Imo govt moves to tackle unemployment, boost economy through ‘OKOBI’ initiative

Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo state.

The Imo State Government has said it was committed to addressing the unemployment challenge in the state and boosting economic growth through the implementation of the ‘One Kindred, One Business Initiative’ (OKOBI) which the administration has instituted.

Kenneth Amaeshi, a professor and Chief Economic Adviser to the Imo Government, restated this at the second OKOBI summit and inauguration of OKOBI Students’ Club at Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University (KOMU) at Ideato, Imo State, with the theme ‘Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University Ideato Takes OKOBI to Orlu Zone.’

Kenneth Amaeshi is a professor of Sustainable Finance and Governance at the School of Transnational Governance, University of Edinburgh/European University Institute. A global expert in sustainable finance and economic development.

Amaeshi noted that Imo has a population of approximately 5.5 million, and is working to enhance its global visibility and reputation through this initiative.

The professor said, “This OKOBI project is about the story of Imo to the world. It is not limited to just Imo or the South East.”

He said that 50 percent out of the about 3.5 million young population of the state were jobless, and that the state government only employed about 40,000 people which included teachers and civil servants out of the growing number of the unemployed.

The professor said: “This is a recipe for disaster, and that is a problem the governor of Imo is bent on solving through the OKOBI programme. Unemployment is not only the problem of Imo; it is also a problem of Africa.

“The World Bank data says that about 60 percent of African youths are unemployed and the population of Africa is well over a billion. Unemployment figure constitutes what some people have described as social warming just like in the case of global warming for the weather.”

He said that Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo has started the ‘skill up Imo programme’ and is committed to training about 300,000 people with digital skills.

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According to him, the Skill Up Imo has been used to train over 25,000 people currently.

“The governor also came up with OKOBI to support those who do not fit into the digital skill of Skill Up Imo. The whole idea is to enable unemployed Imo residents who share kindred spirit to create their own businesses. It is a group-based entrepreneurship programme,” he said.

The special adviser said that the state government has already registered about 400 OKOBI businesses and engaged over 10,000 people within 18 months of the programme, this as he advised students and other residents of the state to key into the programme, assuring them that the State Government is ready to support good business ideas with start-up capital.

He commended Ikechukwu Dozie, the Vice Chancellor of KOMU, for being the first to attract the programme to a tertiary institution and to Orlu Senatorial District.

In a welcome address, Dozie said the theme of the summit was aimed at exploring actionable strategies to expand the reach of the OKOBI movement into Orlu Zone and to foster an environment for sustainable economic growth.

Stating that since assumption of office as the substantive Vice Chancellor in 2021, the institution has recorded numerous achievements under his watch.

He highlighted the successful accreditation of programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the graduation of three sets of students and subsequent mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

“We have successfully held seven Public Lecture Series and preparations are on-going for the eight lectures. Indeed, we have restored public confidence in our institution which is reflected by an increase in enrolment from an estimated 320 students in 2021/2022 academic session to about 1,400 students in the 2024/2025 academic session.

“These modest achievements were possible with the firm support of the Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, who not only recovered the institution and restored its original status as a public university but has continued to support her growth and development,” he said.