The Nation Newspaper

Tag: youth

  • Minister: govt is committed to youth employment

    Minister: govt is committed to youth employment

    The Federal Government is committed to its youth empowerment programmes. It is also considering adopting capacity to create jobs as one of the criteria for offering contracts and assistance.

    Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma, who gave the indication at a forum with members of the 25th Regular Course on Policy, Strategy and Leadership of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Abuja, said unemployment  was giving the  Federal Government great concern.

    Consequently, it has made job creation one of the major objectives of its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    A statement by his Media Aide, Akpandem James, said the plan was aimed at creating jobs by developing labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, housing and construction while also launching a number of public works programmes and encouraging private-sector participation in the economy.

    Government, he said, was developing infrastructure in sectors with the capacity to create demand for labour and would sustain the N-Power programmes, as well as continue to support small scale enterprises to maximise their potential for job creation.

    He added that there are other policies to encourage job creation, including apprenticeship programme, supporting and patronising Made in Nigeria Initiative to encourage local manufacturing.

    To further give impetus to the drive, he said government would give necessary support to institutions that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as a veritable foundation for building a knowledge-based economy.

    He pointed out that the bulk of the job creation initiatives would prioritise youth as beneficiaries and is being pursued through direct job creation by the Federal Government and those created in the informal and formal sectors by the private sector, and skill-building programmes.

    Udoma emphasised that government would no longer give incentives to private investors on the basis of intentions but of results; and that the driving principles would depend on how many jobs would be created, how much value would be added to the economy, the quality of goods produced and how much foreign exchange they could generate.

  • ARMTI empowers youth, rural women

    The Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute(ARMTI) is poised to boost rural development and reduce poverty through initiatives focused on empowering rural women and youth in agriculture.

    ARMTI’s Public  Relations Officer Mr. Mayowa Gidado said the institute was building the capacities of the rural poor to benefit from rural economies, with particular emphasis on ensuring that women and youth are engaged and empowered in food security.

    A statement by the institute  said it held a  training workshop for men, women and youth on agricultural produce management and marketing last month.

    The objectives of the workshop according to the statement, included sensitising farmers on agricultural commodity value chain development, formation and management of formidable commodity-based cooperative societies and possible ways to profitably market agricultural commodities.

    The two-day programme, which had a component of field practical, also held in all the geo-political zones. Each state was represented by a number of farmers nominated by the state Fadama office and the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP).

    To ensure a proper dissemination of the message of the workshop to large number of  farmers,  ARMTI decided to mount the programme on state-by-state level where participants  were drawn from all the local government areas (LGA).

    Last year, the programme  was implemented in Oyo and Ogun states on August 29 and 30, and 106 farmers were trained. It was also organised for Kwara and Kogi states on August 31 and September 1 and 93 farmers were trained.

    Eighty-eight farmers, including  54 from Imo State and 34 from Abia, were also trained between November 15 and 16, in Owerri, Imo State.

    This year, the programme was organised on April 6 and 7 for Gombe and Bauchi State farmers.

  • Ekiti governorship aspirant decries youth unemployment

    Ekiti governorship aspirant decries youth unemployment

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Mr. Yinka Akerele, has advised political office holders to address the growing youth unemployment in the country, before it gets out of hand.

    Akerele made the remark while speaking with reporters after visiting the APC office in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, to declare his intention.

    The aspirant said the number of graduates, artisans and skilled workers out of job is alarming. He also suggested the inclusion of youths in leadership at all levels of government.

    Akerele said: “The youth needs to be more actively involved in the decision-making process; we should always get them engaged in lofty causes. I implore the privileged in society to concentrate on finding ways of creating employment opportunities for the army of the unemployed youths. This could be done by tapping our entrepreneurial skills, and creating business opportunities. This will save the country from an impending danger of the unemployment time bomb.”

    He advised co-contestants to shun acts that can cause animosity among them, adding that what should be paramount in their minds is victory for the party. He said whoever wins still remains a member of the party and it is victory for all.

    Akerele said: “I appeal to my co-aspirants to do everything humanly possible to avoid divisive tendencies preparatory to the primary. Our commitment towards the party’s goal should remain sacrosanct; the mission of wrestling power from the usurpers must dwarf other negative tendencies. Therefore, we must work in unison and remain united until we wrest power from the present government.”

