As part of the Federal Government’s current efforts to reposition the economy, the Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Afiz Ogun, has declared that the ITF has aligned with President Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to upgrade the skills of 20 million artisans within the next four years.
Ogun, who disclosed this during his visit to Akure, the capital of Ondo State, expressed optimism that the initiative will significantly empower artisans across the country, noting that the initiative has already started yielding positive results.
The Director-General stated that the ITF initiative aims to ensure that artisans in the country can compete favorably with their counterparts abroad and provide them with a platform to become millionaires.
Ogun described his visit to Ondo State as a homecoming and appreciated the warm reception he received from APC chieftains and artisan groups led by the Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor on Artisans Matters, Chief Daisi Komolafe. “I’m overwhelmed. It is a good homecoming. I am very happy and excited to be back in Ondo State.”
The Director-General said, “I have started pursuing it (the 20 million artisans uplift). I am not just going to pursue; I have started. They can testify. The artisans can testify. That is why I call them my primary constituency.
“The artisans in Nigeria make up more than 50 percent of our population. Do you not have an artisan in your family?
“All families in Nigeria. If we raise them up, they are raising the grassroots of Nigeria up. If we raise them up, we are improving our economy.
“In fact, we are targeting our economy, not just improving it, and we are making our economy fly. They will not just project our economy here; they will also go outside, make money, and bring the dollars home. We are prepared for that.
“Mr. President has told us that we should uplift five million artisans. The President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, gave us the mandate to uplift five million artisans each year, and we are prepared to do that. They can testify.
“You see, I have been outside for 19 years, but when I came home, people were telling me that there are no jobs, yet I see there are jobs in Nigeria.
“There are jobs in Nigeria because if there were no jobs, how come people (artisans) from Ghana come here and get jobs easily?
How come people from Benin Republic, Togo, and all those places come and take our artisanal jobs and do well? Some of them become millionaires and take our money back home.
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“Why are they taking our jobs? Because the quality of our jobs has reduced. Quacks who do not train well break away from their masters and form their own. We don’t want that to happen again; we want quality artisanal jobs.
“We want a plumber who will be a millionaire. We want artisans who can drive their own cars and sponsor their children to any university of choice in the world.
“We want an electrician who will be able to stand tall. We want dignity in artisanal jobs. We want Nigerian artisans to be like those in Japan.
“The artisans in Japan receive more than the professors in universities,” said the ITF DG.
Speaking, an APC chieftain and industrialist in the state, Dr. Alex Ajipe, described the appointment of Dr. Afiz Ogun by President Tinubu as commendable, saying it’s a round peg in a round hole.
According to Ajipe, “First of all, I want to congratulate Hon. Afeez on his appointment as the DG of ITF. Not only are we having a competent hand, but all the programs he has been able to achieve within a short period have been wonderful.
“Artisans are the real bedrock of our economy. So, I believe that with his efforts, passion, and everything, he will definitely achieve Mr. President’s goals for artisans.”
While commending President Tinubu on the initiative, the National Coordinator of the Association of Nigeria Artisans and Technicians (ARSINAT), Mr. Adesina Akinyemi, said, “That was the mandate President Tinubu gave Dr. Ogun, and since he assumed office in October last year, he has been doing wonderfully well. I used to say that this is the first time in the history of ITF since it was created in 1971 that we will see a DG who goes along with the mandate, instructions, and enabling law of ITF.
“This is the most artisan-friendly director-general of ITF we have ever had. When he came in, he called us and had interactive meetings with us. After that, there was a program called Skill Up Artisan (SUPAR), which he initiated and is now executing.
“He makes sure that artisans are also included in the arrangement of that program. Even the monitoring committee, we were also engaged to be part of that monitoring committee.
“That has never happened before to us in the history of ITF since it was created 53 years ago.”
