Building self reliance amongst the youth

Government has been adjudged the highest employer of labour. Yet it is a fact that government alone cannot employ everybody. Economies around the world today are private driven. The number of unemployed youths in the country has also been blamed for the growing insecurity. There has been growing calls to diversify the Nigerian economy beyond […]

Government has been adjudged the highest employer of labour. Yet it is a fact that government alone cannot employ everybody. Economies around the world today are private driven.
The number of unemployed youths in the country has also been blamed for the growing insecurity. There has been growing calls to diversify the Nigerian economy beyond it’s over dependence on oil.
To achieve this, experts and analysts say there is an urgent need for the mindset of the youth to be geared toward self-reliance. They agree that one of the greatest ways of solving unemployment is preparing the youths to become self-reliant.
Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo while speaking at the Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit (ISDS) warned that: “The vulnerability we are all exposed to because of having millions of unemployed people can only worsen when the problem is treated with neglect”

Worried by the high rate of youth unemployment   and to change the mindset of the youth from overdependence on government jobs to becoming self-reliant, the Delta State government last week organized a human capital development initiative for youths in the state.
The is aimed at creating more employment opportunities,  promoting entrepreneurship by encouraging self-employment and self-reliance, encouraging youths to take to areas such as agriculture, organizing training and skill acquisition programmes that would benefit the youths and sundry in the state.
The government also recently resolved to employ over 20,000 youths in the next five years through the Small Public Works sub-component of the State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) Project.
The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) is another avenue through which the government is empowering youth to reduce unemployment.
While declaring the human capital development initiative for youths in the state open, Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan said, “We are all aware that the Nigerian economy is monolithic in nature; that is, the Nigerian economy is sustained mainly by oil and since it is not a replenishable commodity, time will come when it will dry up.
“When this happens, what do we do? I believe therefore, that this capacity building programme is in keeping with this administration’s human capital development aimed at refocusing the mindset of our youths. This is aimed at allowing them have the opportunity to direct their lives towards the diversification of the state economy beyond oil and to also encourage them to embrace self-sustaining small and medium scale enterprise in other non-oil sectors of the economy.”
He said it should also assist the youths to acquire competitive skills capable of making them employable or becoming self-employed as entrepreneurs who can become employers of labour in the long run.
“We have to continue with this type of advocacy to achieve the total change of mindset for our youths to wean them from free and easy going life of oil-money-is-free-money mentality to entrepreneurial development and engagement for developing small scale businesses that will provide employment and self-sustenance for our young people,” he said.
Also speaking during the event, the state’s commissioner, Directorate of Youth Development,  Ebifa Ijomah said there is urgent need for collaborative efforts of all stakeholders in youth development, to raise responsible youths who will end up as tomorrow’s leaders.
He said: “The problem of unemployment in our society today is bedeviled by such social vices as youth restiveness, increased organized violent crimes, drug trafficking/peddling, prostitution, kidnapping and recently arms trafficking. These have contributed in no small measure to the frustration and discouragement of potential investors to the state and the relocation of some existing firm or companies to the states.
“If this trend is not checked, the state stands to loose not only substantial revenue but employment opportunities for our teeming population of youths, which will equally raise the level of poverty, hunger and frustration.”

The commissioner said there is need for the youths to embrace skill acquisition programmes to enable them learn vocational skills of their choice, establish a small and medium scale enterprise and be masters of their own.
He said pursuance of this realization informed the organization of the capacity building of 280 youths in leadership, mindset change, motivational and entrepreneurial skill in collaboration with Synergy Forte, to equip the participants with the needed information in order to be able to make the needed decision that will transform their lives and the society in general.
Governor Uduaghan has been at the vanguard for diversifying the economy. Through the “Delta Beyond Oil” programme since the inception of his administration has attracted investments that would develop other sectors of the economy apart from oil. He explained that his administration had invested in agriculture to help improve  food production to support the rapid population growth and create employment for youths in the state.
There is need for more of such empowerment programmes in all states of the federation so that the youth can be self reliant,  gainfully employed and eschew violence and other problems associated with unemployment.