    Akerele spoke about his intention to use the available human and economic resources to develop the state. He stressed the need to return the state to the path of glory. He added: “My priority is returning our dear Ekiti State to the path of glory; the pride of being an Ekiti indigene is being known for righteousness, academic excellence, high moral standard and the other good virtues.”

    The APC chieftain said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, led by Governor Ayodele Fayose, has run the state aground in the last three years and assaulted the very sanctity of what the state stands for. As a result, he said the people are ready for change.

    He added: “This is time for new beginning in Ekiti; the highest dream of the founding fathers of Ekiti State is to occupy the land with character and ensure it remains a place for the breeding of the virtuous that are exemplary in characters and in deeds.”

  • Promoting youth agric entrepreneurship

    Promoting youth agric entrepreneurship

    To engage youths in agriculture, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) are partnering to facilitate access to  financial services, skills and jobs to grow their businesses, DANIEL ESSIET, reports.

    Unemployment among the youth is growing.  The figure increases every year with them constituting more than 50 per cent of Africa’s unemployed population.

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that  of about 10 to 12 million youths that enter the job market yearly, only three million secure employment in the formal sector.

    As unemployment continues to hurt the youth, AfDB ‘s President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has noted  that engaging them in efforts to address unemployment challenges is more relevant and important.

    Since he assumed office at the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan some two years ago, Adesina has attempted to draw African governments’attention to the impact of implementing initiatives to enhance the agribusiness sector, while enabling the youth to gain employment and improve their livelihoods.

    According to Adesina,  the bank  is  undertaking a number of initiatives to stop the unemployment crisis, including the Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy, designed to create 25 million jobs and positively impact about 50 million youth over the next decade. The bank has also embarked on Empowering Novel Agri-Business Led Employment (ENABLE), an initiative which aims at promoting youth entrepreneurship in agriculture and agri-business.

    Adesina stressed that ENABLE championed by the IITA has  received the support of the bank. This, according to him, will give room for the emergence of new agripreneurs, who will help re-brand the agricultural sector.

    At the IITA station in Abuja, Adesina said his determination to create a continental wide platform for the African youth to generate wealth and create employment, was a deliberate attempt to ensure that the continent was able to feed itself again.

    He said the level of hunger, poverty, food importation and insecurity in the continent has increased over the years because the youths, who are supposed to bring about the dynamic change needed to support Africa’s dream of feeding itself, were massively migrating to the western world illegally in search of greener pastures.

    Last year, the bank   approved ENABLE Youth Nigeria programme and provided a $250 million loan, to contribute to job creation, food security and nutrition, rural income generation and improved livelihoods for youths in urban and rural areas.

    The programme will be implemented in all the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The targeted beneficiaries are in two categories. The first are the unemployed young Nigerian graduates from any field of study, who have finished their National Youth Service Corp programme (Greenfield), while the second are graduate youths, who are already successfully engaged in agribusiness, but have no access to commercial loan to grow their businesses (Brownfields). The mainstreaming of gender and environmental issues across the various components would ensure inclusiveness. The programme  targets a 50:50 male and female participation across the country aged 18 to 35 years.

    The number of beneficiaries according to Director, Agriculture and Agro-Industries Department, AfDB, Chiji Ojukwu,  will depend, in large part, upon the outcome of the agribusiness incubation placement and successful bankable proposals. In general, it is expected that all the youths that have successfully undergone the incubation programme and satisfied the relevant criteria, will move to the next stage of accessing the loans to set up their agribusinesses or may find employment with the private sector and the rural development community.

    Most of the loans will be about $50,000 maximum per business. According to him, agripreneurs can have individual or joint businesses and these must be duly registered by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    The target is to reach 1,000 agripreneurs per state, who will establish enterprises, as individuals (about 2,000 for both green and brown fields) and as groups of 10 to  50 (creating about 5,500 businesses).

    The businesses will generate about 185,000 additional jobs. Total direct jobs created by the programme would reach as much as 222,000.

    The AfDB is not working alone on the ENABLE Youth Programme. The bank has IITA  as core-partner. Following the AfDB’s High-Level Conference on African Agricultural Transformation, which held in Dakar, Senegal, in October 2015, governments across the continent, international development partners, agri-business companies, finance institutions, youth and women’s groups expressed interest in working with the bank  in collaboration with the IITA, to develop and roll-out country-specific ENABLE youth programmes designed to sustainably tackle youth unemployment and promote food security.

    Subsequently, the AfDB and the IITA  held design workshop in Abuja last year to provide a well-grounded evidence-based understanding of the programme concept by sharing experiences and lessons learned in promoting youth entrepreneurship and employment in agriculture on the continent.

