Bago empowers 100,000 Niger youths

The Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has disclosed that 100,000 youths would be trained in assorted skills to enable them to become gainfully employed  and add value to the state’s productivity.

Bago said the youths wouĺd be drawn from the 25 local government areas of the state and put through agriculture, computer, vocational training, and barbing, among others.

The governor made this known over the weekend in Minna during the distribution of starter kits for the over 5000 youth graduates of the Youth Transformation Programme organisied by the National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission.

While noting that countries that have grown in productivity had paid more attention to skills development, he revealed that many development partners have expressed willingness to partner with the state in training the youths on different skills.

Bago lauded the N-HYPPADEC for the initiative, describing it as a wonderful Corporate Social Responsibility. He also commended the graduates for their resilience and perseverance throughout the period of training, stressing that great people were not made easy but from a solid rock.

He gave a special mention to the commission for collaborating with the state government in relocating communities that were  threatened by floods and providing potable drinking water to some communities in the state.

“This is a corporate social responsibility. You are empowering youths with skills that will help them stand in the land. Again, let me thank HYPPADEC in the relocation  of communities that were threatened by floods across the state. Thank you, HYPPADEC. Let me also thank HYPPADEC for the collaboration with the state government in the provision of affordable drinking water in New Bussa, Bida and Minna, and more. In a nutshell, HYPPADEC, we are grateful as a state, thank you.

“Again, to the beneficiaries of this gesture, I want to thank you for your perseverance,  for your resilience. You waited for this day to come. Great people were made from solid rock. And I can tell you for free you are great. You see, nations that gave grown to become giants laid emphasis more to skills than certificates. There are no bad certificates, but how many of these certificates can feed you. If you have technical and vocational skills, it can feed you, it can support you, and support your families.

“As a government and as a state, we are very ambitious to equip 100,000 youths in Niger State with skills in agriculture, in vocational training, in computer science in barbing and other vocational skills. So, this is an opportunity. We have a lot of partners, the UNDP and others. The Gates Foundation and many more are very willing to collaborate with us to provide training and skills and starter packs for all of us.

“However, to get skills is one thing, and to use it is another thing,” he observed.

The governor warned the beneficiaries not to sell the start-up kits but use them judiciously, even as also urged them to stay away from drugs and crimes and be the best they could be in life.

Bago further advised those with skills in agriculture to collaborate with established farms, like the state government, the Etsu Nupe, among other prominent citizens and corporate organisations, for better results in their endeavours.

In his opening address, the Chief Executive Officer of N-HYPPADEC, Abubakar Yelwa, said the idea of training youths under the Youth Transformation programme of the commission was a job creation initiative conceived to address youths unemployment in all the six member states of the commission.

He pointed out that over 5,000 youths were trained across the six member states including over 1,500 youths from Niger, 505 in Benue, 1,011 in Kebbi, 705 in Kogi, 814 in Kwara and 365 in Plateau. Yelwa also disclosed that the training programme was between three and six months duration, stressing that the trainees received a monthly stipend throughout the duration of the training as well as getting a Corporate Affairs Commission company registration certificate.

He disclosed that the commission was working on the second edition of the training which he said, would be upscaled to include the establishment of an entrepreneurship unit, for coordinating activities associated with entrepreneurship, empowerment, and job creation and to inculcate advanced skills’ acquisition training particularly for unemployed degree and HND holders.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who was  represented by his Chief of Staff, Simon Tyungu said the training programme was complimentary to the Federal government’s drive to engage the Nigerian youths in gainful employment. “it will compliment the efforts of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration in engaging the youths in meaningful ventures that will keep them off social vices.