An advocacy group, the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups, Tuesday hailed a former Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi T Gwarzo, for what it described as a timely intervention in youth empowerment.
Speaking to newsmen in Gwarzo local government area of Kano, at the venue of the groundbreaking launching of the ATM Gwarzo Vocational Center, the secretary of the coalition, Comrade Auwal Shuaibu, lauded the initiative of the former minister.
He said: “What Gwarzo has done today is a testament to the fact that he is a transformational leader par excellence. When other politicians were busy providing youth with drugs to enhance political thuggery, he chooses to empower them in order to be self reliant. If we have such leaders in our society, we would have curtailed to a very large extent the most formidable challenges confronting us in Kano, and other states across the region.
In the same vein, the chairman of the coalition, Ambassador Abdullahi D Mohammed, re-echoed similar view.
He said: “What we witnessed today is humanity at its finest. Despite not currently holding any public office, Gwarzo, exemplifies a hope, humility and an unquenchable appetite to always give back to the society. And his focus is gladly on the youth.
“Whenever, you want to destroy a society, just target the most agile and productive, and that is the youth.
“Therefore, this vocational training center, established by the minister, couldn’t have come at a better time. Youth restiveness, unemployment are on the rise, while societal norms and values are declining. So, the establishment of this vocational center and empowerment of N50 thousand cash grants to some select small business owners, would go long way, in addressing some of immediate challenges. And, in fact, it is in a way a challenge to other leaders in Kano and indeed across the region, to rise up to the challenge,” he stated.
The former Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Gwarzo, Thursday launch a multimillion naira youth and vocational training center in Gwarzo, which would serve as a center for skills acquisition, technology hub, education, crafts and empowerment. The center aimed to accommodate youth in Kano, and the entire Northern Nigeria.
