By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi will inaugurate the Ife Grand Resort & Industrial Park in Ile-Ife Friday, July 16.
This was contained in a statement by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Comrade Moses Olafare, the Vanguard reports.
According to the statement, the resort would serve as the hub for sustainable development, employment generation and showcasing the cultural heritage and value of Ile-Ife.
According to the Ooni, “We are building a brand new city driven by urban renewal initiative.
“The Ojaja Arena is not built for social activities but a centre for training and manpower development for youths in this country, considering Ile-Ife to have over 500,000 students of about 20 tertiary institutions; universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and schools of nursing within 100km radius surrounding Obafemi Awolowo University built at the Nucleus Centre in Ife over 60 years ago.
“The question on my lips has been, what will these young vibrant youths be doing after tertiary institutions, the best bet is to set up a hub that is technology-friendly to boost and drive small and medium scale industries within our country, Nigeria by creating a smart city for them to display whatever they can do to become employers of labour after graduation.
“It is a sad truth that no industries employ them all.
“We can only encourage them to create industries for and by themselves because that is the reality on ground.”