INTERNATIONAL STUDENT DAY: SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE GLOBAL PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ONDO STATE STUDENTS, COMRADE AYOADE DAVID KIKIOWO, ON TUESDAY, 17TH OF NOVEMBER, 2020.
PROTOCOLS
Today marks the 81st memorial honored by students all over the world. To remember the labour of the legends who put their lives on the line to fight for multiculturalism; for a society where all lives matter, whether Jews or Pagans, black or white; a society where culture is respected and not brutalized.
This year has been an adventurous one, we are caught in the web of a pandemic, ASUU strike and the historical End SARS movement. Nigerian youths and students have suffered severely from these blows. Recall that the lockdown has kept students away from school for months and the ASUU strike has continued to top the sad development for Undergraduates.
Covid-19 brought forced social-distancing and hunger on us, as the lockdown grounded a lot of economic activities. The leadership of the National Association of Ondo State Students put it upon herself to support her members with food items during this moment. It was recorded that several students benefitted from this show of love targeted at Ondo state students in Akure environment. We ensured the distribution of food items to areas like FUTA, Ondo road, Ijoka, Oda road and FECA.
Furthermore, the Gubernatorial election in October saw us sensitizing the public, especially young people on the importance of participating in the electoral process, by voting candidates of their choice. We also discouraged political apathy and highlighted the danger attached. For this cause, the Association organized a ‘Peace walk’ and with the aid of placards, it passed the message of Peace and Participation to the Ondo people. In the same vein, the Association was not silent about the ‘Popular Police Brutality’ that littered the streets and eroded the media. It was indeed a sad phase for the country. The Association organized a campaign and in the spirit of solidarity, raised a voice against Police Brutality.
Sad to note also is that the unemployment rate among young people rose from 29.7% to 34.9% in the second quarter of this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. These worrisome figures continue to emphasize the need to upskill our youths and ensure their economic independence. This is a course that we are set to chart in the next few months.
The National Association of Ondo State Students is launching a skill acquisition programme tagged
ONE NAOSSite, ONE SKILL. This project is targeted at empowering Ondo state students with relevant 21st-century digital skills. It is no news that the world is turning digital, we are in the future already.
More than 5,000 Ondo State students across Nigeria will benefit from this initiative. The courses include CopyWriting and Blogging, Graphic Design & Illustration, Forex / Cryptocurrencies, Digital and Social Media Marketing. Others include Retail Management Merchandising, Distribution and Marketing, Project and Product Management, Data Analysis Pivot Tables and Microsoft Excel, Programming and Assembly Language. We are excited to set on this course and are encouraging relevant stakeholders and partners to move with us on this journey.
With no doubt, the Association is persuaded that One NAOSSite One Skill empowerment initiative will prepare Ondo state students in secondary and tertiary institutions for the emerging digital economy, and raise a breed of problem solvers that would represent Ondo state and Nigeria in the world and lower the unemployment rate.
The Association would like to appeal to Governor Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu to remember his promises concerning the payment of bursary, especially in a time like this where the country is just recovering from the effects of the pandemic. It is clear that bursary will relief students of Ondo state. We have waited for over eight months now and we call on the Governor to hearken to our pleas. We also call on the Ondo state government, to look into the payment of the West Africa Examination Council fee for Ondo State Public Schools to lift this burden off the shoulders of Sunshine boys and girls. As a dividend of democracy, let free education be free to the common man. We also call on the government to put infrastructures in place that will hasten the reopening of state-owned institutions. For if we are to lead the future, time must not be wasted in the present. We do hope that our pleas would hearkened to.
We also implore our Governor to consult with the Federal Government on resolving the impasse ongoing with the Academic Staff Union of Universities. The coalition of Students Union Presidents met in Ibadan recently for this purpose and issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve this impasse and reopen Universities in the country. Our stand is simple and replicates the resolution of the meeting held in Ibadan. We call on the public to also request that our Government promptly resolves this deadlock for the sake of the future of this country.
Finally, as students of Ondo state, we have seen the worst and best of days, we have experienced history. 2020 has tested us on all sides, yet we are strong and unbroken. We should hold-on, a better time will come. Let us be upright in all our conducts, remembering that we are the image of the State and we are the Future.
Long live NAOSS.
Long live Ondo state.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Aluta Continua! Victoria Ascerta.
Signed:
Comrade Ayoade David Kikiowo,
Global President,
National Association of Ondo State Students
November 17, 2020
Copyright © 2020, Office of the President, Com. Ayoade Kikiowo
All rights reserved.
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