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By Bolaji Okunola
Members of the Association of Lagos Artisans and Technicians (ASLAT) have pleaded with the federal and state governments to engage their competent and professional members for government projects.
The association made the plea at the mid-year thanksgiving celebration and award ceremony held in Oshodi, Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of other members, the president of the association, Lawrence Ajayi, stressed the importance of government support to help young members grow and sustain older ones.
Ajayi also encouraged youths to embrace technical training and ‘hand-work’’ despite the presence of white-collar jobs. He added that the association was willing and ready to welcome new members.
General Secretary of ASLAT and the National Coordinator of ASLAT, Adeshina Akinyemi, emphasised that an autonomous agency for artisans and technicians should be created and managed by them.
He recalled that the Lagos State government came up with a programme in 2001, where artisans were trained and retrained and empowered with grants and machinery. President Bola Tinubu was governor then.
Akinyemi, however, said the efforts would be futile without sufficient patronage.
He lamented: “When you empower and train, and don’t patronise, how do we make money? How do we get back what we invested in our trades? And that is the problem.”
