The Nation Newspaper

Tag: youths

  • Youths hold rally for empowerment

    GovernmentS at all levels have been urged to empower the youth to secure their future and improve national productivity.

    A youth association, Youth for All Nations Empowerment Association (YOANEA), made the call during a six-day awareness rally across Lagos State, which ended on Saturday. The rally, the group said, would be extended to some other states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Jeff E. Joshua, a lawyer and chairman of the association, said youths had suffered a lot from the misdeed of the political class, adding that the group, a humanitarian organisation, aims to liberate the youth through empowerment.

    Joshua also called on youths in the country to take their destiny in their hands and rise against all the challenges confronting them, so as to draw the attention of the country’s leadership to its responsibilities.

    He further said there is need for the government to carry the youth along in its programmes if truly it sees them as the nation’s future leaders.

    “The purpose of this rally is to cry out to our leaders to have attitudinal change towards the youth. The theme of this rally is “crying out aloud for change” and the recovering of the lost rights of the youth,” he said.

    The group’s president, Comrade Babatunde Ifenuga, said the group was concerned about the plight of youths in the country, adding that it is on that basis that the group took upon itself the burden of empowering them.

    Lamenting that the nation’s leaders had long neglected the youth, Ifenuga said it was time government showed sensitivity to the plight of youths in the country to curb crimes in the system.

    He called on youths to shun social vices, as, according to him, his group “is tired of seeing youths being used by moneybag politicians in carrying out nefarious activities, especially during electioneering period.”

    Chioma Elejume, also a lawyer and the group’s vice president, said the group was formed in 2006, with 500, 000 members across 10 states in the country, warning: “Any country that fails to empower its youths will fail in all spheres of life.”

    She advised the youth to embrace patience and strive hard in whatever they do, but desist from all negative ways of life.

  • Youths tackle vice culture

    In order to create an environment fit for free, fair and credible election, youths in Anambra State gathered in Awka, the state capital, to deliberate on ways to consolidate on the existing peace and political stability in the state.

    During their deliberations, they realised that money politics and political thuggish behaviour have been the bane of the state since its creation.

    The youths, therefore, expressed their willingness to work towards a violence-free state during the forthcoming governorship election slated for the later part of the year.

    The gathering, the second in a week, brought together youths from the 21 local government areas.

    The event took place at King David’s Hotel in Awka. The state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr Edozie Aroh represented Governor Peter Obi at the event which was organised by Golden Morning International (GMI). Its theme was “Youth against Thuggery and Money Politics in Anambra 2013.”

    Speaking at the event, the Director of GMI, Anthony Aniegbue regretted that those whose dead bodies floated on Ezu River were the youth and not the aged, adding that if what happened in Anambra State had happened in a civilised world, security agents would have resigned en masse.

    He added that the governorship election which will take place later in the year would be violence-free as the youth would be seriously involved.

    Prof. Mercy Anagbogu, in her speech, said it was a pity that in the past 21 years, youths of the state had not been given opportunity to participate actively in governance.

    “2013 is the year the youth in Anambra State will rise up against all evils; and if this opportunity slips from them, then, there will be problem. We pray that such a thing will never happen,” she said.

    Governor Peter Obi, represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Dr Edozie Aroh, stated that it was not the youth who had been in thuggery and money politics, rather the adults who pay them to perpetrate such acts.

    He opined that stopping such act would be through legislation, adding that the youth should be mindful of the politicians who use and dump them after elections.

    A governorship hopeful, Dr Chike Obidigbo said that 80 per cent of this group lives in communities where economic, civic and social opportunities are insufficient to address their diverse needs.

    He said: “What makes the youth prone to thuggery and money politics can easily be changed through genuine initiative like what we are having today. Such initiative, I believe stems from that love and faith for sustainable good governance which brings us to the theory of change.

    “The youth, who are hungry, unemployed, and have no skills for self-sufficiency are likely to be engaged as political thugs, in kidnapping, shooting and snatching of ballot boxes during elections as these have become their sources of livelihood,” Obidigbo said.

  • Youths decry ‘neglect’ of Yoruba

    Youths decry ‘neglect’ of Yoruba

    The Coalition of Yoruba Youths has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to address the “neglect” of the Yoruba by his administration.

    Speaking with reporters at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the group’s Chairman, Mr. Wale Ayeni, and National Publicity Director Niyi Ojo said the “imbalance” is obvious and cannot be ignored.

