Honorable Wasila Adefemi Adegoke is the youngest commissioner in the cabinet of Governor Seyi Makinde. She is in charge of youth and sports in the state of Oyo, in this interview with Yinka Oladayinbo, talk about how she has been handling problems related to young people, efforts to make the State recover its lost glory in sports and The change of shooting. Sports Club begins (3SC). Extracts:
How could you handle your appointment as commissioner in the state of Oyo?
I give glory to the Almighty Allah for the opportunity to serve and a great thanks to Governor Seyi Makinde, who considered appropriate to name someone like me, considering my age and my background, in this position. It is a great opportunity for me to serve and with its full support. Since I assumed duty, it has been a joy for me because the man we are working with has made it easier for us to serve people. I love being in this position. We definitely face challenges, but we can overcome those challenges. Today it has become part of me, my first six months were very difficult, but now I am used to it and everything is happening well.
As a commissioner for youth and sport development, how well has he been able to deal with his main constituency, who are the young people with whom many people believe they are difficult to handle?
Yes, we are difficult because I am part of them. There is an Adagio in Yoruba that says “Ode Iwoyi Lo wereko Iwoyi Le”, which means that he is only a young man who can handle problems that care about young people and that is what the governor wanted to achieve placing young people in this Office because my predecessor is also as young as me. It is always incredible to deal with young people because every time I speak, they want to hear what someone of my age means, each of them wants to be like me. So, that gives them a quiet mind. I can say that young people are difficult, but with this position, it has been very soft for me.
What are the innovations and achievements that you have brought to this office since it was appointed?
We must not forget that I am not only the young people's commissioner, but I am also the sports commissioner. We have identified talents among our young people. From the empowerment of young people, when I assumed the position, I wrote to the governor that I would like to start an empowerment program for our young people full and we started with 500 young people. We train them in different skills and after training, we were able to identify where they are good enough. For the glory of God, the consultant with whom we work came with different sets of people with different skills and on the line, everyone could identify what they can do and now they are waiting for their starting packages because we promised to give them the starting packages that are related to their skills. We have also trained 1500 of our young people in information communication technology, basically in marketing and digital coding and after training we gave them certificates because it was a six -month training, with internships where we went to monitor them. We also had our International Youth Week, which is a national event and during the celebration, we visited the Correctional Center in Agodi and discovered talents there. Despite being in a section, they were able to get their potentials and hired the controller there to see how we can collaborate so that people turn their talents into money. So, for those who participate in the tailoring, we gave them planting machines and did some other fields too, although we have not finished. In that week, we also gather more than 300 young people where we train them about what politics is about, how they can navigate when they are in politics. Some of the people we train have been designated as special assistants or supervision councilors in several local governments. So, our young people are benefiting in many ways under this administration.
How did you choose the beneficiaries of their programs? Was it based on the affiliation of the party and how do you ensure that efforts are not wasted?
We are sure that the beneficiaries of the programs are not wasting opportunities. As I said, they did internships and are those who know they are completely on the ground and take the opportunity to which we granted certificates. They are those who benefited those who have been calling us that other people who wanted to participate in the subsequent programs, can say that they are well on their own. For the 500 that underwent training in different skills, we want to give them starting starting packages so that they can start small -scale businesses. Some of them learned to raise pigs, some learned to do Garri and some other things and before one can start business, they must have a small amount of money. Also when choosing the beneficiaries, we make sure that they are not members of the PDP alone, it opened to all, even those who do not know anyone in the government because we open a link like a website where everyone registered, and when we obtained The number we wanted closed the portal and invited them all to come with their credentials. We did the exam and after the detection we divided them to their various local government. When we discovered that going to the 33 areas of the local government for training may not be easy, we did it at the zonal level, Oke Ogun People converged in the NYSC camp, Iseyin, Ibarapa area met in Igboora, Ibadan People converged in the Polytechnic , Ibadan, Ibadan. Campus, Ogbomosho had his within the Secretariat of the Local Government of southern Ogbomosho. This is how we could achieve our goal, we camped them for training. PDP members were there, but many people who are not members of the PDP and those who are neutral also benefited even more than the members of the PDP, so we did not do it on the basis of political affiliation. The same is applicable to the 500 applicants who were for training. This is how we have been doing our programs since I assumed the office, we have a website for the ministry and also a personal website that is being administered by the fog in the governor's office.
