WEATHERING THE RAIN: A BUSINESSWOMAN’S SEASON OF REFLECTION AND RESILIENCE

✍️ Maureen

The rainy season is here again, ushering in cooler air, greener surroundings, and the familiar scent of wet earth. For many, it is a time to snuggle indoors with warm meals and quiet reflection. But for me, it marks the beginning of one of the most challenging periods in my line of work.

I run a business that deals in building materials like cement, iron rods, and bags of stones, chippings, and sand stacked right in front of our shop. While the rains are a blessing to nature, they bring a different kind of weather report for business: “slow.” Construction sites fall silent, and buyers hesitate to start or continue building projects in the downpour.

Each day of heavy rain feels like pressing pause on the usual rush of activity. And it doesn’t stop at fewer customers. The rain often comes with unexpected costs. Stacks of sand and stones that was once neatly arranged, are brought down by rushing water. We are forced to pay loaders again to rebuild the piles, and the sands? Some of them simply wash away, a loss you can't fully measure until it is too late.

Sometimes I stand at the shop front, watching the raindrops create small rivers that snake through the shop, dragging grains of sand along with them. It’s disheartening, not just because of the physical loss, but because of the invisible cost including the effort and time already invested. Every bag lost is not just money gone, but a setback to progress.

Still, I remind myself that the rainy season is not the enemy. It is nature doing what it must. The challenge lies in how we, as business owners, respond. I have begun to think more strategically: using heavy-duty tarpaulins to cover stacks, raising the base of the piles with heavy rocks, and reducing the number of bags we display at once during rainfall season.

I also  offer doorstep delivery to sites that remain active during the rains. It is a way to keep sales going, even when foot traffic slows. Planning around the weather forecast has become a part of our routine like checking skies as often as we check stock.

The rains will come, just as they always have. But so will the dry days, when construction resumes and buyers return. Until then, all we can do is prepare, adapt, and ride out the season with grace and grit.I believe the rainy season may pause progress, but it never erases potential. And just like the buildings we help construct, we too are made to withstand the storm and rise again after it.

End To Erosion Menace: NEWMAP- EIB Team Inspects Designated Sites In Anambra, Lauds Soludo

By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu 

Following Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s efforts geared towards reclaiming major parts of Anambra State lands ravaged by gully erosion, a team of experts from the European Investment Bank (EIB) assisted Nigeria Climate Adaptation Erosion and Watershed Project (NEWMAP-EIB), led by the National Project Coordinator, Engr. Anda Ayuba Yalaks, on Tuesday, 11th March 2025, visited some designated sites in the state to ascertain the level of the environmental degradation caused by the menace. 

Some of the sites inspected include: Ndiagu Ikenga Ogidi Gully Erosion site, Nkpor Flyover Gully Erosion site, Ugamuma Obosi Gully Erosion site all in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State and Abagana Erosion site, in Njikoka Local Government Area.

Speaking during the inspection, National Project Coordinator, Engr. Anda Ayuba Yalaks noted that they were in Anambra State on the instance of Mr. Governor to come and assess the state’s readiness to participate in the project or not, saying that they were certain things they needed to confirm to be sure that the state is actually ready, and one of it is the exercise they are doing at moment, adding that they needed to confirm whether the state has some selected sites, whether those sites are priority sites, and whether those sites met the conditions of the criteria to be enlisted as a site.

  His words,  'You can see we have visited about five different sites, and all these sites can be said they are candidate sites. What is very much important about those sites is that they are uncompleted sites that have not been completed before now. They are ongoing sites. It is pertinent that anything that has started needed to be completed 100%. The lack of completion was not a deliberate attempt. 

'The funding of this project was initially by the World Bank, and this is a project that closed as of 30th June 2022, and the resources for that have been exhausted. The government of Nigeria and with state government  both at national and the sub-national understanding the gravity and negative impacts of those challenges with the regards to land degradation did not rest on their aors. They ensure that funding are being secured to continue what has been done before and to complete what has not been completed. 

 'It is also of importance to note that His Excellency Governor Chukwuma Soludo has the passion and the heart to ensure that these sites are completed and, as part of his campaign promises to the people of Anambra State and he has told them that he has come with hope and not only hope and that he is coming with Solution. I can see that part of the solution  is while we are here.

