A former governor of Kano State, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, has called on the state and federal governments to establish skills acquisition centres in universities to address the problem of growing statistics of unemployment bedevilling the country.
Shekarau made this call at a closing ceremony for some selected Yobe youths who were trained and supported with funds by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation in collaboration with the Yobe State Government to enhance their businesses.
He said each year, universities and polytechnics produce millions of graduates without jobs, adding that the status of the seemingly saturated Nigerian Labour market leaves most graduates frustrated.
“In the past many years, the challenge has been unemployment and the solution is skills acquisition. Today, we have graduates with masters’ degrees and PhD running around seeking employment.
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“What we are saying now is: let’s go back to skills acquisition; no matter your field of study, find a particular skill, train so that you can survive.
“The message to the federal government is to ensure that all our institutions; universities, tertiary institutions should introduce a component of entrepreneurship training so that as you graduate in different fields, you have some skills that you can go and start living on,” he said.
The former minister of education who was the Secretary of the Board of Trustees said the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation is firmly committed to complementing the efforts of Yobe, and indeed of the Northern state governments in eradicating poverty and addressing other pertinent issues.
In his remark, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State said despite Sardauna’s legacies, the northern region has continued to embrace poverty as a result of bad leadership, corruption and lack of good governance.
Buni, who was represented by his deputy Hon Idi Barde Gubana, said getting things right in the region requires fighting poverty alongside investment in education.
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