    They said no Yoruba person occupies the first 20 political positions in the country.

    They urged the president to prove that he is the leader of all Nigerians by correcting the imbalance.

    Ayeni said: “We are opposed to the present situation, in which the Yoruba cannot be found in the top 20 positions in the country. It is worrisome and we believe President Jonathan can correct it.

    “We are not opposed to any group or zone association. We hold every other race as brothers and supporters in the development of the country. We even see other ethnic groups as partners in what we are demanding.”

    The group urged youths to shun acts that would compromise the country’s peace and progress.

  • Yobe employs 3,000 youths

    No fewer than 3,000 youths, women and vulnerable persons have been engaged under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) in Yobe State,its co-ordinator in the state, Alhaji Umar El-Gash, has said.

    El-Gash said this in Damaturu while on a courtesy visit to the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Babagoni Machina.

    He said that 1, 000 of them had been deployed to the 17 local government areas of the state, while the 2, 000 others would soon be deployed.

    “We will soon embark on recruitment of another 2, 000 beneficiaries to reach our benchmark of 5, 000 as earmarked for each state of the federation”, he said.

    The coordinator urged the state government to appoint a desk officer who would be briefing it on the activities carried out by the programme in the state.

    El-Gash sought the cooperation of the government in the effort to fight unemployment and improve the livelihood of the people.

    Replying, the SSG assured the scheme of support and requested upward review of participants in the programme.

    “Unemployment in Nigeria needs a collaborative effort and I want to assure you of Governor Gaidam administration’s support to this laudable programme for the benefit of our people,” he said.

  • 1.2 million jobs coming for skilful youths

    With the coming of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), the Federal Government is set to tackle youth unemployment. Under the scheme, the Ministry of Trade and Investment in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is to open and equip 46 skills centres to tackle unemployment, reports TOBA AGBOOLA.

     

    The National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) is a scheme designed to empower youths with resources to help them set up their businesses upon graduation. Under the initiative, no fewer than 29,875 trainees graduates will graduate yearly. Upon their graduation, they are expected to be employable.

    The Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Prof. Longmas Wapmuk, said the NISDP has taken off in 10 of the 36 states. No fewer than 10,000 youths are being trained in those states, 30,000 others are expected to be trained in diverse economic sectors.

    When the government launched the NISDP last year, it was intended that the scheme would provide over 1.2 million jobs for youths in order to boost the economy.

    The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mr Samuel Ortom, who inaugurated the scheme in Apapa, Lagos, described the NISDP, which is to be driven by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), as key to the success of the government’s transformation agenda.

    He said: “As you are aware, capacity building is a critical requirement for economic growth and development.The NISDP, driven by the ITF and SMEDAN, is key to the success of government’s transformation agenda.

    “Under the NISDP, which is being driven by the ITF and SMEDAN, over 1.2 million people, particularly youths, will be trained yearly, with hope of securing jobs thereafter. I, therefore, congratulate the ITF for putting up this magnificent edifice which, I believe, will be a veritable outlet for the much needed skills acquisition services of the ITF”.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga said the ministry, in collaboration with ITF, has put structures in place to ensure that trainees from the NISDP are empowered to be either gainfully employed, or are able to set up their own businesses.

    He said: “We are already on the path to addressing the problem of skills gap and unemployment through the introduction and implementation of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme. The idea is that we want to turn our quantity advantage as a nation into a productive advantage. And the only way to do it is through skills acquisition and education after which we can provide opportunities for those that have acquired the skills to set up their own businesses or to be gainfully employed.

    “Therefore, the strategy of the Ministry of Trade and Investment, working together with the ITF, is to identify the critical sectors of the economy where we have comparative and competitive advantage. The second thing is to link those sectors or industries that we have identified to innovation, Research and Development. Then, the third thing is to link those sectors to industrial skills development. That is where the NISDP comes in.”

    Wapmuk said the NISDP was primarily designed to empower its trainees with resources to help them set up their businesses upon graduation.

    “This plan envisages that we will have industrial skills training centres in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. And in each of these centres, we will have provision for training people in 24 trade areas. We have also made provision in this plan for Centres for Advanced Skills Training for Employment (CASTE) and these are bigger centres that have provision for about 45 trade areas which will be located in the six geo-political zones of the country,” he said.

    Wapmuk said the implementation of these initiatives is expected to generate 29,875 readily employable graduates yearly, which will go a long way in reducing unemployment, creating wealth and enhancing national security.

