Micro- Economy Development, Catalyst Of Growth In Third World Countries -Ooni

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has described micro-economy development, as a viable catalyst of speedy economic growth in the developing countries, and a sustainable solution to its various socio-economic challenges.

He said such initiative must be driven by active participation of people at the grassroots through Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Ogunwusi made the disclosure at the closing ceremony of the Ooni Annual Women Empowerment Workshops 2018 held at the Oba Okunade Sijuade Hall, Enuwa Ile-Ife.

The revered monarch who bemoaned  level of poverty  among the mass of Nigerian people  said there was an urgent need   for people at the helm of affairs to give priority to women and youth empowerment.

According to the monarch, “the solution to Nigerian economic  problem, like many other developing counties  is the development of micro-economy through small and medium scale  enterprises. We have to start empowering the women and our youth to be an active stakeholders in the economic development.

The Arole  Oodua called for dynamism  in the  approach of tackling economic challenges in the country, he suggested a well planned empowerment initiative for identified economically vulnerable segment of the society like women and youths.

“It’s time for us to change our method of nation -building,  we must prioritise women and youth empowerment to drive the micro-economy and boost economic activities in the country generally.

“If you empower one woman, you have empowered more than a nation. Women are different in their approach and mannerism, they are the pillar of every home, they are the custodian of homes, they make good homes”, Ogunwusi said.

He urged Nigerians to ask questions that can check excesses of people in positions of authorities and ask questions to ensure accountability and openness.

He decried  the increasing population in the country without plans to make it productive through engagement, as he advised women trained under the programme to make maximum use of the skills acquired to improve their earnings and be financially independent.

He said those trained under the programme are over 500 women drawn across the country and called on people in leadership positions to assist local product makers grow their businesses by buying from them.

In his remarks, the Director General of National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Dr. Nasir Mohammed, commended the monarch for lending helping hands to the beneficiaries, urging privileged Nigerians to assist the less privileged acquire skills that can make them productive and earn decent living.

He assured the beneficiaries that NDE would assist them to market their products, starting with those in Internally Displaced People camps, adding that the directorate will later assist them to package and sell the products to some West African countries.

“Privileged Nigerians should help the downtrodden. They all need to learn from Ooni. He is passionate about helping his people. We will assist to market these products the beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes have produced.

“We will try to liase with the relevant government agencies and sell the products to the IDP camps. After we have helped them package the products, we will then sell to other West African countries”, he said.

Mohammed also noted that women have proven to be better in loan repayment, saying on that basis, NDE plans to go to rural areas and organise women into cooperative societies, through which they can assess loans to finance their businesses.