemployment-Omo-Agege

By Ovasa Ogaga,

 

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has charged Urhobo nation to urgently take steps to reinvent industrial hubs across Urhoboland to boost Urhobo’s economy and to address youths’ unemployment which has assumed an alarming proportion.

Senator Omo-Agege stated this on Monday at a lecture titled “The Challenges and prospects of Urhobo Progress Union in Contemporary Times” to mark the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) 90th-anniversary celebration, at the Urhobo Cultural Centre Uvwiamuge-Agbarho in Ughelli North local government area of Delta State.

DSP Omo-Agege also decried the lack of unity among Urhobos which he says caused the Urhobo to lose political power and which made the empowerment of people and development of Urhoboland difficult, “hence the increasing poverty in our communities. As I speak, the majority of Urhobo graduates are unemployed and are roaming the streets.”

He, therefore, tasked every Urhobo sons and daughters, particularly the leaders and the elite do all that is necessary to promote the socio-economic and political advancement of Urhoboland.

According to him, “unemployment has become a major problem bedevilling the lives of our youth, causing militancy, kidnappings, restiveness and socially delinquent behaviours. Indeed, youth unemployment is devastating our people, families and society as a whole both psychologically and economically.

“The critical question is how did we get here? What can we do as a people to get out of this mess? These are not easy questions to answer, and I don’t know if I’m right. But I believe strongly that when our youth graduate from university and for years they roam the streets without jobs or ride commercial motorcycles and Keke to eke a living or forced to resort to crime, what it says about our economy is that it is not strong enough to provide the basic means of livelihood for our people. This growing opportunity gap must be closed by widening the economic base of Urhobo land.

“Urhobo had a thriving economy in time past. We were self-sufficient in food production. Our people were great farmers, hunters, fishermen and distillers. We were also leaders in cash crops production like rubber, timber, oil palm for exports to Ghana, Benin, Sierra-Leone, Liberia and even Britain, as well as other parts of Europe. Our palm oil lubricated the Industrial Revolution in Europe.

“Urhoboland was also a big industrial hub with industries in Ovwian-Aladja, Oghara, Ughelli, Effurun, Warri, Agbarha-Otor and Sapele. Steel company, glass factories, breweries, salt factories, power stations, a petrochemical plant, rubber processing plants registered their presence in Urhoboland. The African Timber and Plywood (AT&P) made Sapele the most important city in Nigeria after Lagos, before the advent of the oil boom.

“All of these are gone. So too are the jobs. We must turn the situation around very quickly and we can by having a rethink on our approach to community development. We must industrialise Urhobo land. This has to be a top priority for UPU and every Urhobo son and daughter, whether in government or in the private sector.

“Undoubtedly, Urhobo has what it takes to confront this challenge.  Urhobo land is gifted with abundant mineral and agricultural resources including crude oil, gas, palm oil, rubber and glass-making soil for industrialisation. We also have clay suitable for pottery, rivers, tributaries and streams suitable for electricity generation, fishing and other marine activities, to transform our economy and create jobs for our teeming youth.

“In the same vein, with mineral resources such as sharp sand, silica, kaolin, clay, barite and forest resources such as timber, oil palm and raffia palm available in Urhobo nation, there is no reason we should not have a thriving cottage industry. We must harness these natural resources for the growth of our economy and development of Urhobo land to create employment and reduce the level of poverty among our people.”

While applauding the gains that the Urhobo nation has made in terms of access to education, he called on the Urhobo people to promote quality education which he says the standard is falling across the country.

“In terms of access, we have made considerable progress in education. Public and private primary and secondary schools are everywhere. We have two distinct technical colleges in Ogor and Sapele, two distinct colleges of education in Warri and Mosogar, a polytechnic at Oghara, a petroleum institute and a federal university in Effururn, a state university in Abraka, two distinct private universities in Oghara and Agbarha-Otor.

“With the newly established Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, expected to commence academic activities in September 2022, I think we can count our blessings in the field of education. However, the problem at the moment is the poor quality of education which is not just an Urhobo problem, but a national one. In addition, we must also not forget the fact that Urhobo children are part of the 13.2 million Nigerian children, the highest in the world who are out-of-school.

“As a people, we cannot be indifferent to the plight of these children. In this age when education is about giving students the skills they need to succeed in the new economy, establishing skills acquisition centres to teach our young men and women skills for employability in the current global economy is what Urhobo must do to prepare the youth for the challenges of a modern economy.

“Urhobo has a very rich culture. We are proud of our foods, traditional religious beliefs, norms and taboos. So too is our culture of industry and spirit of enterprise which was the hallmark of the founding fathers of the Urhobo Progress Union. Our forefathers took delight in our traditional wrappers, shirt and matching cap and walking stick. This tradition was passed to us. It is now our responsibility to sustain this heritage as the unifying force for Urhobo nation.

“The Urhobo Progress Union has done a great job in organizing Urhobo events all over the world to promote the culture and identity of Urhobo people. However, we have seen the fast near-extinct of Urhobo language among our youth. Even the situation in UPU organized events is not different. This is a major challenge to us all. And it must be arrested urgently through concerted action, not mere rhetorics.

“Let me make some comments on security issues, especially farmers and herders’ clashes and kidnapping. I am particularly disturbed about the activities of herdsmen who are accused of invading farmlands and committing sundry crimes. We need to find the best way for peaceful coexistence between farmers and herdsmen. I plead with our people that the current heated temperature in the Nigerian polity is commonplace in a developing society. However, I urge our people to be patient as the government continues to grapple with this problem.