    Wapmuk said: “Our focus is to establish 37 Industrial Skills Training Centres, one in each state and the Federal Capital Territory, with six Centres of Advanced Skills Training for Employment for skills broadening and upgrading in addition to Sector-Specific Skills Training Centres to cater for the skills needed for manufacturing, agric-agro allied, construction and other critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    “In each of the 46 centres, training will be offered in 25 trade areas. Each of the 25 trade areas will enrol 25 trainees in line with international best practice for effective hands-on learning.”

    Wapmuk called for support from the stakeholders, saying ITF cannot do it alone.

    He said six centres of advanced skills training for employment and three specialised centres for culinary skills to develop skilled personnel for the hospitality and tourism sector would be established.

    “We need the support and encouragement of all stakeholders. This desire for partnership to enhance national growth and development led us to commence the Technical Skills Development Programme (TSDP) with NECA and the successes recorded by this scheme and the experiences we gathered through collaborations with local and international human resource development agencies contributed to our initiation and eventual partnership with the ministry for the launch of the NISDP.

    “We will continue to remain focused and work towards contributing our quota to the realisation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda,” he said.

    On the modality and cost of establishing each centre, Wapmuk admitted that the skill centers are very costly to establish, because some equipment can cost up to N15 million.

    “We have estimated that the industrial skills centres in the 36 states and Abuja will have provision for 24 trades and will cost about N3.5 billion, while the bigger ones, the advanced skills centres in the six geo-political zones, will cost about N5.5 billion.”

    The cost notwithstanding, Wapmuk said ITF will be able to generate the required money over time to help establish the centres.

     

     

  • Govt to empower 10,000 youths

    Anambra State government is poised to train and empower over 10,000 youths from the state with the aim of curbing crime and engaging the youths meaningfully.

    Special Assistant to the Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi on Youths Mobilisation, Hon. Nduka Alor disclosed this in Nnewi during a town hall meeting with the Anambra South youths .

    The selected youths will be drawn from the 177 communities in the state and will be trained on various agricultural schemes which include: fish farming, poultry, piggery and snailling businesses.

    Anambra Youths Empowerment Programme was inaugurated on February 15 by Governor Peter Obi with the sole aim of assisting the government implement youth programmes in the state and checkmate the activities of youths who create chaos in some local governments and the state in general.

    Nduka further stated that the selected youths from various councils will first be given orientation on how to manage resources before the empowerment to avoid misuse of grants in the scheme. He also charged the youth to be responsive in carrying out their duties.

    While praising the Special Adviser for his relentless effort in mobilising Anambra youths, the State Secretary of youths, Mr Anthony Nchekwube, dismissed the allegation that the organisation is a political one but a way of i minimising youth restiveness in the country.

    Earlier, the Anambra South zonal coordinator of youth mobilisation, Prince Nnamsom Nwafor-Orizu, lauded the state government in mobilising the youth, describing such gesture as a lofty way of promoting youth activities in the state.

  • Youths rise against thuggery, money politics

    Youths rise against thuggery, money politics

    In their resolve to create an enabling environment that would engender free, fair and credible election, youths in Anambra State gathered in Awka, the state capital recently to deliberate on ways to consolidate on the existing peace and political stability in the state.

    During their deliberations, they realised that money politics and political thuggery had been the bane of the state since its creation. They, therefore, expressed their willingness to kick against these hideous phenomena in the forthcoming governorship election slated for later part of the year.

    The gathering, the second in a week, brought together youths from the 21 local government areas.

    The event took place at King David’s Hotel in Awka. The state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr Edozie Aroh represented Governor Peter Obi at the event which was organised by Golden Morning International (GMI). Its theme was “Youth against Thuggery and Money Politics in Anambra 2013.”

    Speaking at the event, the Director of GMI, Anthony Aniegbue regretted that those whose dead bodies floated in Ezu River were youths and not the aged, adding that if what happened in Anambra State was to be in a civilised world, security agents would have resigned en masse.

    He added that the governorship election which will take place later in the year would be violence-free as the youth would be seriously involved.

    Prof. Mercy Anagbogu, in her speech, said it was a pity that in the past 21 years, youths of the state had not been given the opportunity to participate actively in governance.

    “2013 is the year the youth in Anambra State will rise up against all evils; and if this opportunity slips from them, then, there will be problem. We pray that such a thing will never happen,” she said.

