By Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has again urged Edo youths to take advantage of opportunities in the State.
He gave the charge on Wednesday, 21 December 2022, during the groundbreaking ceremony of a standard poultry processing plant in Obayantor Community, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.
The project is a collaboration between Heifer Nigeria, a nonprofit development organisation, working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, values-based holistic community development; Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited; and the Edo State Government.
The partnership will empower 500,000 smallholder poultry farmers by 2030, through linkages to improved and environment-friendly poultry production practices and innovations; new premium market opportunities, and innovative financing.
In a statement, the governor maintained that it has always been the dream of his administration to return the State to its position as the pride of place in Agriculture production in Nigeria.
Obaseki said: “We have no reason to have the level of unemployment we have today.
“The reason why we have a lot of unemployment is that we will rather import what we consume rather than make what we consume here.
“When you manufacture or you grow your food, what you consume, you will be able to now invest and employ people to produce those things. But when you import, you transfer the jobs, your money now goes to employ people outside the country.
“We don’t have any more money to import. So, things must change.”
He continued: “I want to appeal to our youths. We have to change our attitude about work. This whole idea of wanting to travel; they don’t want to start small; they don’t want to earn N50,000 a month; they want to start big, must change.
“We sit here. We see people coming from outside to come and work. Our youths say that it’s a menial job.
“Parents please talk to our children. We must begin to change our attitude about life. You do not become a rich man in one day. You start small, you build, work hard, and over time, you become self-sufficient.
“I don’t want a situation where, as a government, we keep creating and opening up opportunities in Edo for our people; and they don’t take advantage of those opportunities and allow outsiders come to take advantage, and tomorrow they will be complaining that nobody helped them.”
“What you are seeing here today is going to be revolutionary, because we have deliberately worked on this for the last 5- 6 years.
“So what is happening here today is that we are putting a processing facility that will help hatch chickens so farmers can come and buy. They will support them with feeds, veterinary products with medicines, and when they’ve grown their chicken, they will buy back from them.
“We know feed is an important part. So as part of our policy in government, we are also encouraging people to grow feed products, Soya beans, to grow maize. We give them the support”, the governor added.
Mr. Obaseki also charged the host community to cooperate with the investor, and ensure that the environment is conducive enough for the business to thrive, which in turn will be beneficial to it.
“You must now make sure that this community is conducive. You must make sure that you do not allow youth restlessness. You must make sure that you do not threaten people who have come to invest in your community”, he said.
Speaking on the role of government as it relates to business in a fast-changing world, the governor said: “The role of government is to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“Part of the challenge we are having is to convince those people, who have been used to government in one particular way that government can no longer operate that way.
“Government is there to support businesses. Government cannot do business. Government is not a businessman. Government is not a successful business person.”
Calling on communities to support the government in attracting investors and investments to the state, Mr Obaseki said: “I want to appeal to communities that they should make land available. Government is prepared to support you and bring investments to your communities if you create the environment for us to.”