    The workshop was attended by 240 participants from more than 30 countries, including over 70 young “agripreneurs”, young men and women engaged in agriculture and agribusiness. It featured keynote speakers, including eight Ministers of Agriculture and Youth Employment; IITA Director-General, Nteranya Sanginga; Chief Operating Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Abimbola Adebakin and Adviser, African Union Commission, Mark Kofi Fynn.

    The young “agripreneurs” shared the inspiring stories of how they set up their agribusinesses, described some of the challenges they faced and gave clues to their success stories. This helped to fine-tune the ENABLE Youth programme designed by the incorporation of proven Africa-wide best practices.

    The workshop established a general consensus that the ENABLE Youth programme was a powerful mechanism for boosting youth employment in agribusiness. This  led to the establishment of the  African Youth Agripreneurs Forum and Agri Pitch Competition.

    According to the  bank , there is a proliferation of incubation and accelerator initiatives across Africa in recent years.

    However, there is currently no continent-wide forum/framework to connect the programmes. AYA Forum, therefore, intends to serve as platform for aggregating agripreneurs across Africa and escalating the impact of their activities.

    The AYA Forum will comprise: the AYA Forum, a two-day Conference/Workshop with thematic discussions and presentation of success stories and Agri-Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition that will lead to a selection of three finalists for presentation at the Bank’s annual meetings in India in May.

    The side events include mentoring and incubator training programmes. The AYA Forum will also showcase the strength of collaboration and partnership with key institutions such as the IITA, African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN), CTA, and others.

    The AfDB and its partners, IITA, AAIN and CTA are to launch the Agri- Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition  as an agripreneurship challenge to identify innovative solutions for the sector in Africa. The expected outcome of the challenge is to select winning solutions that can lead to new products, programmes, projects and processes by young agripreneurs.

    AYA Forum is scheduled for the IITA, Ibadan, between April 25 and 26.

  • Youth leadership through philanthropy

    Youth leadership through philanthropy

    A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Promise Iroabuchi has demonstrated remarkable leadership and philanthropy by building a health centre for a community in need, reports TITILOPE FADARE

    The thrill is neither in the size of the gift nor the neglect and squalor of the recipient community. It is in the fact that a youth saw a need and filled it whereas the rich and powerful saw and looked the other way. They say youths are leaders of tomorrow but the one in question has already started leading.

    That is the story of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Promise Iroabuchi who built and donated a primary health care centre to Gishiri community in Gwarimpa ward of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the FCT.

    Iroabuchi who is serving at the Maitama district hospital said the idea to build the health Centre came up when she went in search of accommodation that would be close to her place of primary assignment. The search took her to Gishiri community which she discovered lacked a lot of basic amenities.

    “While looking for accommodation in Gishiri communty, I realized that some basic social facilties were deficient in the community. I immediately thought of how  I could maximize my service year in line with Tony Robin words that ‘ it is only those who have learnt the power of sincere  and selfless contribution that can actually experience deep joy  or fulfillment

    “I returned to the village and discussed with some members of the community as well as opinion leaders who identified various needs of which a primary health care centre was their most felt need.”

    Speaking on the source of funds for the project she said, “It was not easy getting funds, but I am grateful to God that today, we have commissioned this health post with facilities which includes a table, beds, and an examination couch, amongst others.”

    She is however not fulfilled yet, saying “Deep inside me, I feel my dream health post has not come true. Even after the commissioning of this place, I would still stand by the people of Gishiri community to ensure my dream health post for them comes true.”

    The NYSC State coordinator for the FCT, Abdul-Razak Salau commended her for looking out for the community in an era when the youths only search for how to satisfy their material needs.

    He said “She is the kind of person we should keep celebrating in Nigeria. If with nothing at least with N19, 800 per month and with that amount she is supposed to settle part of her accommodation, she is supposed to feed, transport herself and take care of her personal needs, out of it she still put something out.

    “Her kind are the set of people we are looking for in Nigeria, there are people that we would put forward to represent us anywhere because we know you are not selfish with your life.

    He appealed to the Abuja Municipal Area Council to complete the good work already started by helping the community with an access road to the health centre and look for channels to involve NYSC in projects for communities.

    The Medical Director, Dental Unit, Maitama Disitrict hospital, Dr. Adetoun Sotimehin expressed at the commissioning of the project and advised that Nigerians should help themselves and do what they can with what they have and not turn blind eyes to inadequacies.

