The Ekiti Council of Obas says it will partner with the state Board for Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE) to rid the state of youth restiveness.
The Obas said the move is part of their efforts to end youth unemployment and realise the vision and mission of the state government on technical education.
The Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti Oba Adebanji Alabi who is also the Chairman of the Ekiti Council of Traditional Rulers stated this on Wednesday when the BTVE Board Chairman Kayode Babade led other members on an advocacy visit to the traditional rulers at his palace in Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area.
The visit was aimed at soliciting the partnership of the royal fathers on how to rid the state of youth unemployment and get some of them off the streets with a view to giving them a future.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the royal fathers said they were ready to take steps to rid the streets of some youths who seemed to have no future and turn their lives around for the better.
According to Oba Alabi, the youths who are not trained today will not allow the children of the rich and the affluent to have peace of mind and enjoy their own sweat.
He thanked members of the board for sharing the same vision with Governor Kayode Fayemi in his determination to improve the standard of technical education in the state.
“We can see that Governor Fayemi is determined to revitalise the technical colleges to ensure that youths are fully engaged to use their brain and hands so that they too can be employers of labour.
“I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to our youths to imbibe technical and vocational education, which will enable them to stand on their own, for the benefit of their names and their future,“ he said.
Earlier, Babade solicited the partnership of the traditional rulers on the benefits of technical education, saying that the vision of the Fayemi-led administration was to bring back the glory of technical education and make the state a role model.
“In view of this, I want our traditional rulers, who are representatives of the people in their various domains, to partner with the board so that our people back home will be more educated and enlightened.
“The world over is today surrounded by technical education expertise. Any nation that is lagging behind in this respect is dead, and we want people at home to understand that today, you are a better person when you can use your hands and brain.
“Technical education is not a place for drop outs, but a place where artisans, retirees and everyone who intends to upgrade his skills, are trained,” he said.
Babade stressed the need for parents to enroll their children in any of the technical colleges across the state, noting that government is doing its best to reduce the rate of unemployment in the state.
