BY AWELE OGBOGU
The appointment of Ifeanyi Egwunyenga as the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer of the state has sparked high expectations, especially among prospective beneficiaries of sundry programmes under his purview. Meanwhile, watchers of the all-important sector have advised the new helmsman at the Bureau to do a stock taking so as to be guided by certain indices going forward.
Indices such as what skill options were used to train past beneficiaries, what percentage of the beneficiaries have established their own enterprises after graduating from the programme and to what extent the beneficiaries of the past have employed other youths after graduating from the programmes? This is with a view to separating the serious-minded participants from the bad eggs as the programme marches on under a new administration.
In Asaba, a staff of the Bureau who did not want to be mentioned, said that “the long wait to have another head of the state’s Job and Wealth Bureau has intensified the appetite of the interested public for greater performance. “High expectations in the sense that they want him to hit the ground running and perform even better than Eric Eboh, his predecessor and professor of Agric Economy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), who operated the bureau professionally for eight good years.” Egwunyenga, a graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, passed the screening and confirmation of the State House of Assembly to walk into Eboh’s big shoes.
“Comrade Egwunyenga is a square peg in a square hole having served the Delta State Government in different capacities as the Hon. Commissioner for Youth Development and as the SSA to the Governor on Youth Monitoring and Mentoring (DYMM) between 2015 and 2023. He has planned, implemented, trained and established hitherto unemployed Delta youths in viable agricultural and vocational business enterprises”, she said. Augustine Popo, a former House of Assembly aspirant in the state, said “Egwunyenga served well in his former positions. I believe his kind of person is someone that carries out his mandate effectively in any position he finds himself.” Popo who was coordinator, Urhobo United ex-militants for Sheriff Oborevwori Governorship 2023, said “when Egwunyenga was in youth development, he carried along, a large number of youths. There is no part of the state that would deny feeling his impact in terms of empowerment. This is what he knows how best to do best and he worked in all the nooks and crannies of the state to deliver on the mandate then”, he said.
Chinweike Nwankwo, one of the pioneer beneficiaries of the job and wealth creation programme under YAGEP said “I think he has done a lot. I expect him to carry on from where the Prof. stopped and even expand and do better.” Nwankwo, now the chief executive officer of Chinwinx Farms in Asaba, urged him to do more because he is not new in the system. “He knows what’s obtainable”, he said. Kelvin Atano, also a beneficiary in the 2018 cycle of the programme under STEP said “I may not know him very well but he should think of how to create more opportunities. He should expand on what is on ground.” Atano, the CEO of JK Innovative Technology Limited who has gone beyond the training giving him on maintenance and repairs of electrical gadgets said “it should be upgraded to training beneficiaries on higher level technology because the world is getting more technologically advanced. We should be concentrating more on how to produce things ourselves.”
Egwuyenga has inherited a record of 7,017 past beneficiaries under the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) and Graduates Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP) of the bureau. This was from the first cycle 2015/2016 to the last cycle 2021/2022 before Eboh bowed out of office. Out of the 7017, STEP had 5,051 beneficiaries representing 72%, YAGEP had 1,776 representing 25% while GEEP had 190 beneficiaries representing 3%. The males among the beneficiaries were 3,429 representing 49%, while the female were 3,588 representing 51%. Degree/High National Diploma (HND) holders among the beneficiaries were 2,828 representing 40%, Ordinary National Diploma (OND)/National Certificate of Education (NCE) holders were 1,023 representing 15% while West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) and Secondary School Certificate of Education (WASCE/SSCE) holders were 3,166 representing 45% of the beneficiaries. Among the 7,017 beneficiaries, 1,226 outstanding ones were listed into the bureau’s Hall of Fame. It was observed that the underlying logic was that STEP, YAGEP and GEEP had produced highly significant outcomes with impacts that deserve being exhibited to the national and global community. “The Hall of Fame shows personal (own) testimonies of the 1,226 STEPreneurs, YAGEPreneurs and GEEP beneficiaries.
Respondents agreed that although the testimonies abound as to what extent STEP, YAGEP and GEEP developed and improved the attitudes of the beneficiaries, transforming them from unemployed to self-employed/job creators, impacted on their livelihoods and fostered occupational growth, economic and social transition, the Bureau has a task of bringing them on board as role models for future beneficiaries. “Infact they should be the face of the programme otherwise people may begin to have some funny ideas, although we know they are some bad eggs among them”, said a respondent.
Egwunyenga has what it takes to keep tab with beneficiaries. It was gathered that before rising to the position of the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer, he was indeed a grassroots man, then he was appointed into youth monitoring (2015 to 2019) and later as Commissioner for Youth Development (2019 to 2023) where he empowered rural youths with sundry skills.
The youth development ministry which was newly created had Egwunyenga as the pioneer commissioner and one of his major mandates was to empower youth in rural areas with ICT skills under the Rural Youth Skills Acquisition (RYSA). Okowa had explained that he never knew the young comrade but when he heard about his hard work and diligence, he became interested hence his first appointment as Special Assistant on DYMM.
