We make care for the child, youth and vulnerable our top priority – Mrs Yussuf
Mrs Uzamat Akinbile Yussuf, a Pharmacist is the Commissioner for Youths and Social Development in Lagos State. In this chat, she says her passion for humanity is second to none, and is driven by providing an enabling and empowering environment for youth development. She adds that promoting effective citizenship and leadership training, providing family and juvenile welfare services, school social work services, adult probation services and child development services, among others, are some of the things which make her tick. BENJAMIN OMOIKE reports.
How would you describe your ministry’s achievement in the last one year?
As part of efforts towards inculcating the spirit of contributing to the progress and greatness of the state, the Ministry of Youth and Social Development organised well designed programmes, seminars, conferences, debates and workshops in the last one year.
To address the upsurge of unemployment among our youths, a total of 16,645 youths were trained in various vocations ranging from shoe making, makeup/makeover and gele tying, hairdressing, photography and skin care products.
We were also able to organise computer training, tailoring, scaffolding, mobile crane operations, sales and installation of DSTV, manufacturing safety and refill and servicing of fire extinguishers.
In an attempt to reduce the burden of mobility among the executive members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, the State Government donated an 18-seater bus for the benefit of members of the Lagos State Youth Council.
Also, in order to provide a practical and ready avenue for youth participation in governance and public administration, the third Legislative Assembly of the Youth Parliament was inaugurated comprising of 40 members.
The following activities were carried out to commemorate the 2016 International Youth Day Celebration: Community service across the state, award ceremony for partners on youth development and leadership workshops on the theme for the year.
Tell us about the Lagos State Youth Policy
My Ministry equally developed and launched the first Lagos State Youth Policy, with a view to guiding the conduct and affairs of Lagos State youths.
The Ibile Youth Academy (IYA), was conceived as an initiative to inculcate leadership skills into the youths of Lagos State and prepare them to meet life challenges. The target audience are youths between ages 16-24 years old.
The maiden edition was held between Monday 6th -10th March, 2017, in the five divisions of the state for a total of 500 participants.
The best 10 participants from each division were camped at Ipaja Youth Hostel for the grand finale between 2nd to 7th April, 2017. Thereafter, the best among the 50 participants emerged as the State Youth Ambassadors.
Still on what we were able to achieve, especially in the last two years, 466 Youths benefitted from various livelihood vocational skills training sessions to address unemployment and promote self-reliance/entrepreneurship.
In addition, as part of capacity building, 25 caregivers from correctional homes across the state also benefitted from a five-day Train-the-Trainer workshop under the World Bank Assisted Expanded Public Sector Response (EPSR) as part of Lagos State response to HIV epidemic.
21 youths were trained on HIV/AIDS prevention as Peer Educators- which have reached out to 2, 500 youths across the state with information on HIV prevention, Counseling and Testing (HCT) services and Sexual Reproductive Health Education under the World Bank Assisted Expanded Public Sector Response (EPSR) as part of Lagos State response to the HIV epidemic.
We ensured that 600 young people participated in a Behavioral Change Programme in collaboration with UNFPA. A sensitization walk and awareness talk was carried out on HIV/AIDs for youths in the state.
How about family social services?
In pursuance of its objective of promoting the attainment of healthy, cohesive and stable family units, the Ministry, through 22 Social Welfare Offices in the state carried out functions such as: settling of family disputes, provision of pre-marriage counseling services, encouragement of family values, promotion/reconciliation of family issues, recovery of maintenance allowance and child support from estranged spouses.
Also, in line with the policy of the state government on staff welfare, an office was allocated to attend to the needs of the staff with social challenges.
On correctional and elderly care services?
In pursuance of the mandate of giving succor to the vulnerable members of the society, the Ministry operates seven Correctional Homes and one Old People’s Home where a total of 481 children and senior citizens in need of reformation, correction, re-socialization, care and protection are being catered for.
Three wards- one female and two males were admitted into the University to study Petroleum Engineering, Mass Communication and Computer Science.
This is in addition to the five wards that were admitted into different Universities in the year 2015.
14 wards passed the Common Entrance Examination into Secondary School, while two others passed Junior Secondary Certificate Examination and another three sat for NECO/SSCE Examination.
A total of 63 wards participated and passed the Trade Test Examination organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
Majority of the wards from the various centres undergo vocational training in bead making, tailoring, knitting, hairdressing, catering, shoe making, carpentry, screen processing, cane weaving, videography and vulcanizing.
