…As CSOs satisfied with CEER, mangrove restoration
By: Felix Ikpotor
As part of efforts aimed at mitigating crime among youths in Ogoniland, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has trained no fewer than 390 Ogoni students from 13 secondary schools with entrepreneurial and vocational skills.
HYPREP said the initiative was aimed at positively engaging the minds and hands of the students especially as they go on the festive holidays.
The one-day programme which held at the Birabi Memorial Grammar School (BMGS), Bori, Khana Local Government Area in Rivers State themed; “Career Coaching: Developing the Young Minds,” was done in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Addressing journalists during the event, HYPREP’s Head of Livelihood and Sustainable Development, Mrs Josephine Nzidee, said the workshop aims to positively engage the students and prevent them from going into vices.
Nzidee, explained that the workshop was also focused on career coaching and instilling core values in the minds of the youths.
She said, “This initiative will mitigate crime in this region, because this life skill will actually take the students’ minds off these things that make them commit crime, while their peers are out there trying to engage in negative activities, they will be busy making their petroleum jelly and liquid soap.
“We are also going to talk to them about entrepreneurship, after the practical, how to keep their records, how to start their small businesses for them to earn their own income .
“We have start-ups for the 13 secondary schools that we have established our clubs, we have 30 students per school and we will be giving them their own start up as we are teaching them the skills, we will give them all the necessary tools.”
“We have 390 students from 13 schools, 30 students per school in Khana, Gokana, Eleme and Tai.”
Speaking further, Nzidee said, apart from the essential life skills, the students were also sensitized about the dangers of drug abuse and the importance of discipline, tolerance, and respect for other ethnic groups and religious backgrounds.
“This initiative is designed to keep students occupied during the festive season to prevent them from engaging in vices. With the support of NOA and NDLEA, we are teaching them about life values, the dangers of drugs, and providing entrepreneurial skills such as making petroleum jelly and liquid soap. We believe these activities will keep their minds engaged and help them develop sustainable livelihoods,” she stated.
Also speaking, the Rivers State Director of National Orientataion Agency, NOA, Young Ayo-Tamuno, emphasized the importance of fostering national values and resilience among the youths through proper grooming.
He said, “This programme aligns with the National Values Charter, which promotes discipline, resilience, and sustainable development. By grooming these students now, we prepare them to face future challenges and contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.
“Today we are talking about sustainable development, Sustainable development is meant for the younger people, the future generations to come, so organising a programme like this, we brace the students for the future.”
Meanwhile, principal of the school, Bob Agbozi, lauded HYPREP for the workshop, saying it combines practical skills with value orientation which are needed for the all-round building of the individual.
A beneficiary of the workshop, Wilfred Kelvin, while while appreciating HYPREP said programme will further sharpen their minds and help them better care for their environment.
Similarly, some civil society organisations have expressed satisfaction with the level of work being done at the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, Wiiyaakara and the Bomu mangrove restoration.
Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, gave the commendation when he alongside other CSO members visited the sites of the projects on inspection.
Bassey, after inside ting the CEER noted that it is one critical recommendations of the United Nations Environmental, UNEP, report on Ogoniland.
“We are impressed by the level of work done by the visible quality of workmanship and we know that for any engineering structure, at the end of the day, it’s how the facility is fully kitted. We have seen the structure and we are hoping that the finishing and all the equipments needed would also be provided,” Bassey said.
He expressed the hope that the centre would be able to develop ms power to carryout remediation exercise in Ogoniland and in the Niger Delta region.
He also commended the variety of mangroves being planted at the Bomu waterfront, saying it represents a real mangrove forest restoration project and not just mangrove plantation.
“It’s impressive to see that over one million stands of mangroves have been planted and not just one specie, we have the white mangroves, the black mangroves and the red mangroves which means that HYPREP is conscious of securing the biodiversity and not just a plantation,” he added.
In his part, Celestine Akpobari, an Ogoni activist and Team Lead of the People’s Advancement Centre, called for the enactment of an act to guide the establishment and operations of HYPREP while calling on the government to pay it’s counterpart funds and also make budgetary allocation for the running of the Center of Excellence and execution of other HYPREP projects.