    The Chief of youths in Gishiri community, Sunday Babuwa also appreciated the project as he said it would go a long way helping the community

  • Plateau churns out 2889 youth entrepreneurs

    Plateau churns out 2889 youth entrepreneurs

    Plateau State has tapped into the axiom of teaching people to fish rather than giving them fish. Thus, there was a sense of fulfilment and relief when 2889 youths completed a six-month entrepreneurial training and were given tools to kick-start their trades. The new entrepreneurs will no longer need to look up to anyone for food and sustenance; they will not only feed themselves but also start helping others in need.

    The training was captured under the Simon Lalong Empowerment Scheme (SLEMS), an empowerment programme coordinated by the Plateau Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (PLASMEDA).

    In his welcome address, Director General of PLASMEDA, Mr. Hagai Gutap said, “This number of 2889 represents the first batch of youths trained on business enterprise for them to attain economic independence from this moment on. This is a deliberate poverty reduction policy of the Governor Simon Lalong administration; we want to reduce poverty through skill acquisition. That will also reduce youth restiveness in the state which will have the goal of consolidating on the ongoing peace building.

    Speaking further, Gutap said, “Plateau is on its way out of poverty and to economic prosperity. This government is matching words with action, the governor promised to take the youths out of the streets and make them contribute to the economy of the state in a positive way; this graduation therefore is a partial fulfillment of campaign promises. Governor Lalong is desirous to make every segment of the population across the state feel the positive impact of government. As we are graduating this first set, we are also using this very occasion to flag off the training for the next batch.

    In his remarks, one of the training facilitators, Mr Solomon Chika, founder of Plateau Entrepreneurial Academy, said, “This project is not only about poverty reduction, it is also wealth creation, a very major boost to the growing economy of the state. Because this set of trained entrepreneurs are going to be self-employed having been trained and government has provided them the necessary tools to start business immediately.

    The state chairman of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon Steven Jings confirmed that all the 2889 trained entrepreneurs were carefully selected from all the 17 local governments of the state, and the governor has also directed that for the next batch, there should 200 youths from each local government to also be trained. He acknowledged that the 5-pillar policy of the rescue administration of Governor Lalong is working.

    Project Manager of Apurimac Onlus, Mr. Godwin Okoko who trained the beneficiaries gave the breakdown of the beneficiaries thus; 25% of them are mothers while the rest are teenagers.

    Governor Lalong, in his remarks, said, “Today’s gathering is another step in the avowed demonstration of Government’s resolve, to strategically empower her citizens through entrepreneurship training and the provision of Business Support Inputs.

    He said, “The commitment of our Rescue Administration to Small and Medium Enterprise Development is what led to the immediate establishment of the Plateau State Micro-Finance and Enterprise Development Agency (PLASMEDA), so that as an institution of Government, it will coordinate and stimulate entrepreneurship and business development, for the socio-economic advancement of the State.

    “I am happy that PLASMEDA has hit the ground running by collaborating with APURIMAC Nigeria and a Consortium of Six (6) other Non-Governmental Organizations, to swiftly recruit and train youths of the State, in a Four (4) months intensive skills acquisition training in various enterprise areas that include; Aluminium Works, Catering, Computer, Decorating and Event, Management, others are Fashion Designing, Hair Dressing and Beauty Therapy, Beats Making, Knitting, Leather Works, Welding and Metal Fabrication.

    “These 4 months intensive skills training under the first phase has produced 2889 trainees, of what has been Christened the Simon Lalong Entrepreneurship Scheme (SLEMS), and for which we are sending-them off today, to become self-reliant entrepreneurs. You will agree with me that as these new entrepreneurs contribute their quota in growing the business industry in the State, they will serve aseconomic backbones to their respective families, while also providing the opportunity for others whom they will be engaging, to be trained and supported to develop their own small businesses. This is the multiplier effect we seek to achieve as the trainees become trainers themselves.

    “Let me thank our partners, Apurimac Nigeria and the network of NGOs that provided the training, for taking their time to impact entrepreneurship skills on the graduands. I am confident that the same zeal and commitment you have put to train the 2889 trainees, will be passed on to the second phase of trainees who we are lining up for training, in the various skills enhancement and trade areas we have outlined for their economic empowerment.

    For the second phase of the Skills Acquisitions training, I have directed the PLASMEDA to ensure that we are training a minimum of Two Hundred (200) People per Local Government Area, in three batches spread across the three (3) Senatorial Zones of the State.