A total of 63 graduating wards from different centres were presented vocational tools by Her Excellency, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode.
In the last two years, 10 wards went on summer holiday to Spain under an annual foreign trip initiative of BLESSLA Association De Proteccio De Menors, Spanish Agency in conjunction with Literacy Integration and Formal Education Foundation (LIFE Foundation).
Under a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arrangement, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO) and its co-ventures Nigeria AGIP Oil Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation renovated a section of the Old People’s Home staff quarters, Yaba.
One area of debate has always been on adoption, fostering services and its attendant challenges. How has it been?
Adoption is a process whereby suitable persons by legal means acquire parental claim over certain categories of children with or without blood relationship. It could either be local or international.
Fostering is the placement of children in need of care and protection in the hands of fit persons by means of a fostering order.
During the period under review, a total of 1,237 applications were received. 1,145 were for Local Adoption, 60 for International Adoption, 30 for Relative Adoption and two for Fostering. 99 children were released for Bonding. 80 for Local Adoption and 19 for International.
The unit also met with Inter-Country Adoption Stakeholders such as Spanish Consular General, Future and Child Agency in the Netherlands and officials from Office of Children Issues, US Department of State to improve and foster better relationship.
Officials from the ministry comprising three teams embarked on international monitoring to Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and France in 2016.
The trip afforded the team the opportunity to monitor and ascertain the progress of physically, medically and mentally challenged children adopted by non-Nigerians.
Does your ministry render other child development services?
Adequate Care and Protection are provided for vulnerable children, abandoned, homeless, abused or other children whose rights and privileges as stipulated by the Child’s Rights Law (2007) have been trampled upon. 237 abandoned children were rescued during the period under review.
This comprises of 106 male and 131 female. This figure is higher than the corresponding figure of 149 children that were rescued in 2015, while from January 2017 till date, 53 children have been rescued.
We also carried out child audit on the registered orphanages in order to conduct a case review of the children in the homes with a view to decongesting the homes and discouraging institutionalization.
As part of efforts towards preventing children from contacting worm infections and ensuring healthy development as well as boosting their learning capacity, the Ministry organised a deworming exercise for over 60,000 pupils from various primary schools.
The exercise was flagged off by the wife of the governor of Lagos State, Mrs. BolanleAmbode.
A one-day training workshop was organised for Police personnel in gender unit across the state on Child Protection and Safeguarding.
On medical social services?
The Ministry carried out the under listed functions in all the 26 General Hospitals/Health Centres, LASUTH, Mother/Child Care Centres and Accident & Emergency Centres as follows: A total of 54,579 HIV/AIDs patients were counseled along with their relatives, a total of 3,291 indigent patients and 282 destitute patients were assisted to obtain necessary medical services amounting to N15, 942,385.00.
Also, 865 road traffic accident victims and abandoned patients were assisted to access medical treatment amounting to N3, 499,552.00.
On school social work?
The social worker in schools is an integral part of the educational team, that works with school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, nurses, parents of school children, other agencies of government and the community at large.
The main objectives of School Social Work include: Giving attention to school children’s individual intellectual social and emotional needs and facilitating a good relationship between the school system, its operations and other social institutions in the community. Other responsibilities include, ensuring that the child’s educational career is not hampered.
A total of 57,350 school children benefitted from individual and group counseling sessions to curb truancy, gangsterism, abscondment and other social vices, within the period in review.
Five pregnant school children were assisted to access adequate antenatal and delivery services. They were also integrated back to school.
150 reported cases of sexual abuse and physical abuse were treated in 2016. With the introduction of Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, more school children were encouraged to report cases of abuse.
Tell us more about the Human Integration Services
Human integration is the process whereby physically challenged people, destitute and indigent and vulnerable people with other social problems are assisted to have the support and necessary service to remain relevant in the community.
As part of its statutory responsibilities, the office renders aftercare services to graduands of our various Homes, Rehabilitation Centres and Homes of locally adopted children for evaluation purposes.
Thus, the success of rehabilitation programmes can only be measured by the number of released wards and rehabilitee that are successfully integrated into their respective communities. During the period, homes and workshops of wards and rehabilitees were visited.
A total of 2,669 rehabilitee were released from various Rehabilitation, Correctional Homes and reunited with their families out of which a total number of 443 were earlier placed in schools or different vocations.
