ASIWAJU AHMED BOLA TINUBU
LABOUR, YOUTHS & WOMEN
The Nigerian legend, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one rare personality with sefless features, strides and achievements. He is a politician, businessman and leader of thought that has earned a place in history as one of the most spectacular political gem who affected monumental democratic change in the country’s political evolution.
This tactic politician has through his intelligence, revamp the economic situation of the country with his bullish businessman orientation in aspect like unemployment, youth empowerment, political sagacity and the likes.
Asiwaju and Labour
The four fundamental needs of man are food, shelter, clothing and good health which justifies Asiwaju’s efforts on enhancing the economy of the state despite shifting the country’s capital to Abuja making Lagos the economic and commercial capital of Nigeria with the resultant influx of people from different parts of the world.
In September 20, 1999, he launched the Ogudu Mixed Housing Scheme that would accommodate low, middle and upper income earners in order to reduce their expenses on Housing for a balsned economic challenge to be met.
He created more minitries to reduce unemployment on assumption of office on May 29, 1999 where the new ministries were given specific functions majorly on Housing with a renowned architect, Lanre Towry-Coker as the appointed head.
He increased payroll of civil servants where the introduced biometric system of workers’ ID and bank payment procedure was introduced to convert their savings into increased salary and allowances.
He sustained work force by not creating additional poverty or sack people in existing ministries but rather convert the ministry’s dead assets, that is, the land possession of the people, into valuable means of prosperity for the state.
He introduced the private sector participation (psp) in refuse management which aided the creation of an estimated 25,000 jobs among the unemployed who are daily involved in the collection and evacuation of garbage from tenements to designated landfill sites in the State.
In December 13, 1999, while commissioning Ikorodu Local Government Job Creation Centre, he noted his established six job registration centres that were personally thrown open by him in Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Mushin, Agege, Ikeja and Shomolu Local Government Areas and which about 50,000 unemployed graduates were registered at the centre for a start.
He enhanced the placement of 260 applicants shortlisted by the Job Creation Ministry that was headed by Chief (Mrs) Kemi Nelson, the State Honourable Commissioner for Establishments, Pension, Training and Job Creation.
About 2000 persons were recruited into the State Civil Service while 2000 others were engaged as highway managers to clean some major Lagos roads.
Also 500 unemployed persons secured jobs at the State Public Works Bureau in addition to the 100 persons newly recruited as gardeners by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) while another 120 agricultural trainees were engaged to cultivate lands at the State-owned Araga Farms in Epe Local Government Area.
About 2,500 labourers were employed in the “drain ducks and attack squad” by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning in collaboration with the Ministry of Works to regularly clear and evacuate silted drains across the State.
Asiwaju and Youth
He coordinated activities of youth organisations, youth development through training, and the identification, designing and development of public open places for sporting activities.
He developed youth centres and successfully embarked on rehabilitating Ipaja youths in particular.
In 2000, on January 27 and 28 respectively, a youth residential scheme workshop was organized in the state.
In youth development programmes, there was a development of public open spaces for recreational facilities at Badagry, Lagos Island and Alimosho in 2000.
He developed youth infrastructural facilities in the three public open spaces at Badagry, Lagos Island and Alimosho.
He rehabilitated and furnished the Ipaja Youth Hostel at an estimated cost of Seven Million Naira.
In the area of manpower development among recruited youths in established ministries, he organized workshops on the coordination of social welfare programmes, planning and budgeting among others.
On February 9, 2000, he gave cheques to the tune of Ninety-Nine Million Naira to National Examinations Council (NECO) for the cost of SSCE of 40,000 pupils.
Through the Ministry of Education, he released #33.5 million as bursary grants for the 1999/2000 session to 3,324 indigenes in tertiary institutions as the sum of #10,000 was to be received by each students.
In 2000, it re-launched it “renewed neighborhood watch” with at least 5000 youth that would directly work under the police while being equipped with walkie-talkies and batons.
Asiwaju and Women
He administered the establishment of Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
He aided the commitment to active participation of women in social, political and economic development in the nation.
He appointed two women as commissioners in key ministries while seven were permanent secretaries after his inception into office.
He provided a community-based free Primary Health Care Services, to improve the survival of the populace at all levels, majority of whom are women.
Eighteen medical doctors were employed in his first year of service, to rural areas whilst incentives were put in place to ensure quality services in order to reduce the death rate of women that experiences complications during childbirth.
He provided up-to-date obstetrics and gynaecological equipment in the State Maternity Centres.
He set up an inter-ministerial committee on HIV/AIDS headed by a former Minister of Health, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, to help administer preventing the disease from spread as 45 pregnant women out of 1000 were HIV positive and according to experts, the rate of mother-to-child infection was very high.
He provided a drug revolving fund for People Living With Aids (PLWA).
He openly handshaked and embraced a woman living with AIDS to preach against stigmatization while urging infected persons to come out to seek help.
Recognizing the important role women in the rural areas can play in the socio-economic transformation of the state, he empowered women in places like Igbologun, Epe LGA, Igbolomi, Ibeju LGA, Offin, Ikorodu LGA, Wesere, Badagry LGA, among others.