Already, Governor Oborevwori, has charged him to work to project the MORE agenda of the state government. The CJWCO himself has harped on the need for realistic reforms in the bureau in order to promote the MORE agenda of the incumbent administration in the state. “The expectations from Deltans are high and as such, there will be the need to rejig the process and to think outside the box for a more impactful result”, he initially told the staff. “The expectations are very high. There will be a lot of rejigging, a lot of thinking out of the box and the need to do things in an unusual manner because there is a precedence. Of course, our people want more”, he enthused. He said that for the bureau to perform exceptionally well, more opportunities needed to be created to build a community of entrepreneurs in line with the MORE agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. He emphasised on the state government’s resolve to keep Deltans meaningfully engaged even as he advised them to do things differently in order to keep Deltans excited and interested in the job creation programmes. He solicited for the support and cooperation of every staff in order to move the bureau forward and help it achieve set goals.
Emmanuel Onochie, an indigene of Umuagu quarters inAsaba was full of praise for the programme after his initial hesitation and skepticism. After being trained and empowered with a Starter Pack by the Delta State Government, Onochie now runs his own business at No. 2 Agu Street, Asaba. “After four years of graduation, I was preparing to leave for Lagos in search of greener pastures. My friend, Ojiogo informed me of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP). I was skeptical at first because I had applied for similar programmes in the past, but it was not successful. “I had made up my mind to relocate to Lagos so I did not apply for the first batch. One evening I watched on television as the first batch was being empowered. I decided to apply for welding and fabrication training and before I knew what was happening I received an SMS to come for my registration.” That was how the story of Onochie, who got married last December, changed for good. Terry Ogolor, another beneficiary, spoke of “going from zero to hero and grass to grace. “I am a graduate of Biology/Chemistry from Collage of Education Agbor. Since I graduated in 2009 I had not been gainfully employed.” Ogolor said he nearly took to a life of crime, but help came in the form of the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs programme (YAGEP). After initial hesitation, he applied and to his surprise and without a godfather, he was enrolled into the programme. “Today I am a happy and proud fish farm owner at YAGEP Fish Farm Cluster, Ugbokodo-Okpe”, he beamed. “I can fend for myself and my family. I am a now a consultant in the industry. I help those with challenges in their fish farms and the pay is encouraging. I have grown my fish from 2,000 to over 4,000. I can say that the sky is now my limit.”
They are the Okolie sisters -Chinedu, Amana, Franca, Rita and Linda, all physically challenged. With STEP, they moved from a state of hopelessness to one of joy and fulfillment. They are now entrepreneurs in fashion design and tailoring, Hairdressing and Makeover. There is also Cynthia Oma-Ehire, a STEPreneur but now the Chief Executive Officer of Oma Events and Oma makeover in Sapele. Cynthia Oma stands out among her peers. Her ability to diversify into other affiliated enterprises other than decoration and event management in less than one year of establishment makes her a worthy brand ambassador of the job creation programmes. Indeed, the job and wealth creation scheme of the Delta State Government has turned around the fortunes of many young Deltans and birthing a new generation of entrepreneurs.
However, some of these successful beneficiaries themselves admitted that they were bad eggs within their ranks, that is, a number who cannot be accounted for and advised the Egwuyenga-led Bureau to be watchful. Beyond that, it was gathered that following the resounding success of the scheme, many states of the Federation are now adopting the Delta State template for youth training and entrepreneurship development. More significantly, the World Bank and European Union –Assisted programme, SEEFOR project is providing funding support because “Delta State is the only state that has demonstrated its commitment to skills development in practical terms.” Speaking at a Products Exhibition and Business Fair organised for beneficiaries of the scheme, Dr. Tunde Adekola, a Senior Education Specialist, said “the World Bank will continue to support the Delta State Government in the areas of skills and technical development and will work with the Job Creation Office of the State Government to strengthen the labour market observatory system in order to make Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s dream of re-creating the middle class a reality.”
The Governor has said that “Employment will remain the central theme for all our policies. Reflecting our strong conviction that deliberate government focus and action is needed to stem the tide of rising unemployment, our intervention strategy will combine time-tested and trusted quick-win schemes and long-term plans for job/wealth creation in the state. Although unemployment has become a global challenge in the aftermath of the global financial Meltdown with the removal of subsidy, its impact has become very devastating in our environment especially in the absence of any social security safeguards to cushion the impact as in the developed nations. Promotion of employment opportunities will be the kernel of my administration and I will deploy and harness every resource available, especially through agro-businesses, to confront the scourge. Deliberate effort will be made to generate employment and productive livelihood for the teeming youth population, which will go a long way in reducing undue conflict in our communities. A key component of our wealth creation strategy is to encourage multinational businesses and industrial activities to settle down and operate in the host communities; and aggressive promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Scale enterprises (MSMEs), which form the fulcrum of driving economic growth in any society. My policies and programmes shall impact greatly on our rural dwellers, and care for the physically challenged shall be given a prime place. As can be seen within my first 100 days in office 2000 job opportunity were created to address the shortage of personal in our educational sector sign that addressing the issues of jobs creation and equal opportunity for all Deltans is not just words.
