A group, ‘The Niger Delta MSME Summit’ has called for legislation to institutionalize entrepreneurship development aimed at teaching young people skills and engaging their minds in productive ventures.
While noting that the focus in the Niger Delta region has been oil and the entitlement mentality, it said beyond oil there are many talented youths who don’t have the opportunity to showcase what they have.
The Convener, The Niger Delta Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Summit, Moses Siasia, made the call while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Siasia, spoke while answering questions from newsmen on the sidelines of the 4th edition of the summit with the theme ‘Building a Culture of Entrepreneurship and self-Reliance Beyond Oil’.
- Federal Compliants Commission vows to probe CRS abuse in Anambra
- Eight feared dead as building collapses in Kano
He said unlike what is obtainable in the South-West and Middle-Belt, there is a dearth of tech hubs in the Niger Delta region to engage the youths.
He stated that the creative industry is an area that needs to be harnessed especially with the talents that abound in the region in addition to agriculture and urged the government to make deliberate and spirited efforts to create training centres for young people to acquire skills and become useful to themselves and the society.
Siasia stated, “There should be legislation for entrepreneurship development. It has to be institutionalized. Growing up I used to see skill acquisition centres. How many skills acquisition centres do you see today?
“So there must be a deliberate effort to have institutions, training and capacity building centres that develop the minds and the energy of our young people. “There are a lot of tech hubs in the South-West. In the middle there are a lot of tech hubs. But when you come to the Niger Delta, can you find tech hubs within this space that teaches young people about innovation, different businesses and modules that they want to get involved in.
“So we are advocating that the government on its own should ensure that there should be a deliberate plan to constructively engage the minds and energy of our young people. That is why you see in this part of the world, a lot of young people go into criminality, drugs, kidnapping because there are no institutions that train and engage their minds. The focus of this region has been oil. It is our thing. There is a lot of culture of self-entitlement. There is a culture of laziness.
“There is a culture of leaders not understanding that we are in the fourth industrial realm. That is why we came up with this initiative and this is the fourth edition of the Niger Delta MSME summit. And we are celebrating the world MSME Day.”
He explained that the theme of the summit underscores what the world is talking about currently; how young people have a culture of entrepreneurship and business mindset.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
