*Governor Warns Against Social Media-Induced Laziness, Says Skills More Valuable Than Certificates
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged Bayelsans to make physical fitness, hard work and skills acquisition integral parts of their daily lives, stressing that prosperity goes beyond having money in one’s pocket.
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Governor Diri made the call on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after leading participants in the weekly Prosperity Walk in Yenagoa, where he also participated in a post-roadwork calisthenics session.
The weekly exercise ended on a high note with a raffle draw, with 10 lucky participants winning N20,000 each.
Addressing the participants, Governor Diri said the essence of the programme was to promote healthy living and encouraged Bayelsans to continue participating every Thursday, irrespective of whether he or his deputy was physically present.
“We have done something to our health this morning, and your body can never be deceived, physically and spiritually. So that’s the height of this programme,” the governor said.
He urged participants not to abandon the exercise whenever he was unavailable, emphasizing that the programme was ultimately for their own benefit.
“Don’t say, ‘Oh, governor is not around, so I will not come out.’ You will be harming yourself. Because the moment your body is used to it, it wants to do it,” he stated.
Diri also welcomed the newly deployed Commissioner of Police to Bayelsa State, commending him for completing the exercise on his first appearance.
He recalled that the immediate past Commissioner of Police, now an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, had regularly participated in the Prosperity Walk.
“Today I saw you for the first time, and I said, ‘Well, let’s see whether you will be able to cope.’ And for the very first day, you coped and finished with us,” Diri said.
The governor challenged the police and other public officers to lead by example in maintaining physical fitness.
“We don’t want to see policemen whose tummies are bigger than my own. We want to see policemen like you, so that everybody will be fit to exercise their own duties,” he added.
‘Prosperity Is More Than Money’
Governor Diri used the occasion to broaden the discussion on his administration’s Prosperity Agenda, saying true prosperity requires individual effort, productive work and an enabling environment created by government.
“A lot of people think that prosperity is having money in your pocket. A thousand times, no. Prosperity is not somebody putting money in your pocket. You have to do the prosperity yourself,” he declared.
According to him, the responsibility of government is to create the conditions that enable citizens to prosper through productive activities.
Diri urged Bayelsans, particularly young people, not to embrace what he described as the negative aspects of social media by complaining about unemployment without taking advantage of available opportunities.
“It’s good to hold your leaders accountable, but don’t be lazy and then be shouting that I am hungry when there is food all around you, when there is work all around you,” he said.
The governor said he was encouraged by the increasing participation of Bayelsans in construction projects across the state, including women taking up technical trades such as iron bending.
“These days I am very happy because when I go, I see more of Bayelsa boys. I even see girls doing iron bending. And I am happy. And that’s what we want us to do,” he said.
Skills Over Certificates
Governor Diri further highlighted his administration’s emphasis on science and technical education, saying the objective was to equip young people with practical skills that would enable them to become self-reliant and employers of labour.
He said the state’s educational policy was undergoing a paradigm shift from producing graduates primarily in search of employment to producing skilled entrepreneurs capable of creating jobs.
“We have done a paradigm shift in education now. We have moved away from education of looking for a job to where you will become an employer of labour,” Diri stated.
He encouraged young people to acquire technical and vocational skills, arguing that practical competence was increasingly more valuable in the modern economy.
“When you graduate from there, you don’t have only the certificate, but you have what it takes to feed yourself. You have what it takes to employ other people,” he said.
The governor said the establishment and promotion of science and technical colleges across the state were designed to provide young Bayelsans with practical skills and broaden their opportunities.
He cited the experience of a grammar school principal in his community who reportedly told him that first-year admission had dropped to zero because pupils were opting for a nearby science and technical college.
“I said, ‘That is very good,’ because that is what I want. I don’t want people, our children, to come out and then become unemployed and then become liabilities to themselves and to society,” Diri said.
He urged parents and young people to take advantage of technical education and skills acquisition programmes, stressing that practical skills could provide sustainable livelihoods.
Diri Calls for More Participants
The governor also called on existing participants to bring more people into the weekly exercise, saying increased participation would contribute to a healthier and more productive society.
“I would like to see the number increasing and not decreasing. Call more of your brothers and your sisters. Invite everyone,” he said.
He commended various fitness clubs participating in the programme, including Tamarakuro Empire, UFDD, Yenagoa Local Government and GOA, noting that the emergence of several groups was creating healthy competition and encouraging more people to exercise.
“With these clubs, at least you can exercise yourself three times in a week. At least three times in a week. And I tell you, you will never be the same. You will remain fit,” Diri said.
The governor concluded by urging Bayelsans to remain committed to physical fitness, productive work and personal development, while expressing confidence that these values would contribute to a healthy and prosperous state.
The September 3 Prosperity Walk thus combined the governor’s recurring health campaign with a broader message on self-reliance, technical education, entrepreneurship and responsible use of social media.
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