Hon. Engr. Austin Ben-Chioma, DSSRS, Former Commissioner Works and former Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Rivers State.
By Patrick Amadi
Hon. Engr. Austin Ben-Chioma, DSSRS, remains a reference point in the history of human capital development in Etche Nation and beyond.
Apparently, while serving as Commissioner in the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, he enhanced the aggregate demand of many families in Etche, particularly in Odufor Ward, Nihi Ward, Afara Ward, Akwa/Odogwa Ward and Akpoku/Umuoye Ward, through the monthly provision of financial support and palliatives to different families across these wards.
Practically, this initiative assisted these families in multifarious ways, including setting up small-scale businesses to improve their standard of living, taking care of medical bills, paying the educational expenses of their children and wards, and exposing their children and wards to technical and vocational skills.
The philosophy behind this beautiful initiative was predominantly to promote self-reliance.
Hon. Engr. Austin Ben-Chioma, DSSRS, is one politician who perceives youth empowerment as something that goes beyond the provision of consumer goods to political loyalists. Regrettably, a reasonable number of our representatives at different levels of government have prioritised car gifts to their loyalists as projects.
It is worthy of note that the use of car gifts is multifaceted and depends on the type of car and the purpose for which it was purchased. However, rhetorically speaking, one modern private car purchased for a loyalist as an appreciation for his or her services could, in monetary terms, be equivalent to three minibuses or four brand-new tricycles that could be deployed for transportation businesses.
By adopting such an approach, beneficiaries could have sustainable sources of income and gradually become financially independent.
Interestingly, their counterparts in developed economies more often than not conceptualise and execute projects with positive multiplier effects. Such projects are designed not merely to provide immediate benefits but also to create opportunities that can continue to benefit individuals, families and communities over time.
Therefore, I wish to advise our representatives to emulate Hon. Engr. Austin Ben-Chioma and toe the path of sustainable development. This can be actualised by returning to the drawing board to brainstorm, confabulate and develop practical modalities for bringing inclusive growth to bear in our communities.
Our people need empowerment programmes that can create opportunities, strengthen livelihoods, promote self-reliance and improve the economic capacity of families.
Political representation should therefore go beyond distributing items that provide temporary satisfaction. It should also be about creating pathways through which the people can build sustainable livelihoods and become productive contributors to the development of Etche Nation.
Hon. Engr. Austin Ben-Chioma’s approach to empowerment provides a useful perspective on what can be achieved when human capital development is placed at the centre of political intervention.
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