     

  • CBN’s cashless CardExpo Africa to focus on youth, innovation

    CBN’s cashless CardExpo Africa to focus on youth, innovation

    Young, creative people will enjoy a special focus in this year’s Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Cashless CardExpo Africa, the organisers, Intermarc Consulting, have said.

    Managing Director,  Adeyinka Adeyemi, said understanding the lifestyles of youths or millennials with regard to cashless cash payment and enterprise will help firms redefine their businesses and stay relevant.

    The show, the 17th edition, holds in Lagos from June 13 to 15 and it has the theme: “Millennials in the marketplace: lifestyles riding on disruptive payment.”

    Adeyemi said it will “aggregate the energies of this era and capture the waves of technology and lifestyles. It will also present an encompassing worldview for the emerging approaches to payment and enterprise.”

    The influence of millennials, he added, “is a global phenomenon. They disrupt everything from how we work, to how we buy groceries; this demographic group is even now redefining how we do business. Thus, figuring them out has all the elements of a gold rush in the making.

    “This will prove crucial in the next several years, as young professionals represent both the future of enterprise and commerce in Africa.”

    Adeyemi said during the show, “trailblazers’ and culture influencers”, whose lifestyle and choices are emulated by their peers, “will be

    “This will prove crucial in the next several years, as young professionals represent both the future of enterprise and commerce in Africa.

    “Banks and other service providers, who hope to leverage the millennial dividend, should therefore be on the lookout for optimum strategies not only to connect with this monumental force, but also to influence their action for commercial interest to businesses.”

    He added that CardExpo 2017, through its “Start-Up Challenge” will give opportunity to millennials with financial technology ideas to pitch their solutions and stand a chance of being incubated at a national hub.

    “Others include the data fiesta an initiative promoting global connectivity and access to the internet and the IGR Forum all of whose sponsors will be announced in due course.”

     

     

     

  • Tackling youth unemployment with agriculture

    Tackling youth unemployment with agriculture

    To  experts,  agriculture will really create jobs when the youth are involved, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Founder of Agrihub Ronke Aderinoye is an ex-banker and agro-entrepreneur. Her expertise is in agriculture and rural services. She works with farmers in Ogun State.  She has seen the image of  poor, ragged and weather-beaten farmers which puts off many young people. She is determined to change  the picture of the business to encourage  young  people  to have  a second thought about agriculture as the source of jobs.

    For her, the sector has huge potential. She has seen the future around agriculture as the main force in social and economic transformation of the economy.

    She said there was a need for a vibrant agribusiness private sector that would work alongside the government to link farmers with consumers.

    Her solutions include boosting rural development through a chain of activities that add value to agricultural products, and empowering youths to run small businesses.

    She started Young Farmer’s Incubator Programme (YFIP), in collaboration with Eweko Concept and Epe Agribusiness Cluster, to train youths to start up a farm. The goal of the programme is to grow the next generation of agribusiness professionals. The programme is designed to train youths between the ages of 18 and 26, who aspire to start up a farm but neither have the capital nor the knowledge of farming, through a 100 per cent hands-on farm training for  four months.

    The programme, according to her,  is a 16-month intensive course on technical and non-technical aspects of agribusiness.

    The trainees will undergo full- time farm training in Epe, Lagos State. The first stream of YFIP, she  explained, will focus on vegetables  such as tomatoes, pepper, cucumber and cabbage. The curriculum will cover pre-planting and post planting operations, post-harvest management practices, business planning, farm records and book keeping, agricultural marketing, as well as legal, finance and tax matters.

    The facilitators are credible, competent and have proven track record of successes in their respective businesses and fields, and have a cumulative experience of over 35. This programme is divided into five stages and each participant is expected to successfully complete each stage before moving up to the next stage.

    At incubation stage, successful candidates will get three months’   training when they will be allotted mini-plots. Mentors will help and answers.

    The incubation stage will cover key drivers of agribusinesses namely, business planning, agricultural marketing, laws, farm management, pre- and post-harvest handling, pre-and post-planting management and opportunities across the agriculture value chain. After this, successful candidates will be move to the next stage.

    At  the accelerator, successful candidates will be provided with land for farming. Seeds and other required tools will be provided. Production at this stage will be supervised by the AgriHub Nigeria and will continue for four  planting cycles. Candidates will be better exposed to the realities of farming at this stage as they will be doing most of the farm work and also the marketing work.