Oyo State used to be a force to consider when it comes to sports, but it is as if the case were now. What are you doing to develop sports in the state?
I dare to say that sports in the last year in the state of Oyo have become what people develop more interest, I said it because when I assumed the position, the condition that I met sports was somehow, but the trend It is changing now. Let me start with the Shooting Start Sports Club. We saw that last season the club ended in the third position and this time, we are continental for the grace of God and in the last 15 years, I do not think they have that record. Being a woman does not mean that I am not active. Although I am not a sports person from the beginning, when I got this position, I had to mix with the work, I have been involving people who are professionals in this field, looking for advice and we are achieving. For the National Sports Festival, we have added seven sports activities that we did not have before and we have more interested athletes. At the national level, if they demand a particular sport, it is only the state of Oyo that will not stay out, we have everything necessary to compete at the highest level. We went to the sports festival and ended in the sixth position and before now, the last record we had was 12, so from the 12th position to the sixth, I think we are moving forward. We are fully prepared for the next National Sports Festival that Ogun State is organizing. We will go for the elimination stage before February 15. So, after elimination, we can identify the sports that we will participate. Therefore, sports are generally developing in the state of Oyo, not only football, but also in other sports, if you arrive at the Lekan Salami stadium, Adamasingba, you will see our young people to train every day.
Also, when I came, I discovered that we did not have a women's football team. Even before the NPFL wrote to us that all NPFL teams must have a women's team, the governor has approved that we must explore for players and now we have our team ready and we are waiting for a date on which we will invite NNL representatives, representatives NPFL and others to present our team.
What will they say that they were responsible for the feat that 3SC is currently achieving?
As I said, for many years. The shooting stars have worked badly, end in the sixth, tenth position and, sometimes, on the verge of being relegated, but with the help of God and that of the governor we can end the last season in the third position and this season we believe that we will play continental football next season. I have had a closed door meeting with management, especially the president and we are having a very cordial relationship, we understand ourselves and that is what is contributing the success we are having now. The coach Gbenga Ogunbote is well known in Nigeria, we identify and we can meet his needs and allow him to do his job, we do not dictate. If you are coming with a player, my only question is “Are you sure that this player can deliver?” Say yes we want. His performance so far is incredible; Giving him the opportunity to do his job is to help the team. When the team started the season, it was somehow because almost all players are new and assured us that when they played three or four games they would mix.
What special efforts are you doing to identify and develop sports in which Oyo State has a comparative advantage?
Let me start with basketball, with the help of our governor's daughter who loves basketball, the NBA reached the state of Oyo and we could discuss how to develop the game. People said they have met many players that are of origin of the state of Oyo, but the only thing left is their development, so we now have a good relationship with the NBA and we want to start the development of sport. In addition to that, we also have boxing, we have realized that even our girls are interested in boxing. Last year, we discovered that a lady was fighting on the street, we invited her and the father, she also has three other girls fighting on the street and that she was earning money with her street fights. But we made the father realize that it was wrong for him to turn the girls into street combatants and the four boys, we could identify one that has the real potential. Today, many private boxing bodies have been calling us to free the girl for them because we took her to the youth games and won the bronze in her first fight in the ring. So, if she continues with her training, and we continue to help and support her, I think she can do better.
What are the plans for the development of young people in the state of Oyo in the next two years to compete with their peers throughout the country?
This year we are starting with a youth summit that will attract international participants to give our young people the opportunity that have interest in the business of the diaspora, we want to expose them to international opportunities because I am sure we have young people who can deliver and compete at any level. .
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