    Governor Peter Obi, represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Dr Edozie Aroh, stated that it was not the youth who had been involved in thuggery and money politics, rather the adults who pay them to perpetrate such ugly acts.

    He opined that stopping such act would be through legislation, adding that the youth should be mindful of the politicians who use and dump them after elections.

    A governorship hopeful, Dr Chike Obidigbo said that 80 per cent of this group lives in communities where economic, civic and social opportunities are insufficient to address their diverse needs.

    He said: “What makes the youth prone to thuggery and money politics can easily be changed through genuine initiative like what we are having today. Such initiative, I believe, stems from that love and faith for sustainable good governance which brings us to the theory of change.

    “The youth, who are hungry, unemployed, and have no skills for self-sufficiency are likely to engage in political thuggery, kidnapping, shooting and snatching of ballot boxes during elections as these have become their sources of livelihood,” Obidigbo said.

  • Youths protest ‘killing’ of colleague

    Muslim youths on Monday morning protested the alleged killing of their colleague, who was reportedly shot dead by members of a vigilance group in Otukpo, Benue State.

    A source said the body of the late Musa Abdul was laid at the gate of the Chairman of Otukpo Local Government, Dr. Innocent Onuh, who was not in town.

    The source said the protesting youths were angered by what they described as the cold-blooded murder of Musa, following a disagreement with members of the vigilance group.

    The deceased was allegedly killed by the vigilance group on Akpa Street, near Total Filling Station, after he was questioned for walking the streets late (10pm to 11pm). An argument was said to have ensued between him and members of the vigilance group.

    The eyewitness said when the parents of the deceased reported the incident at the police station, the youth went to Otia-Hephzibah Hospital, grabbed the deceased’s body and began the protest.

    They reportedly vandalised the belongings of Mr. Ella Ochi, the leader of the vigilance group and threw them out.

    The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Otukpo, Mr. Francis Obigwa, said some people had been arrested.

    The Otukpo Area Commander, Mr. Samuel Darakoji, has banned members of the vigilance group under Ochi’s leadership from operating around Jericho and Total Filling Station in Otukpo.

    Darakoji and Obigwa urged the public to report any vigilance group working without the control of the police.

    They enjoined the public to report cases to the police rather than taking the law into their hands under the guise of vigilance groups.

     

  • Council to train 50 youths, women on solar energy

    Council to train 50 youths, women on solar energy

    Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and Bank of Industry(BoI) is to train 50 unemployed youths and women on construction and repair of solar energy.

    Chairman of the council, Mrs Olufunmilayo Efuwape, said the training was to empower the youths and women at the grassroots, adding that the training on solar energy was also aimed at promoting socio-economic development through entrepreneurial skills for local industrial development.

    Mrs Efuwape added that it would assist women to be self-reliant through the sales and repair of solar energy panels, and also assist the youths to be self-employed.

    “There is no doubt that this training will bring great transformation to the socioeconomic base of the people. It will also result in economic benefits for the trainees after the sale of the products.”

    The chairman urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the training.

    Mrs Adeola Abdulahi, one of the beneficiaries, who spoke on behalf of others, assured the organisers that they would make good use of the knowledge they gained from the training.

     

  • Ekweremadu advises youths

    The Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament), Senator Ike Ekweremadu yesterday called for more youths involvement of youths in the activities of ECOWAS institutions.

    Ekweremadu, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, spoke when the current Miss ECOWAS Peace Ambassador, Zirra Banu, visited him in Abuja. He noted that the youth and women of the sub region have a pivotal role to play in the actualisation of the ECOWAS Vision 2020, which among other noble ideals, envisages the transformation of ECOWAS from an ECOWAS of states to an ECOWAS of people.

    The Speaker, who is also the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, said the Parliament would work closely with the ECOWAS Peace Ambassador in achieving the objectives of the Parliament to lift the fortunes of youths and women of the sub-region.

    “For us at the ECOWAS Parliament, ECOWAS Vision 2020 is real; we are interested in seeing ECOWAS blossom with the many years of efforts towards integration really impacting more lives of the ordinary citizens; and I believe youths, in particular, have a crucial role to play in this regard because the tomorrow we are trying to build belongs to them,” Ekweremadu said.

    The ECOWAS Peace Ambassador lauded the contributions of the ECOWAS Parliament towards defending democracy and stability in Niger Republic, Republic of Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, and Guinea Bissau.