Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has expressed empathy with job seekers in the state, listing several measures his administration is pursuing to address the challenge.

This came to the fore in Osogbo on Thursday at a Careers and Employment Opportunity Fair organised by the Ministry of Political Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations in collaboration with Federal Agencies domiciled in Osun State.

Gov Adeleke, represented by the Head of Service, Elder Ayanleye Aina described the job fair as one of the many initiatives of his administration to open up the job market, create enabling environment and ensure the engagement of thousands of the unemployed youth.

He commended what he referred to as the huge Federal presence in Osun State, and pointed out wide opportunities existing for job seekers through appropriate liaison with such agencies and their partners.

According to the governor, his government is doing more to address the unemployment crisis.

He said, “As a Government we are determined to address the unemployment question through multiple approach. The job fair is only a starting point to exploit opportunities across federal establishments domiciled in the state. Job fairs are potent platforms but our government is doing more than that.

“Part of our employment agenda is to deepen the state economy by encouraging agro-industrial activities among the young and the old. Diversifying the economic base of the state possesses the potential to meaningfully engage our youth.

“Additionally, we are pursuing the localisation agenda in our project implementation. This policy is building the capacity of local contractors and local business to employ more Indigenes in the construction industry.

“Localisation not only strengthen local economy, it imparts technical skill in the local population which increases the employability of our population.

“Our administration is also reviving the technical vocational technical colleges across the State. The focus is to expose our youth population to technical skills to enable them offer services for self-employment.

“The public is also aware of our cooperative loan scheme which is targeting local SMEs. About Four Billion Naira is billed to be disbursed. A strong SMEs increases the capacity of small business to employ more job seekers.

“More importantly, our government is working on a programme of match making between young entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Details of this will be unveil in the upcoming series named “Engagement With Osun Young Professionals”. The Policy Integration Unit in my office is working on this particular plan.”

Gov Adeleke, however, encouraged the young and generality of job seekers to improve their skills, both for self-employment and employability adding that “we must move beyond our paper qualifications to skill acquisition.”

Locals and traders have became frightened after the government demolished numerous shops and kiosks in the famed Ojoo market in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State on Thursday.

Biztellers gathered that the traders were handed a quit notice by the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development a long time ago, but they refused to vacate the market.

The Chairman of the market, Muhdeen Ganiyu, fondly called Elewedu, however, told our correspondent that the quit notice was too short but the executive members of all the affected markers would meet after the demolition exercise.

“The quit notice was too short. All executive members of all the affected markers will soon meet. So, I cannot say anything for now,” he stated.

When contacted, the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Williams Akin-Funmilayo, confirmed the ongoing demolition exercise.

He said, “The State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had gone there personally to address them. The government will provide another place. That place is dangerous. And the new place is not far. Just at the front of the Barracks.”

Additional images from the demolition:

Young C, a Nigerian man, has been buried alive in a coffin for twenty-three hours.

On Thursday, he posted an update on his Instagram account saying, “Guys, I am still alive, I am still fine, I am okay. A lot of you might think something has happened, but nothing has happened, I am fine.

Breathing heavily he said, “My problem is just that I have run out of water, I might be forced to drink this (my urine). Guys, I am fine.”

Young C had embarked on this daring challenge on Wednesday, announcing his intention to be buried alive for 24 hours.

He shared a video on his Instagram account, emphasizing that the stunt was genuine and not a hoax. He also announced his plan to broadcast live footage from the coffin at night.

In an earlier update, Young C revealed that he had been buried for over 8 hours and was experiencing physical discomfort, including excessive sweating.

He shared a video from the coffin, showing his camera and light still functioning, and expressed his determination to complete the challenge.

This accomplishment brings to mind another challenge that American YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) undertook two years ago to raise awareness about deforestation. In that challenge, he buried himself alive for fifty hours.

He overcame both physical and mental obstacles to finish the task and was ultimately exhumed, warning onlookers not to attempt such exploits since they could be dangerous.