Lagos govt trains 3,748 youths to bridge creative skill-gap

-As Sanwo-Olu installed 50 traditional rulers within 4 years

Ibrahim Quadri

A total number of 3,748 Lagos youths have benefitted from creative skill training carried out by the Lagos State Government in the last one year.

This was done in partnership with film industries such as Del-York Film Academy, GIDI Creative Academy, Ebony Life Creative Academy and African Film Academy.

The state Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka made this known during the ongoing ministerial press briefing to mark the first year of the second term in office of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja.

The Commissioner said, “The State Government is currently in partnership with four different creative academies to enhance the capacities of young creative practitioners in Lagos State.

“As at today, 3,748 Lagos youths have benefitted from the training. The academies in partnership with the state government for this training programme are, Del-York Film Academy, GIDI Creative Academy, Ebony Life Creative Academy and African Film Academy.

“This gesture by the government is informed by the need to bridge identified skill-gap in the creative sector and to position residents of the state who are in the creative field to compete globally with their contemporaries when it comes to film production.

“The testimonials of the beneficiaries are very encouraging. It should be stressed that this training/capacity building which ordinarily would have cost the beneficiaries several millions of naira is at no cost to the participants.

“I am pleased to announce that Mr Governor has further approved training of over 5,000 young men and women to run for the next three years.”

She also disclosed that since the ministry is in charge of managing all museums and monuments erected by the state government, it had restored and reerected a bronze statue of late MKO Abisola at Opebi Sheraton Junction, repaired the damaged Artwork, (the sekere dancing drum) at Old Toll Gate, Lagos.

She noted, “Apart from the above, the ministry is expected to deliver the on-going construction of late Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s statue before the end of next month, June 2024.

“Also, the ministry is reconstructing and re-develooing the Agia Tree Cenotaph, Badagry, a historical monument of the first place Christianity was preached in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has also disclosed that Sanwo-Olu has so far installed 50 traditional rulers to enhance peaceful co-existence among people of diverse backgrounds in the State.

The State Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development; Mr Bolaji Kayode Robert made this disclosure while rolling out the achievements of his Ministry under Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration in the last one year.

He reassured Lagos residents of the ministry’s commitment to grassroots development in line with its Security and Governance pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S. development Plus Agenda.

To this end, the State Government stated that people at the grassroots would continue to be at the centre of its’ development policy, to ensure that the dividend of democracy is taken to the door-step of the common man.

The Commissioner stated that the approval and reconstitution of 84 members into the State Council of Obas and Chiefs by the Governor Sanwo-Olu administration has helped to promote a sense of belonging, equity and unity in the State.

According to the Commissioner, the State Government has committed huge resources to paying insurance benefits to families of deceased LG and SUBEB Staff, adding that N391,226,636.05 has been disbursed to 164 beneficiaries of the deceased Staff in the last one year.

Robert affirmed that his Ministry remains undaunted, focused and unrelenting in its drive towards bringing the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the citizens of the State and fully actualizing the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda of this administration.

The Commissioner revealed that in the last one year, the Ministry has continued to engage critical stakeholders in the State and has had direct interface with Local Governments Councils in its efforts to cascade development to the grassroots.

This, he said, “has yielded developments at the grassroots, and has culminated into the on-going rural-urban renewal projects which has aided in reducing rural-urban migration”.

Mr Robert also hinted that the Ministry has continued to monitor and inspect projects and markets across the 57 Councils to ensure proper hygiene, cleanliness, waste management and structural safety of facilities in the markets, which, he said, has led to safety and cleanliness in public markets.

Special Adviser to Mr Governor on Rural Development; Dr Nurudeen Yekinni Agbaje, while responding to questions disclosed that the Ministry through the Office of Rural Development has in the last one year committed to strategic and critical infrastructural development in the rural communities, which includes ongoing road constructions in rural communities,.

He stated, “Also, in our ongoing efforts in ensuring the provision of community-based projects, we have provided 500KVA transformers to communities such as Yologbo Estate 1, Igbe Alagbe Community in Ikorodu, and eight (8) other communities across the State, which includes Odan-Ilogbo-Eremi PH1 in Olorunda; LASU Campus, Ojo; Oral Estate CDA, Mojoda, Eredo in Epe; Owu CDA in Ibeju-Lekki; Gengenla CDA, Agunfoye in Ikorodu; Ama St, Ijede; Agbede Omolaye in Ikorodu and Liberty Estate CDA in Igbogbo-Baiyeku.”

Dr Agbaje added that the projects and achievements chronicled by the Ministry are noticeable in communities across the State because of Mr Governor’s commitment to a greater Lagos project as envisioned in the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus development agenda.