By Emmanuel Onotevure.
The African Democratic Congress Candidate for Delta State House of Assembly for Ughelli North Constituency 1 in the last General Election, Hon. Ibebe Rufus Akpobome has tasked all leaders to stop empowerment of people through motorcycle and tricycle popularly known as OKADA and Keke respectively, as it has proven to be unproductive to the development of the society and its people. Speaking via phone chat to newsmen over the weekend, the young humanitarian cum politician lamented that we already have too many youths in our society riding Okada and Keke under unfavorable condition and an addition to this number in the name of empowerment is not only shameful, but highly unacceptable in this 21st century. “It is embarrassing to see leaders abandon their electoral promises and assembly few youths and give them Motorcycles and tricycle and term it empowerment”, he stated.
Stating further, the Youth leader said he feels extremely sad and disappointed seeing how happy these youths receive these okada and keke unknowingly to them that the interior motives of this so called ’empowerment’ is to have them improvised forever as he see no reason why many of them who are graduates can’t request and bargain for better options instead of settling down to receiving OKADA from those who won’t give them to their children.
He stated during the chat that, creation of skills acquisition centers where our people can acquire meaningful skills such as; welding and fabrication, tailoring, computer operation and engineering, phone repairing, hair dressing and shoemaking e.t.c and having the people funded to start up their businesses upon completion is far more better and productive, less capital intensive and would develop the society far more better than this okada and keke empowerment.
He urged all leaders that are carrying out okada and keke empowerment to stop it and urge all those rejoicing over this empowerment to stop receiving them as survey has revealed that those given keke and okada in the past are still suffering. He ended by tasking leaders to give first these Okada and Keke to their children if they must continue giving it to others as empowerment as training their children abroad and giving others okada and keke is wickedness. In his words, “if they can’t stop giving okada to our people, then they should bring their children from abroad where they are schooling and give them too because what is good for the goose is good equally for the gender.”
