In 2011, Distinguished Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi, as a House of Representatives member, unveiled his skills entrepreneurship vision. The agenda of the document was bringing back the Igbo value of “Aka Oru”, (skills acquisition) and reducing joblessness in Owerri Federal Constituency. At that time nobody in the executive and legislature paid attention to what he was doing. They probably didn’t do because then unemployment was not a serious threat. And there was no open sign of immediate trouble. So , seeing no reason to worry everyone continued with their usual business.
But, Distinguished Senator Onyewuchi saw what others didn’t see. He saw that unemployment would become a big problem soon. He saw and understood that there would be need for alternative job creation strategy. Most importantly, he knew skills entrepreneurship would be that joker.
So, knowing he was on the right track, having nursed that vision for several years he refused to let go. Surely, only one without audacity of conviction would abandon a well crafted vision document, simply because others didn’t buy into it. That roadmap was a product of his experiences and knowledge, growing up in his native Orji Community and Owerri Clan. Like every other Igbo community that time, Orji Community lived by observance of Igbo traditional cultures and values, like brotherhood, hardwork ,skills acquisition and integrity etc.
As one who experienced it all the lawmaker often used the story of women who sold petty items like groundnut, pepper, salt , etc,in front of their house then, to illustrate how these values, like brotherhood and integrity were observed . According to him back then, all those women used to do was just bringing out their goods outside their houses. Once they do that, they could travel and stay for days, if they wanted. However, whenever they returned, they would meet everything they left intact.
That was how so strongly values reigned in communal life in those good old days. But today, sadly, the situation has changed for the worse. Each time he tells this story he always ends by noting that the key reason behind the sad degeneration of our values, was the throwing away of the value of brotherhood, integrity and others like them, especially values that could be described as foundational values like*Aka Oru”, skills learning and hardwork. He also usually concludes his story with the argument that, for any effort at recovering our lost values to be fruitful, it must first focus on restory the foundational values, like skills acquisition and hardwork back.
It was this clear cut understanding that fixing joblessness,is key to restoring these values, that made him to unveil his skills entrepreneurship roadmap in 2011, with focus on taming joblessness and bringing back “Aka Oru”. His robust implementation of that policy led to the training and empowerment of hundreds of people. He also built training infrastructures. The first ever ICT Centre attracted by a federal lawmaker to the state came from him.it was built at Umuoma, Nekede.
In the Senate, he has taken the policy to new heights. He has trained and empowered over two thousand people in over ten skills. These are: Solar installation and Maintenance, Woodwork Modern Welding Methods, Graphics, Website Design, Computer Appreciation, Videography and Photography, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Marketing, Software Development Level One and Two, Teachers Training on New Technologies for Teaching and Learning. He has built many Infrastructures for sustainable skills development, the most ambitious being the soon to be unveiled Mega Skills Hub.
This obvious inspiring track record is why people call him”Mr Empowerment”. Pundits also say he has redefined senatorial representation in Owerri Zone, and emerged the benchmark for measuring legislative performance.
Indeed, he has achieved so much with his skills entrepreneurship vision. However, amid all his achievements there is one particular legacy he surely will cherish for life. And that is because it is going to etch his name in Nigeria’s governance history books. This feat is the federal government official adoption of his entrepreneurship vision. The present administration has officially adopted skills entrepreneurship as a national job creation strategy. President Tinubu has severally spoken of that. Also, ongoing practical efforts to establish skills entrepreneurship institutions clearly highlight this new thinking. As i write a skills polytechnic is being built in Ebonyi State. Construction of mega skills acquisition hubs is equally on in different parts of the country.
Undoubtedly, this policy was significantly inspired by Distinguished Senator Onyewuchi’s efforts, justifying the claim of his being one of its architects.
He has also continued to practically demonstrate that he is one of the brains behind this emerging new dawn. We all saw that during Senate’s recent public event on the proposed skills polytechnic. Not only was he conspicuously present that day, he also, literally, headlined it. In my opinion, I don’t think there can be any achievement greater than becoming a reference point in history, as Distinguished Senator Onyewuchi has become today, courtesy of the copying of his idea by the federal government. What that shows is that he saw today yesterday like Nostradamus did. And for thinking ahead of time, he is being bestowed with the rare honour of having his name in national records as one of those who inspired adoption of skills entrepreneurship as a national Job creation strategy.