Hence Egwuyenga was told that the Bureau should be anchored on the goal-attainment model of evaluation, also called objectives-centred model, designed to measure the degree to which pre-defined objectives and goals have been attained. In addition, the model focuses primarily on the product rather than the process for achieving the goals and objectives of the programme. “It evaluates the degree to which the pre-defined goals and objectives have been attained. It is considered as the process of determining the extent to which the objectives of a programme are actually attained. “His approach to evaluation should follow these steps, establishing broad goals or objectives, classifying the goal or objectives, defining the objectives in behavioural terms and finding the situation in which achievement of objectives can be shown.” The respondent added the development or selection of measurement techniques, collection of performance data and then finally the comparison of performance data with behaviourally stated objectives.
He said that “the goal attainment model is relevant to the study in the following ways. First, the aim should be to evaluate the goal achievement of the STEP programme of the Delta State government. The goal of the programme includes (1) to train youths in different skills/trades; (2) to help beneficiaries establish their own enterprises for self-employment; and (3) to enable beneficiaries to become employers of labour. This is to enable stakeholders to establish the exact position of the scheme, with a view to identifying an appropriate course of action on the way forward. In doing this, the goals-attainment model will prove very effective.”
The Pointer gathered that there was a descriptive survey research that comprised 4,559 beneficiaries of the STEP programme of the Delta State Government from 2015 to 2020. The sample size for this study comprised 1,000 beneficiaries representing 21.93% of the entire state. The sampling techniques that were used for the study were proportionately stratified and convenience sampling techniques. A proportional stratified sampling approach is a probability sampling method that identifies distinct strata and draws a proportionate number of elements from each stratum based on the relative number of elements in each stratum. Since all of the Local Government Areas in Delta State that were used in the study do not have an equal number of beneficiaries, this sampling strategy was used. As a result, each Local Government Area’s number of beneficiaries were represented. The researcher estimated the percentage of the sample size with respect to the whole state, which resulted in a percentage of 21.93%. A convenience sampling technique, on the other hand, is a non-probability sampling strategy in which the researcher asked a group of persons who meet the study’s broad requirements to volunteer (e.g., STEP beneficiaries from 2015 to 2020). The researcher used any STEP beneficiary who was accessible and willing to engage in the study utilising the convenience sample technique, as long as they meet the condition of being a beneficiary of the programme. The research instrument that was used to collect data in that study, was a questionnaire developed by the researcher.
The questionnaire contained two sections. The data were collected, coded and recorded into a computer system using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. After that, the data were checked for corrections of errors. Frequency and percentage were used to answer the research questions. A section showed the percentage analysis of the various skill options used by STEP to train beneficiaries. The result showed that out of the 1, 000 beneficiaries evaluated, the majority of them (211), representing 21.1% were trained in fashion design while only 4 (0.4%) were trained in cinematography and cleaning agent. The other skill options can be found on the table along with the number of their beneficiaries and percentage representation. Those who established their own businesses were 1,000 100, Not Established 0 0.00, so total was 1,000 100.00. The result showed that all the 1, 000 beneficiaries evaluated representing 100.00% established their own businesses.
But to what extent have beneficiaries of the STEP employed other youths after graduating from the programme? Hair Dressing 0.4 per cent, Electrical Installation and Repairs 0.4, Fashion Design 0.8, Tilling & Catering 0.8, ICT & Make-Up 0.8, Catering 0.8, ICT, Catering, Make-Up & Poultry 1.6, Decoration and Event Management & Farming 0.8, Farming, Fashion Design, & Catering 1.6, Painting, Fashion Design, Audio-Visual, Catering, Hair Dressing, Plumbing, & Decoration and Event Management 1.4, Decoration and Event Management, Tilling, Piggery, Catering Plumbing, Electrical Installation and Repairs, Fashion Design, Make-Up, Audio-Visual Service, Hair Dressing, Fishery, Farming, Bead Making 1.8, Fashion Design, Electrical Installation and Repairs, POP Installation, Plumbing, Welding and Fabrication, Tilling, Hair Dressing, Catering, Decoration and Event Management, Farming, Fishery, Computer Repairs, ICT & Cosmetology 4.1.
Indeed, some recommendations were made. That the government should expand the empowerment programme to accommodate commerce apprenticeships, adopt the industry-based approach towards empowerment programmes where trained beneficiaries are sent or posted to industrial hubs that specialize in their skill, trade or vocation, more trade areas should be introduced into the scheme to reflect changing career needs of society, leaders in the study area should allow the programme to be independent in order for the coordinators or organizations to recruit the right people who are actually interested in learning a skill in order to make a living out of the programme, as well as an enhanced monitoring mechanism should be put in place to promote better monitoring and mentorship for graduands.
A respondent said the latter would make it a no-go area for those he described as “hit and run” participants, “those who hang on to get the starter packs but don’t ever get to start anything. Those are the opportunists”, he rued.
