Share your dream with me

What do you want to be when you grow up?



I want to be a lawyer

I asked the CDA STARS in all the 24 schools in the 8 LGA of Bayelsa State that the CDA Project Team visited this question and it is funny that the responses from the students were the same. They wanted to be doctors, lawyers, accountants, governors, the president, petroleum engineer (in one case), and even movie stars. It is encouraging to know that there are still young ones in our State that aspire towards these noble professions. There have been instances where children have declared the sole goal of being militants, a vey scary thought, indeed! I explained to the students that the CDA STARS Project's objective is to work with them towards achieving their dreams.  "The Governor wants to make sure you become the person you dream of becoming tomorrow", I told the students.

We must achieve your dreams, I say

One of the CDA STARS' parents stated that the N40,000 to be deposited in each of the 1,000 students' account and the matching funds to be deposited by the government, any time a student saves in the account, will encourage the students to work hard to, not only finish senior secondary school, but also to move on to the next level on his career dream so as to get the money in the savings account. The major objective of the Project is to teach the youth how to plan towards achieving their goals. If we can get them to start planning towards their tomorrow- even if their planning is just towards getting their hands at the government money when they graduate from senior secondary school- then we will have grown ups who would have experienced that hardwork can get them their desired goal.

Yes Sir, enjoy your job too

What struck me, when the students were sharing their dreams, is that none of them wants to be a hairdresser, tailor, mechanic, or any other blue collar type work. This is a reflection of the discrimination against these types of jobs that is present in our country today. Nobody wants to acquire these kinds of skills! Amazingly, there is dire need for professionals in these areas. It is a major problem finding a good plumber in Nigeria today, na trial and error dem dey do o! 

Part of the objective of the CDA STARS Project is to provide trainings for these students in some kind of skill. After the accounts have been opened and the students start saving, the government intends to partner with organisations that will train these students in one skill or the other that they can fall back on, should they fail to achieve their dreams of today. I know a lady who says that when her marriage collapsed and she found herself having to provide for her 3 children with no job, she had to learn how to make buns, from a friend, to hawk for their livelihood. We need to encourage our children to learn one skill or the other. We need to discourage the discrimination against such blue collar jobs so that young ones can take pride in doing these jobs and develop themselves in these areas.

Water, water, water everywhere

It is funny that most of these CDA STARS students live in villages completely cut off by water, yet none of them dreams to become a fisherman! The Government hopes to reorient the minds of these students to see that there is nothing wrong with being a plumber, hairdresser, tailor.

Bayelsans have great dreams too

I can now boast to be an expert on Bayelsa State matters, since I have toured the 8 LGASs of Bayelsa State and discussed with the people of the different communities we visited. My expert opinion is that the people of Bayelsa are open minded and will embrace a different way of doing things, where the good of such new methods can be clarified to them. The manner in which the CDA STARS Project was embraced all around the State has eliminated all fears I have had on whether Bayelsans will work with His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva, in implementing similar great ideas he has for Bayelsans. Bayelsans have dreams of being great too. Let us work together to achieve our dreams.