The former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu has donated facilities in his house in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state for the Adire Ekiti Hub project, an initiative of the wife of the state governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji.
The Adire Hub, is a local fabrics empowerment scheme and training centre, set out to give economic empowerment to the unemployed youths and widows in the state.
A total of 200 beneficiaries drawn from Ekiti Central Senatorial District began the training sponsored by Governor Biodun Oyebanji and his wife in partnership with the Nike Okundaye Art Foundation. Two batches of 200 participants each drawn from Ekiti North and Ekiti South senatorial districts are to commence training by next week.
The beneficiaries are expected to undergo two weeks intensive training on the intricacies of tie and dye at the training facility by one of the nation’s best fabrics producers.
Speaking during the unveiling of the project on Monday, Ojudu who represented Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, expressed his delight in offering the facilities for the training of the youths and widows on the making and production of Adire.
In his goodwill message tagged ‘ Building Hope and Investing in the Future ‘ said,” This is my birthday month. There can be no better gift than what is happening today. In 2002, I lost my mom, Raliat Boluwade Ojudu, to a brain tumor. She was 65. For three months after her passing, I would wake up in the morning, sit at the edge of my bed, and sob.
” To bring closure to the tragedy and grief of losing such an amazing woman who sacrificed all for her children and to honor her memory, my wife Omotola and I decided to build this house to train indigent women to acquire skills that will earn them and their families a good life. I named this place the Raliat Ojudu Women Development Center (ROWDEC). I registered a foundation of the same name. Unfortunately, when I decided to go into politics and seek office in 2010, all efforts to put this place to good and noble use were seen by beneficiaries as taking from me a share of our national cake. I once selected 570 indigent women, got a consultant to train them on participating in and managing a cooperative, opened bank accounts for them, and offered each of the members N25,000 to ply their trades with through revolving microcredit to be given by the cooperative. They were not happy with the arrangement.
” They demanded that the money be given to them individually. My wife spent the whole night counting and enveloped the money. Right before my very eyes and on this same premise, they shared the money with their political leaders and sponsors.
” Several efforts made to train women went awry. I would gather them, train them, offer them the tools to work with, and the day after, they would take the tools to the market and sell them, and that was the end of it. I got frustrated, and the center was abandoned.
” Early this year, His Excellency, the amiable Governor of this State, Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, appointed me Chairman of the Olowe of Ise Art Foundation. On the night of the inauguration of the foundation, we went for dinner at the governor’s lodge. It was during that dinner that Mama Nike Okundaye, a member of the Foundation, a world-renowned artist, and proponent of our local Adire fabric, offered to help our First Lady train Ekiti State women and youths on how to make Adire. Right after her speech, I offered to donate this facility and the adjoining warehouse for this purpose because I could immediately see the convergence of our passions to give and to help.
” Since that night, our First Lady has picked up the gauntlet, and she and her staff have not rested ever since. I too have done a partial relocation to Ekiti since then to enable me to assist in sharpening the idea, supervise the renovation, and make sure this dream becomes a reality. It is a demonstration of what love, collaboration, and sacrifice can achieve.
” Thank you, my very dear sister, Oja omo Ewi Ado. Thank you, Mr. Governor, for your determination to lift our people from poverty. Thank you, Mama Nike, for the generosity of your purpose. And thank you to all our sisters and brothers who have worked day and night to make Adire Ekiti Hub possible.
” My mother, in whose honor this place was built, lies a few meters from here with my dad, her husband. Today will be a day of celebration for them both, wherever they are, as they were incredibly given to helping the needy during their lifetimes.
” It is our hope and prayer that every woman who shall be trained here will seize this as a good opportunity for personal development. Having a skill and making use of it is an incredible path to escaping poverty. Empowering a woman is the easiest way to assist her in training her children to make a great contribution to societal development. My mom, with very little but a huge sense of sacrifice, was able to raise six of us, who are doing very well today in our chosen endeavors. We too have taken the baton from her to raise children who are everywhere working hard to make the world a better place.
” It is this opportunity that our very dear sister, the First Lady of Ekiti State, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, is offering you today. After all it is said that “ the wealth of a nation lies in the skills of its people”. Make the best use of what you will learn here. You can never imagine how far it may go.”
But Dr. Oyebanji said the opening of the Adire Ekiti Hub marked the beginning of a new chapter for the people of the state which holds the promise of long term benefits for the beneficiaries, local economy and building a brighter future for the coming generations.
She said: “The Adire Ekiti Hub represents a platform for creativity, skill development, and collaboration. It is a symbol of our commitment to nurturing talent, fostering innovation and building a brighter future for the people of Ekiti State.
“Through this initiative, we envision a community of skilled artisans, vibrant entrepreneurs, and a thriving Adire industry that contributes to the growth and prosperity of our state.”
Governor Oyebanji who charged the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity offered by the Adire Ekiti scheme which include self sustenance, productivity and becoming job creators rather than job seekers emphasized that “provision of palliatives cannot solve Nigeria’s problems.”
He promised that his administration would support the beneficiaries to stand on their own, give them opportunities to access soft loans and market advising anyone among them who saw the scheme as another opportunity for free money to perish the thought as they will be strictly monitored to follow the terms of the scheme.
The Governor said: “Government cannot give everybody employment; it is good to be educated, your education will prepare you to do better in whatever area of life you find yourself so, don’t see this as a share of the national cake. The challenges we have with programmes like this will be put behind you to ensure that you overcome them.
“We are going to hand-hold you, to train you and not to leave you alone because that is the problem of many government interventions. We are going to monitor you to the level that you will become independent and become employers of labour. If we do 200 per senatorial district, that is 600 (across the state) and you can now know the multiplier effects.
“A time is coming when all of you will not be able to meet up with the demands (for your product), that is what I want to see. By the time we are doing one year anniversary of this project, we will call you back to tell your success stories.”
The wife of the Ooni, Olori Ogunwusi, said Adire Ekiti is a platform for capacity development, skills acquisition, job creation and wealth creation in addition to being a major part of the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people.
The Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Nike Art Foundation, Chief Nike Okundaye, described Adire Ekiti as “the next big thing that will happen in creative economy” stressing her readiness to assist in ensuring growth of the hub to prominence and a springboard for empowerment in local craft.
Mrs. Okundaye, who was represented by Mrs. Nneka Moses of Goge Africa, urged the stakeholders to support Mr. Oyebanji, whom she described as a “visionary Governor” and his wife, Dr. Oyebanji in rewriting a new chapter in the Ekiti story for the world to see.”
While appreciating the Governor for bringing her on board, Mrs. Okundaye pledged the full support of her Foundation in ensuring that the beneficiaries get the best of training in preparation for their foray into the market and to also train others in the art of Adire making.