    One major benefit participants will get at the end of this stage is that they will have farm records of over 12 months, which will put them in a better stead to access finance to set up their own farm. Participants in YFIP must be willing to stay in Epe throughout the programme.

    Accommodation would be provided for participants. One area, she sees huge potential is in rice production. The rice sector alone has the potential to employ many of the 17 million young people who enter the job market in sub-Saharan Africa each year.

    With Agropreneur Nigeria, her organisation is holding bi-monthly Green Table sessions to  assist middle and upper class workers, entrepreneurs, and investors to understand the rice value chain and to tap into the opportunities.

    She has support from the Chief Executive Officer, Kereksuk Rice Farm, Rotimi Williams, whose 50,000 hectares rice farm in Nasarawa State provides enough food and jobs. For him, increased focus on agriculture could enhance productivity, reduce food prices, increase incomes and create employment. To achieve this, he said young people’s involvement in this process is crucial.

    Kereksuk Rice Farm has become a successful agribusiness enterprise. Williams believes the future is bright for agribusiness in Nigeria.

     

  • Youth council decries foreigners’ illegal activities

    The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has asked the Ministry of Interior, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and other law enforcement agencies to look into the atrocities of foreign nationals visiting the country.

    NYCN said many foreigners were taking advantage of the nation’s porous security network to get away with illegal activities.

    Its Acting President, Comrade Yussuf Kelani, said while Nigerians were being deported from foreign lands, many foreigners especially South Africans travel into the country with non-immigrant visas and take up contracts and employment without proper documentation process.

    With their visitors’ visas, they take up jobs without a work permit or even a permit to live in the country, Kelani said, adding: “It is painful and demoralising. While this is going on unnoticed and unattended to by appropriate law enforcement agencies, Nigerians with legitimate stay and proper documentations in these countries are being persecuted and harassed daily.

    “This is illegal, breach of international laws and constant abuse of our immigration laws. The growth in our economy is as a result of years of hard work, dedication and perseverance. Our government has made open the economy to businesses from all over the world in line with our brotherly gesture and diplomatic ties with other nations. It will then be unfair for foreign businesses to break the laws and engage in illegal activities in contravention of bilateral agreements.”

    NYCN urged the ministry and others to take pro-active steps in checking the status of foreign nationals and their papers.

    “While we (Nigerians) especially the youths that often visit or reside in other foreign countries do abide by the laid down principles and documentations of host countries, it is pertinent they do same in our country.

    “We are therefore demanding that the Nigeria Immigration declare a state of emergency on the documentation of foreign experts and workers in the country. A moratorium of one month should be declared for every person of such status to perfect their papers. Officers at the port of entries should be alert to their responsibilities and ensure proper screening at the air and sea ports,” Kelani added.

  • Lagos flags-off Ibile Youth Academy

    Lagos State Government on Monday flagged off IBILE Youth Academy leadership training for youths at the five divisions of the state.

    The divisions are Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe.

    Commissioner for Youth and Social Development Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf  said the IBILE Youth Academy (IYA) have been specifically designed to be a life changing experience for all participating youths in all its training centres across the state.

    Akinbile-Yusuf, who was speaking at the flagging off ceremony of the IBILE Youth Academy in Epe, said the academy in no limitations or segments will be giving a lifetime platform to youths across the state to be part of a life changing experience, also to help them grow through the training which would be held annually.

    She said: “IYA is all about helping the youths to chart a path for a progressive and prosperous adult life while it promises to be a life changing and once in a life time.”

    She noted that the best ten participants in each centre would be going on camping where they would be taken through different exercise which will produce one participant each as the ambassador for his or her division and will be opportune to be presented as youth Ambassadors across the state.

    She appealed to all 500 participants to be of good values, by being disciplined, punctual, team building effort, active participation, and to know the importance of social interaction.

    A participant, Funso Mojisola Jelilat (18), said she has been blessed being a participant at the academy as she her eyes is now open to so many things that seemed hidden to her before the commencement of the academy.

    She thanked the Lagos State government for paying utmost attention to the well-being of its youths knowing full well that when government builds its youths, it is this building the nation.

    The training will educate youths on self-discovery, volunteerism, goal-setting, creative thinking skills, team building, effective communication and public speaking skills, environmental responsibilities, sex, sexuality and relationships, adolescent health, entrepreneurship, employability skill, finance and investment, ICT innovation and review of Child’s Right Law.