• Holds 1st Kw-SDGs Convention, trains civil servants on organic waste, ICT

By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara State Government has reiterated its commitment to improving the well-being of its workforce and creating an atmosphere for them to live a decent life after retirement.

Declaring its support for the realisation of the 17th World Sustainable Development Goals, the government said part of these goals centre around ensuring decent work for people and growing the economy.

“The era where Kwara civil servants retire and have nothing to do has passed. What the administration is trying to focus on is to make sure that after you retire you have something to fall back onto,” Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi told reporters in Ilorin during the maiden Kwara SDGs Convention (1st Kw-SDGs).

Alabi urged participants to see the convention as an opportunity to make necessary inquiries and network towards building a solid foundation for a better tomorrow.

Organised by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on SDGs, Hon. Mariam Nnafatima Imam, the Convention featured lectures and panel discussion.

It was attended by some government officials, Permanent Secretaries, and other top civil servants on Grade Level 15 to 17, including Commissioner for Finance, Dr Hauwa Nuru; and Commissioner for Business Innovation and Technology Hon. Damilola Yusuf-Adelodun.

Among the Speakers were the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Innovation Ishola Kayode; founder, Tamirah Entrepreneurship Center (TEC), Rukayat Yahaya; a serial entrepreneur with focus on Water, Education and Agriculture, Gegele Yahya Olushola; Managing Director, CNN Limited, Nelson Daramola; and an associate Professor of Enterprise Creation, Incubation and Development (ECID) at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Dr Rahman Oladimeji Mustapha.

“The state government is in support of the SDGs which is a blueprint for the global future. We are creating an atmosphere where an average retiree can say ‘yes it paid me when I was working with the government and I have something meaningful to be doing afterwards’,” the Deputy Governor said.

He was represented by the Commissioner for Communication Bola Olukoju.

SSA to the Governor on SDGs and convener of 1st Kwara SDGs Convention, Nnafatima, said they organized the programme to equip participants with relevant skills and strategies needed to harness opportunities and thrive in agriculture, entrepreneurship and ICT.

Ishola, in his lecture, spoke on some of the opportunities in digital innovation, including how it enables the government and participants to diversify the economy, adding that the digital world offers a lot of opportunities that the retirees can leverage to network their businesses and meet their economic needs.

Olushola Gegele, whose lecture was titled “Agricultures: Sustainable Practices and Opportunities for Retirees”, dwelled on how participants can harness the potential of organic waste to create wealth and become self-sufficient, addi g that sawdust and rice shafts, after burning and left for a period of time in a container, can generate mushrooms, whose waste can be used as manure for farming.