A demonstration of what it takes to empower the people; both mentally and materially have been showcased. In view of this, governments at all levels have been charged to embark on knowledge facilities development and be prepared to invest heavily in the Nigerian education sector, to make the country a knowledge-base society. A former National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer, National Library of Nigeria, Prof. Lenrie Aina made this charge while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Towards Making Nigeria a Knowledge Society” during the 2nd edition of Eminent Personality Lecture Series, organised by the ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to him, knowledge enables a society connect its framework of ideas to the proposed goals and objectives of moving forward, while stressing that it had played this role from the commencement of the human society. He noted that the proliferation of knowledge in today’s global works had let loose a deluge of information, which nations and individuals have access to and can harness in whatsoever way to further their visions. Prof. Aina added that the government must fund libraries and other information institutions substantially for them to play the role of assisting different institutions and organisation in generating, sharing and distributing knowledge, stressing that libraries would enhance knowledge generation and its diffusion, which are germane to making Nigeria a knowledge society.
The Professor said “there is also the need for information institutions to provide filtering mechanism through adequate metadata that will enable users access information required within a minimum period of time. The former National Librarian noted that the goal of a knowledge society “is to make Nigerian society self-sufficient without importing foreign technologies for the day-to-day running of society”. Similary, a former University Librarian, Prof. Fehintola Onifade, has stressed the need for information facilitators to learn and develop new strategies to meet the needs of society, which is becoming more sophisticated. She made this know at the same event. Prof. Onifade said in the knowledge economy “that is emerging all over the world, the country cannot stand aloof, hence, the need to ensure that citizens have access to the right knowledge that will enable them function reasonably and make variable contributions to the development of the nation”.
The new University Librarian, Dr. Abayomi Owolabi, said he would continue from where his predecessor stopped, as he promised that he would not let the institution down on the task ahead of him. Similarly, a one-day skills acquisition training programme was held for indigent students on production of disinfectants such as air freshener, Izal, Dettol and bleach.
It was organised by Gender Issues and Youth Development (GIYD) programme of Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC), Abeokuta. Prof. Kolawole Adebayo, at the occasion, said the institution’s management is solidly behind them and would do anything in its capacity to help them overcome their challenges in order to achieve greatness in life and be proud ambassadors of the institution. He charged them to use their educational qualification to uplift themselves while advising them to pay rapt attention to the training and take advantage of it to be self reliant.
The don stated further that “Nigeria is facing a lot of challenges now and there would be more financial burden on their parents and guardians, reason why they need a training like this to be dependent” while stressing that time has come for everyone to look beyond one source of income if they want to achieve more. He, however, said he was delighted interacting with the students, saying the institution would continue to look out for them even as he wished them the best in life. Meanwhile, the Director, AMREC, Prof. Olalekan Olaoye in his welcome address reiterated the commitment of GIYD for coming up with this kind of training at this crucial time when income earning capacities must be diversified to keep up with the high inflation rate and unemployment particularly among youths. He stressed the need to build skills and capacities for improved welfare so as to achieve sustainable development among youths and students with a view of reducing hunger and poverty, adding that the workshop serves as a means of additional income generating activities.
Also, Mrs. Olubukola Idowu who is one of the trainers said the programme “is set up for students to be able to earn income, be self depending and find themselves more useful” while Mrs. Oluwakemi Fashina said by training the students they are giving them the opportunity to earn a living through skills acquisition. From the above, it can be seen that what real empowerment entails is both the mentally and material component for such interventions to be truly meaningful and impactful. In other words, there is some sort or level of balancing that is required in carrying out this role very well. Therefore, concerted efforts and resources should be deployed in the design and execution of empowerment programmes, which should be taken with all seriousness that it deserves. It is when this is done that the lives of the people can be touched positively and impactfully in our country.
