Biola Adimula is the Principal Partner, Biola Adimula & Co otherwise called Salvation Chambers, Ilorin. In this Interview with ACTING EDITOR, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM, she weighs into the post Covid-19 period in Kwara and the directions government should consider to salvage affected sectors.
As one of the resource persons in Kwara, how do you think government can use the legal sector to jumpstart the economy after this period of pandemic?
Firstly, I think the Governor should invite relevant and key stakeholders in most of the affected sectors like education, health and economy among others for a mini summit to harness ideas on the way forward. The pandemic has really brought out a lot of our lapses and expose us to our extent and limitations. Such summit will go a long way to assist the state. Then it is important for the state government to start looking at how relevant laws can be amended to remove the solid mineral exploration in states across the country from the exclusive list and increase local revenue. It is high time that the state government partners the central government to ensure they have a say to improve local income through exploration. And the way to go is to raise bills for constitutional amendments. Now we have seen the level of devastation the pandemic has brought on the education sector. Pupils and students have been home for months and social distancing is not favourable because of lack of adequate facilities and structures. While some of the well to do schools have started online classes and learning, the public schools are at a disadvantage. One of the areas the government can explore is to train and retrain the teachers on online knowledge and how to domesticate it in the teaching of the students. Whether we like it or not, that is the next phase of learning.
But can the pupils especially in public school be able to afford such education considering devices, equipment and resources needed?
The government should be able to look at the possibility of partnership with some of the manufacturing companies of these devices like Samsung, Microsoft and others to build customised devices and gadgets for the pupils and students. Some of these companies are also donors and they can be approached for donations of these devices also because the online classes have come to stay.
In view of the issue of social distancing and the begging state of infrastructures in schools, what do you advocate?
In the light of the issue of social distancing, there may be need to break the schools into sessions for reduced number of students and pupils especially in the public schools so that we can maintain the level of social distancing required to help flatten the curve to halt transmission. And while this is going, there should be investment in most of the lacking infrastructures to adequately accommodate the students and maintain safety protocols.
How best do you think the youth can be engaged during this lockdown to guide against them wasting away?
The government can also used this opportunity to reduce the tension of unemployment of the youth by giving a large crop of them online training on how to create wealth online and expose them to all the relevant opportunities available on the internet which will also entails working from home. Same opportunity can be extended to the physically challenged for them to be self reliant. This day, there is need for youth to have a vocation and best are those that can be done from home.
