IF the human resources available to the country in the informal sector are properly harnessed, Nigeria may achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) well ahead of 2020, stakeholders said at the inaugural one-day master-trainer workshop.The workshop, held yesterday in Lagos, according to the Executive Secretary of the Yoruba Education Trust Fund, Mrs Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, became necessary as part of the objectives of the trust fund to complement manpower development in the country, particularly in the Yoruba-speaking areas.Former Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Wale Omole, who is one of prominent Nigerians on the Board of the Trust Fund, lamented the loss of the values upon which the Yoruba-speaking people of the defunct Western Region of the country were founded.'The Yoruba people have achieved greatness in building the first television and radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa, the first international standard and biggest sports stadium on the continent, among other landmark achievements, through the effort of cocoa farmers', he said.Others on the board, some of whom were present at the event, included its chairman, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Ola Vincent, Proprietor and Medical Director of Best Hope Hospital and founder of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, former judge of International Court of Justice, Bola Ajibola, and former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Priscilla Kuye.Stressing the need to inculcate new values into the members of the informal sector particularly artisans, Omole said the world had since moved from the age of illiterate artisans to those who are at the driving seats of their countries' economies.He said no responsible nation would continue to look the other way while the majority of its labour force abandoned productive sectors for operating commercial motorcycles.Omole said no nation could achieve greatness in an atmosphere of insincerity.'Without integrity, our artisans would cause more damage. Honesty is not the best value; but the only value, that can see a people out of the doldrums of under-development', he said.Speaking earlier, Otunba Adetola Adeniyi, urged trainers at the event to instill the values of responsible citizens into the trainees.'At the core of our various maladies today in this country is the loss of character by virtually everybody who has been put in position of leadership. Only about 10 per cent of the total leadership can be said to posses some molecule of good manners and good breeding. And this lack of character from the top has trickled down to the bottom,' he said.This lack of character, according to him, is responsible for the state of the county's education, which in 1968 was fourth, behind Great Britain, Canada and Australia, across the Commonwealth countries, but has now fallen to abysmal 109th position according to Global Competitiveness Report.The trust fund, which includes, Dr. Tunji Otegbeye, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, Prof. Bolanle Awe and Prof. Babatunde Fetuga, in a report noted that gradually, but progressively, the Yoruba people were becoming educationally disadvantaged.'In order to escape the rot, those with means send their children to the United States and Europe and those with lesser means send their own children to Ghana,' the report stated.
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