Vice President Shettima Highlights Employment Prospects and Youth Empowerment at Nasarawa Graduation Ceremony
According to Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, the continuing reforms implemented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will increase employment prospects for young people and open up more chances across the economy.
The vice president said this on Friday at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute’s Combined Graduation Ceremony in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.
Noting that the country can no longer afford to continue to grow a population of idle, unemployed, and unemployable youngsters, he emphasized the necessity of skill acquisition among Nigeria’s youth.
“The examples of various low- and middle-income countries, particularly the Asian Tigers, are there to inspire the direction of our National Development Plans and push our economic drive towards a destination we all desire—a place of boom.”
“The danger of paying lip service to technical and vocational skills acquisition is one that none of us are prepared to experience.”
Economic Reforms and Larger Allocations
In order to create the foundation for more chances in the future, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has pushed for economic changes that go beyond the typical band-aid solutions.
“I think we are more than motivated to finance our development programs now that the states have received larger allocations,” the vice president remarked.
The Agrarian Culture
There is no greater source of inspiration than focusing on “the magnitude of initiatives made possible by the proceeds of the sector and the hard work of those skilled and unskilled workers who were the fulcrum of our pre-oil economy,” Senator Shettima said, recalling Nigeria’s beginnings as an agrarian nation.
He said that the graduation ceremony was a chance to honor the administration’s earnest pledge to provide pathways for reskilling and upskilling the country’s workforce in a variety of industries.
The institute serves as a means by which the APC-led government fulfills its pledge to Nigerians to “prioritize poverty reduction, employment generation, and job creation,” according to Vice President Shettima.
Youth Unemployment and Violence
“The reality we inherited points to the existence of a link between youth unemployment, violence, and other associated crimes, and as such, we cannot afford to create an idle, unemployed, or unemployable demographic,” he said, warning against harboring the nation’s youth unemployment population.
“Our reaction, which is the reason we’re gathered here today, is to advance our goal of giving our young people the skills they need to either find productive job or become self-sufficient. The combined graduation ceremony for the graduates of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute in Lafia is a magnificent occasion that fits with the global trend toward skill development.”
The vice president praised Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, for his vision, which he claimed was being realized in his goal to make the state “a hub of jobs and opportunities.”
Materials for Relief
Presenting tractors and paddy rice to farmers in the state and distributing relief supplies to flood victims were earlier flagged off by the vice president, who claimed that it was an expression of his “affinity for Nasarawa State, and as a Kanuri man who has ancestral connections with some segments” of the state that has already become his home.
While urging the graduates to join pertinent associations and cooperatives to gain access to loan facilities and gain knowledge from the experiences of those who have gone before them in their respective businesses, he also praised the institute for graduating no fewer than 9,000 graduates in just three years of its founding.
Governor Sule’s Remarks
Earlier in his speech, Governor Sule stated that the state vocational and technical institute’s skills program was created to empower young Nigerians and close the skills gap in vital industries.
He expressed gratitude to Vice President Shettima for making the time to come to the state and for endorsing its small efforts to empower young people and alter the economy.
Commendations and Acknowledgements
In his speech, Senator Simon Lalong, a former governor of Plateau State, commended the state government’s bravery and efforts to improve the lives of young Nigerians through its many agricultural and vocational and technical training programs.
In addition to highlighting the importance of equipping young people with skills to influence their communities and societies, Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, thanked the Nasarawa State government for its efforts to combat poverty through initiatives for economic empowerment and skill acquisition.
Daniel Asele, the executive director of the Wing Commander, Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational Technology Institute, stated in his remarks that the 1,000 graduates of the institute’s 2024 program had received intense instruction and learned skills applicable to the current issues facing their communities and the state as a whole.
The traditional council’s allegiance to the federal government’s programs and policies was pledged by retired Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad I, the Emir of Lafia, who praised the vice president for his support and dedication to the people of Nasarawa State.
Highlight of the Occasion
Presenting start-up packets and certificates to the graduates in a variety of areas, including welding, tailoring, and ICT, were highlights of the occasion.