Osinbajo Lauds Osun Social Protection Programmes
Osinbajo who spoke at the inauguration ceremony of the newly recruited volunteers of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) in Osogbo described Osun social protection initiatives as sustainable template for national socioeconomic development and all-round transformation.
He said Osun has taken the lead in the emancipation of youth for greater productivity in the country as reflected in the successes the state recorded in all its policies and programmes.
The Vice President described O’YES as an inspiration that brought the design of N-Power by the Federal Government.
He tasked the newly recruited 20,000 O’YES beneficiaries to be diligent, disciplined, committed and dedicated to the development of their communities, state and the nation at large.
Earlier, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said the recruitment of the 4th batch OYES cadets was in fulfilment of his electoral promises to the people of the state.
He said the scheme had not only improved the economy of Osun but helped to set a standard for socioeconomic development of the state.
Aregbesola noted that youth engagement has been a matter of utmost concern for his administration since inception, saying his government has provided empowerment for thousands of youths in skill acquisition and establishment of small businesses.
He said the last batch of OYES cadets was recruited in line with the promise his administration made at the beginning of the year that it shall take another batch of 20,000 cadets, adding that he was happy to have delivered on the promise made, despite the financial challenges the state encountered.
Speaking on the success story of the scheme, Aregbesola expressed delight that OYES has impacted positively on Osun.
“When we inaugurated the first batch in 2011, it was in fulfilment of our campaign promise to do so in the first 100 days of our administration.
“We are gratified that OYES has impacted positively on Osun as as captured by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its 2011/2012 report, which shows a drastic reduction in unemployment rate in the state.
“In that report, the five-year unemployment average for Osun was 12.4 per cent but with the introduction of OYES, it came down drastically to three per cent and the least in the country.
“By the same token, the N200 million monthly allowance given to the cadets spread within the economy and increase Osun’s GDP to the seventh largest in the country, according to the same NBS.
“Then Osun joined the enviable league of the few states with the least crime rates in the country. When the youths are engaged, society will have peace. It is a linear correlation.
“The state government and the people benefitted from the services of OYES cadets with their roles of Sanitation Czar, Green Gang, Public Works, Traffic Marshals, Paramedics and Sheriff Guard as they also collaborated with the government on enumeration of Agba Osun, training of escorts during festival periods, enumeration of dilapidated buildings and schools.
“We are happy to note again that OYES cadets also benefited tremendously from the programme, those that participated in the past have good and happy stories to tell. They were given soft landing in OYES-Tech, O-Beef, O-Reap Youth Academy, Odua Farmers Academy, Sheriff Guard, Teachers Corps, Swift Action Squad (SAS) among others just as no one who participated in OYES ever regretted it. From OYES also came the N-Power scheme adopted by the Federal Government from which 40,000 youths have been engaged in Osun, in collaboration with the state government,” Aregbesola said.
In her welcome address, the Commissioner for Engagement and Youth Empowerment, Mrs Mofolake Adetoun Adegboyega, commended Aregbesola for his commitment to human and capital development.
She said the scheme has given hope of a better future to over 60,000 youths that had participated just as it has afforded the beneficiaries the opportunity of contributing to the economic development of the state.
