Youth employment is on Buhari's top priority list

Nasir Adhama, Buhari’s aide on Youths and students

– Presidential aide, Nasir Adhama says government is committed to stem the country’s unemployment rate, assuring of a conducive atmosphere for the youth – He said federal government has made it a point of priority to see to the success and empowerment of youth in the country

Senior special assistant to the President on youths and students affairs (SAPYSA), Nasir Adhama has expressed government’s commitment to stem the country’s unemployment rate, assuring of a conducive atmosphere for the youth to engage in productive ventures. While charging youths and students in the country to be self-empowered, Adhama said 'President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is working towards creating a conducive atmosphere for young entrepreneurs. Adhama spoke when his office hosted the first Youth Employability Skills Interactive Session in commemoration of the 2016 workers’ day.

He urged stakeholders, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to adopt a ‘one youth, one mentor’ approach to create more jobs. He said: “Nigeria today is at a very critical moment when many of its youth are either unemployed or unemployable due to lack of skills that is needed to perform certain tasks. It is for this reason that Mr President has accorded great priority to youth employment “Our youth need mentors to guide and give them direction; they need skills in our offices, organization, and factories. Our strategy therefore is to partner with those that are already engaging the labour force to provide mentorship, training and guidance towards building required skills for economic development.” Adhama also revealed that the federal government has made it a point of priority to see to the success and empowerment of youth in the country by providing a conducive atmosphere for job creation. “The administration’s policy for the youth is not only to provide employment but create opportunities for self-employment in the agriculture and solid mineral sectors of the economy through a consolidated and coordinated approach by various government agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Bank of Industry and a host of others,” he added.

The event was attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, as well as the acting executive chairman Federal Character Commission, Dr Shettima Bukar-Abba. Others are President General, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Comrade Baba Kaigama, MD/CEO, Huawei Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Tank Liteng and President of EMpowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative among others. Meanwhile, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, has recently made a controversial statement that that drawn disfavour from Nigerians. Speaking at the sectoral debate of the federal house of representative in Abuja on Tuesday, May 3, the minister said that dressing masquerades could create a thousand jobs per week for Nigerians. “There’s a particular masquerade in the south east, it takes 100 people to dress him, another 100 people to undress him. If this masquerade is well-packaged, it can provide employment in one week for more than 1000 young men. These are some of the untapped potentialsm,” he said.