Southern Kaduna Development Forum (SOKADEF)

(Think Development! Think Sokadef!! Think Southern Kaduna!!!)

Welcome Address by: Dr. Rikichi Kajang, Coordinator- Sokadef- At the launching of skills
acquisition scheme for first batch of 1000 Southern Kaduna Youth, on Saturday, April 23, 2016
at Kafanchan, Kaduna State,
Her Excellency, YRH, Distinguished Guests, Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to extend to you all a very warm welcome on behalf of Sokadef and
our esteemed partners: NDE, Second Chance Initiative and Akkral Consult Ltd and to say how
grateful we are to you who have accepted our invitation to grace this occasion. I wish to In
particular take this opportunity to welcome especially the youth from the interior parts of
Sothern Kaduna communities.
Your Excellency, distinguished quests and participants, we need to introduce to you that,
Sokadef is a non-governmental, non-tribal, and non-religious organization, this is so, because
on any issue when politics, religion or ethnicity is involved, objectivity disappears, and
rationality is killed. The forum is composed of technocrats, Public servants, academics,
business men and women and politicians from Southern Kaduna. The main focus of the forum
is on promoting community service as a channel of private contribution to governance, unity
and progress and development in the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District. Sokadef, is
propelling the productivity of the Southern Kaduna People through creation of enabling
environment for Human Capital development and social Safety Nets within the southern Kaduna
Senatorial District of Kaduna state.
In order to fulfil its objectives, Sokadef, recently commissioned a study on the developmental
needs of the youth in the Sothern Kaduna community with particular emphasis on job seeking
skills and graduate employability and the findings of the survey will be presented at this
workshop. This orientation meeting will provide information on Sokadef’s self-help
empowerment scheme in order to equip the youth with the appropriate skills necessary for
creating employment opportunities for self-reliance and entrepreneurship in the zone. It is
gratifying to note that the agenda of the workshop covers a wide range of very interesting items
relating to: vocational counselling; entrepreneurship; self-help empowerment; business
opportunities (procurement, bidding skills and proposal writing skills), environmental safeguards
and sustainability, etc. After today’s programme, the next stage will include the placement of
the participants for training in their various skills needs or vocational interest.
SOKADEF has a dream that the time has come for us as a people of southern Kaduna to chart
the way forward for a better and more prosperous community. The time has come for us to
create a land where milk and honey flow, not just for the elites and or elected/appointed
politicians, but for all and sundry for the generality of our people. We must craft this dream into
a reality devising and promoting policies that will propel development in Sothern Kaduna to
higher heights. SOKADEF would like to be remembered for promoting development culture
that had resulted in the economic stability in Southern Kaduna. We promote restoration
programmes which sole goal is developing Southern Kaduna, to square up with other leading
communities in Kaduna sate and in Nigeria.
We implore the people of Sothern Kaduna, to assist government by making more sacrifices, to
show more understanding and cooperation in response to government policies, because
government alone cannot achieve the desired development agenda of Kaduna state, without
the full participation of all and sundry.
We are aware that nowadays that society has politicized virtually everything. Since the Sothern
Kaduna Youth do not operate from a vacuum, they are also part of society, they need to be
cautious with the ‘Rumor Mill’ in Kaduna state and in Nigeria; because a lot of politics has gone
into the development agenda of our society. We need to work towards securing the future not
mortgaging it through frivolous writings and baseless confrontation, in ordinate ambitions and
lies. After politicking and elections, what we need to be concerned about is Government and
Governance. Politics is not about being controversial or sponsoring explosives articles against
institutions or personalities. We do not need to be told that or reminded that nothing is or can
be more prosperous than Peace.
I therefore call on the Youth in Southern Kaduna to be weary of ‘voodoo articles, rumors and
bizarre propaganda’ reeled out there every day in the media, especially in the social media,
because the information in most of the write-ups are meant to heighten ethnic and religious
tension and cause social upheavals often for selfish gains. Avoid desperate, opportunistic and
parasitic personalities, be them academics, business men or politicians, or those who want to
benefit from ethnic disharmony by promoting rumors to whip up ethnic sentiments to cause
problems. Any group of persons or individuals that constantly sprinkle dew of hate, suspicion
and ethnicity should not only be condemned, they must be told the daring consequences of
their actions and its effects on peace and sustainable livelihood. We must take measures to
create platforms of development and mutual trust between the various communities in Kaduna
state. Our desire is to see every Southern Kaduna youth armed with adequate functional
education and skills which is a liberator.
Long Live SOKADEF
Long Live Sothern Kaduna
Long Live Kaduna State
Long Live Nigeria.
Once again, welcome and God bless.