 'He is working to ensure that when the project kicks start, Anambra will not be left behind. He is very much aware of the success story that has been recorded under NEWMAP, and he is aware that whatever has been done before needs to scale up, and it is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. 

'He has a renewed hope for Nigerians to have a sustainable environment and an environment that is climate resilience, and at the end of the day, he wants to leave Nigerians with an environment that is climate smart. So this is a project that is the federal government's priority, and that is why the Anambra State government has also keyed in. This funding is coming from European Investment Bank (EIB) .

Yes , people will be calling World Bank because they are used to that. Going forward, the funding will be coming from EIB. It is going to deepen what has been recorded under the World Bank. We are continuing from where they stopped. The project objectives and strategic approach still remain the same,' the National Project Coordinator concluded 

Mr . Anda assured that most qualified contractors would execute the projects, adding that there would be no room for unqualified contractors.

Corroborating the National Project Coordinator,  the State's Project Coordinator,  Professor Philip Ogbonnaya Phil-Eze, said the Federal government Management Unit released criteria to them to prioritized the ones that have not been completed under the World Bank,  stating that a total of of 13 different sites have been completed in the state, acknowledging that it was of a very low percentage. He thanked Governor Soludo for paying the counterpart funding and for being proactive and concerned towards the plights of Ndi Anambra. 

In their separate speeches,  the Chairman of Ndiagu Ikenga Ogidi, Chief Chigozie Etuka, Mr. Obieze Ifeanyi, a victim whose house caved in at Ugamuma Obosi and Chief Okonkwo Nnamdi, Vice President General of Abagana, showered praises on Governor Chukwuma Soludo and NEWMAP-EIB for coming to their rescue, praying God to continue to bless and protect them.

"Umu Boi" Scheme Of The One Youth Two Skills Initiative Gains Traction With Special Development Training

By Ejike Abana

A transformative workshop aimed at reorienting the Youth Apprenticeship Scheme was held at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women's Development Center, Awka.

The workshop re-orientation attracted hundreds of youths under the "Umu Boi" Scheme of the One Youths Two Skills programme of the state government.

The initiative, organized by the Ministry of Youth Development, seeks to enhance the effectiveness of the apprenticeship programmes and better align them with the needs of the modern workforce.

The Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Patrick Aghamba stated that the Umuboi Entrepreneurship Scheme which is presently in it's second phase, is one of the most important aspects of one Youth two Skills programme with a lot of innovations like the Use of Talking Book and Online Entrepreneurship Academy.

While stating that the Governor wants businesses to run in a sustainable manner, the Commissioner said that the programme is also a medium to

engage the stakeholders in the market and other segments of the community on the programmes of government, so that everyone will be on the same page.

He added that the workshop will help Umuboi to be successful, not only in the 1Youth 2Skills programme, but also in all endeavors in life, as the society is faced with numerous youth related problems, fundamentally as a result of youth unemployment.

The Commissioner thanked Governor Soludo for

investing heavily in improving the Umuboi Scheme, adding that for the first time in the history

of the State, the government is seriously is giving back to the market, more

than it is taking from it.

The President General of Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association, Chief Humphrey Anuna revealed that it is evident that the Governor has the interest of the youth at heart, especially the apprentists, praising him for delivering, even more than his campaign promises since assumption of office.

Participants engaged in various training sessions that covered various topics, including Setting the right value for sustainable enterprise development.

Attendees were encouraged to share their experiences and brainstorm innovative solutions to common challenges.

As the event concluded, participants expressed optimism about the future of youth apprenticeships under the present administration. 

Many left with new strategies to implement in their programmes with the "training materials shared to them, including the "talking book", and a renewed commitment to fostering a culture of learning and growth.

The state government plans to follow up with additional workshops and resources to support ongoing efforts to enhance the apprenticeship experience for Anambra youth.

With a focus on collaboration and innovation, stakeholders are hopeful that the reorientation of the Youth Apprenticeship Scheme will lead to greater success for both apprentices and local industries in a sustainable manner.

Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, his Culture, Entertainment and Tourism counterpart, Mr. Don Onyenji, Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth Empowerment Programme, Dr. Nelson Omenugha, President General of Anambra State Association of Two Unions, ASATU, Barr. Titus Akpudo, among others, attended the event.