By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – NIGER Delta and human rights activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, yesterday, commended the exco of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Abuja Chapter, over the initiative to empower Ijaw youths in Abuja with 100 Point of Sale, PoS, devices to start their own businesses.

Briggs who was a guest of honour at the first anniversary of the Abuja IYC exco said the empowerment of 100 Ijaw young people living in Abuja to have financial inclusion and also to emerge as business men and women.

She said: “I am highly impressed that Ijaw Youth Council, Abuja Chapter today has thought of that, and despite the difficulties, they have been able to push out 100 PoS of MoniePoint, and they cost like N24,000 a piece, and then they are doing also a medical outreach, and they want to do more, and they have raised that money. The initiative is theirs.

She also promised to support them in the way she can, as she also charged them not to allow politicians to use them at their own detriment, which most of the politicians have failed them and none are ready to help them in meeting their needs.

She said the youth should not “wear their t-shirts and caps showing their pictures and parties. Their children wear expensive Gucci outfits in their schools abroad, and none of them are used for political expeditions. Do you see any of them here? 

“These Ijaw political leaders are using the slot given to the Ijaw people, therefore, the office they occupy belongs to all of you here, and none of them came to identify with you. It is too bad.

“I will advise every Ijaw youth, irrespective of your political party, not to put on a face cap or a t-shirt of a political party or a person that you want to vote for. It does not give you anything. The cap does not give you anything.”

Meanwhile, she noted that the scenario of youth development in the Ijaw Nation has no tangibilities.

“You hear and see and hear the governors say the things that they are doing, NDDC say the things they are doing, the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Amnesty Programme, and yet, you really can’t see the tangibilities of it, and that is just the truth of it.

“And I think every government in the Niger Delta holds it as a responsibility because of the resources that we own. The state government owes us that responsibility to bring out the best in our youths. We must enhance our best, and our governors and our politicians owe us that responsibility”, she stated.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, IYC, Abuja Chapter, Comrade Emmanuel Deinma, explained the essence of empowering Ijaw youths in Abuja with 100 PoS machines, “Well, this noble initiative was carved out of the sincere demands and needs of our people, the youths particularly.

“Looking at the current state of the Nigeria economy, looking at the practical situation of the yearning of the people.The fifth leadership under my watch sat down, deliberated, and decided to point out something that can be directly impactful to our people here. Though it seems to be little, but to us, we are looking at an initiative that can be very directly impactful to our people.”

Deinma also said the number of beneficiaries would be scaled up subsequently with the empowerment project they have commenced, and he acknowledged the support of the Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, for the initiative, and also Ann-Kio Briggs for standing with them.