NGO pledges to empower graduates on mechamised agriculture

Organisation of Graduate Unemployed in Nigeria (OGUN) has pledged its readiness to empower Nigerian graduates on mechamised agriculture to arrest unemployment in the country.
The Vice President of the organisation, Mrs Maryann Bayawo, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at 2022/2023 Participatory Entrepreneurship Award on Empowering Nigerian Youths – the NYSC in Focus.
Bayawo noted that unemployment was the root cause of social vices and insecurity in the country, hence it required collective efforts to arrest the menace.
“We train, educate and empower youths, especially the NYSC, in mechanised agriculture.
“The aim and essence of this event is to create awareness on the level of joblessness in the country.
“Basically, what we really need right now is to address the issues of funding that can help equip the identified youths through our training and get them to be independent and self-employed at the end of the empowerment,” she said.
The Secretary-General of OGUN, Mr Ibrahim Yakubu-Bello, emphasised the need to take care of the youths as they were to lead the country in the nearest future.
“When the youths are jobless or when they are not engaged, it becomes a mess to the society.
“Employment doesn’t mean government employment, it mean both self employment, and otherwise.
“When the youth are not employed, it leads to all forms of social vices, criminality, banditry, and the rest,” he said.
He , therefore, commended the Woman leader of APC Abuja Chapter, Hajia Salamatu Jibrin for gifting the organisation with 10 hectares of land to support the Initiative.
He, however, said that machineries, manpower and farm inputs were needed to run the process.
He appealed to the government at all levels to encourage self-employment by engaging with organised sectors such as NGO or private sectors in providing the required support and infrastructure to support entrepreneurial activities.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser on Economy, Finance and Investment to the Kogi State Governor, Mr Abdulkareem Siyaka, promised to collaborate all youthf organisations in the country for entrepreneurship programmes.
Siyaka added that youths would be engaged to acquire skills, vision, direction and attitude to take keen interest in business and education.
He said Kogi was ready and willing to provide the organisation with large hectares of land and other equipment to facilitate their programme.
The Guest Speaker, Hajia Semira Jibir, who is the Chief Executive, Glisten International Academy encouraged the the organisation to remain focus, while pledging support for the organisation.
Jibir called on the government to look inward and find a way to support the organisation to bring lasting solutions to the problems of unemployment.(NAN)