The high rate of the rehabilitees who have not settled down is significantly attributed to the fact that most of them were mentally retarded and are not engaged in any meaningful vocation immediately, thereby requiring a longer time for them to get settled and stabilised. However, they still enjoy our regular visits for monitoring purposes.
How much have you done in terms of research and development?
The Ministry is also responsible for the registration, monitoring, regulation of Homes, Orpharnages, Crèche’s and Foundations.
The recommendation for approval and registration is based on satisfactory fulfilment of the requirements and operational guidelines already approved by the Ministry.
A stakeholders’ meeting with all the Orphanages, Rehabilitation Homes and Foundations was held to review their activities and rub minds on the challenges encountered in their dealings with the vulnerable persons in their care. A total of 45 registered Homes, NGOs, Foundations were supervised within the period.
How successful has your rehabilitation of beggars and destitutes been?
Rehabilitation is the restoration of a person with any form of disability to the fullest physical, mental, psychological, social, vocational and economic usefulness of which individual is capable.
The main operational areas are rescue operations- this deals with issues of begging and destitution in the state and it operates in all 20 Local Government Areas and 37 LCDA including Central Business Districts (CBD) by continuously embarking on an aggressive rescue of beggars, mentally challenged and destitute from the streets and overhead bridges of Lagos.
During the period under review, a total of 926 beggars, destitute, mentally challenged people were rescued off the streets of Lagos while 263 rehabilitee were released to their relations for re-integration.
The Ministry carried out reformatory services in the following centers; Rehabilitation and Training Centre, Majidun- for beggars, destitute and mentally challenged. Though this facility was built with a capacity of 500 rehabilitees, the centre presently has a population of 980 rehabilitees.
We have Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centre, Isheri – for drug dependent rehabilitees. Out of a total of 33 trainees, 13 are undergoing vocational trainings, 10 are being taken through detoxification while the remaining 10 have been released to their relatives.
You have introduced alternative sentencing for children in conflict with the law and children with high risk of offending. What does this entail?
In line with Section 195 of the Child Rights Law as amended (2015), the state has commenced an alternative sentencing programme for children in conflict with the law and children at risk of offending in the community.
The programme is being implemented as a pilot in collaboration with UNICEF and an NGO (Grace Springs Rehabilitation Home). The programme is first of its kind in Nigeria and is piloted in Ilupeju and Mushin for children between the ages of 10 – 17 years.
The programme presently has five children on board and the programmes and activities to be undertaken at the centre shall include counseling, academic and vocational sessions; indoor and outdoor games, etc.
What role exactly does the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) play in all of these?
The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), organised the following programmes in the last one year: Inauguration of the Executive Members of the Joint National Association of People Living with Disabilities (Lagos State Chapter) as well as the Lagos State Association of the Deaf.
They put together the celebration of Year 2016 World Down Syndrome Day, placement of jingles on the radio and television stations to sensitise the public about the on-going registration exercise of PWDs.
They organised a Stakeholders’ Forum with members of Commercial Bus Operators in Lagos in order to sensitise them on the need to give Persons Living with Disability special consideration when boarding buses as well as the need to reserve 10 percent of seats in any commercial bus operating in Lagos State for PWDs.
On completed projects and targets for the year
The Ministry concluded arrangement with Phillips Nigeria Limited on the remodeling of Kudirat Abiola Playground (Evans Square) as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility in Lagos State. The project which will commence shortly shall consist of state-of-the-art facilities.
We have obtained the approval of His Excellency for the construction of Three Elderly Care Centres within the three Senatorial Districts of the state.
The initiative is a model of the advanced countries’ practices which will assist in the provision of quality care services to the elderly person in the society, improve their living condition and increase mortality rate and also create an avenue where the aging could interact with one another.
The first phase of the ultramodern Elderly Care Centre has been planned to be specifically cited in the following parts of the State: Ajagun Street, opposite Imeke palace, Iworo-Ajido (Olorunda LCDA Badagry), General Hospital Complex, Igando. Alimosho General Hospital Complex, LASU-Ojo Road, Igando. Epe Recreational complex, Hospital road, Epe.
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In pursuance of its objective of promoting the attainment of healthy, cohesive and stable family units, the Ministry, through 22 Social Welfare Offices in the state carried out functions such as: settling of family disputes, provision of pre-marriage counseling services, encouragement of family values, promotion/reconciliation of family issues, recovery of maintenance allowance and child support from estranged spouses.
