Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The traditional ruler of the Ancient Oraifite Kingdom in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State, HRH Igwe Daniel Udoji says plans are underway to bring back Oraifite of the good old days full of opportunities for its residents.
Igwe Udoji disclosed this during his Post-2023 Ofala festival press briefing that was held at the Obi Oraifite palace, on Thursday.
It would be recalled that the traditional ruler celebrated his 2023 Ofala festival on 29th December 2023, an event that drew the presence of representatives of the state government, indigenes, well wishers and residents of the town.
Igwe Udoji recalled that shortly after the festival, an affluent son of the community embarked on capacity training and skill acquisition for youths.
According to him, the youths are being trained on how to repair laptops and televisions, how to install solar panels, and how to mount CCTV cameras, among others.
The Igwe said, “The palace council has planned to bring back Oraifite of the old. We encourage our people who have businesses outside Oraifite to bring home branches of their businesses and industries to Oraifite to provide jobs for our young ones.
“We are going to look into infrastructure and make sure we have motorable roads. We can’t leave everything to the government; there are things we can do for ourselves.
“We are determined to improve lives. The Queen of the community and her team have gone to all the schools in Oraifite to see how we can help indigent students with scholarships, uniforms, shoes, and other necessary supports.
“Efforts are being made to equip people with skills to be self-reliant because there are no jobs available again. Jobs are mostly available for those with connections but a common man who has nobody may not have the opportunity of getting a white collar job.”
The Igwe said his heart bleeds when he sees graduates roam the streets without jobs even after making good grades in higher institutions.
He called on sons and daughters of the community to embrace the think home initiative of the government to create jobs for the teeming youths in the community. He said such investments can come in the way of small-scale industries and establishing branches of their businesses in Oraifite.
He said when youths are gainfully employed, it will reduce drastically the rate of crime and insecurity in the country.
While commending Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration for its innovative governance style, the monarch urged the governor to make laws that will be favorable for indigenes to establish factories and industries, noting that it is far more fruitful to build factories than churches that are fast dominating nooks and crannies of the state.
The Igwe lauded the contributions of Sir Emeka Ofor, whose Electric Meter Manufacturing factory and Ijele Radio station were recently commissioned in Oraifite by the Federal Government. He also recalled that Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital, an open-heart surgery centre, among others were established in the community last year.
He noted that Oraifite town is blessed with trailblazers in almost all the fields of human endeavours and commended them for contributing in their capacities to making life better for humanity.
