Ojo Sola Olusegun
Governor of Kaduna state, Dr Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has urged the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and youths across the country to seek vocational training and be self-reliant and self-employed rather than waiting for non-existent white collar jobs.
Addressing the official closing ceremonies and end of 2014 Batch ‘A’ orientation course yesterday in Kaduna, Yero, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Amb. Nuhu Audu Bajoga, said there were many skill acquisition training and vocational programmes coming up that the “youth can key into and become self- employed rather than waiting at home and becoming a burden on their parents.”
He said: “There are so many programmes that are coming on board by the federal and state government and we are trying to make sure that these youths are self-reliant and self-employed instead of waiting for government to provide all the opportunities because the population is getting larger and there are fewer opportunities.
“What we do is to absorb the youths and train them in different skills and empower them so that they can be on their own. By next week, the governor is going to hand out starter packs to about 7,600 youths that were trained in the state, which cost the state millions of naira.”
Chairman, NYSC Kaduna state Governing Board, Hon. Zubairu Usman, urged the corps members to engage in meaningful community development services project, to enable the state government provide support for those amongst them that were creative and determined.
He urged the corps members to continue in the spirit of discipline, hard work and dedication as have been instilled in them during the orientation course.
“You will no doubt face challenges in your various places of primary assignments but I encourage you to stay strong and be courageous,” he said.
The NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Ango, urged the corps members to uphold the ideas and principles of the NYSC scheme, and advised them to focus on things that would alleviate the suffering of their host communities.