Northern celebrity, actor and film maker, Paul Sambo, has advised students to discover themselves early and choose the careers most suitable for them.
The Bauchi State-born artiste, who was a star guest at the Promasidor’s Harness Your Dream career workshop, held at the Junior Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja, admonished the students to believe in their dreams and strive to be the best as they still have time on their side.
Sambo told the JSS3 students of the host school and those of Junior Secondary School, Tudun-Wada and Junior Secondary School, Wuse, Zone 1, who joined the session, that they should begin to explore their natural talents in the near future.
Sambo said: “Most of you have talents in dancing, acting, but you have to finish your studies because school has a way of nurturing your talent.
“I decided to pursue Agricultural Science as a course and studied hard and I graduated and today, the world is turning into farming.
“I now have several farms and most of my friends now come to me for business advice.”
Sambo explained that while in school, he supported himself with the sale of groundnut he scavenged from the farms, adding the proceeds to whatever he got from his parents to finance his secondary school education in Bauchi.
The popular actor therefore applauded Promasidor Nigeria for the career workshop and described it as a project that would aid students to pursue their dreams effortlessly.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Board for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Matazu, had urged other corporate organizations to emulate Promasidor on similar initiatives aimed at boosting career awareness among secondary school students.
Matazu, who was represented by Alhaji Usman Yahaya, Board Member 1 of UBEB, Abuja, said career guidance was very key and important at the early stage for a child development, especially at the junior educational level, as it unlocks the brain of the child to choose what is good and what he should be interested in.
He said through Promasidor’s Harness Your Dream, students would be able to know the steps and processes to take to attain their career objectives which would place them in leadership and entrepreneurial positions in future.
The Principal of the school, Aishat Bello, who was represented by the Vice Principal, Abiola Adewunmi, expressed gratitude to Promasidor Nigeria Limited for holding the event in the school.
Bello said the students left the workshop more enlightened about their career options.
The company’s Head of Legal and Corporate Communications, Andrew Enahoro, explained that the main objective of the project was to guide students to choose careers that match their talents, skills and aspirations.
Enahoro maintained that Promasidor’s Harness Your Dream and Cowbellpedia Mathematics TV competition were just two among the corporate social responsibility initiatives embarked upon by the company to help develop the youths.
He said: “Through the Cowbell Football Academy, ‘Loya Swim Meet’ contest and other activities, we have also supported the sports development aspirations of thousands of youths. We do these not because we have excess resources but because we are genuinely interested in assisting you and other young people to achieve your dreams.”
Enahoro commended the Federal Capital Territory Authority, the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the school personnel for the successful hosting of the event.
Launched in November last year at Oregun High School, Ikeja, Lagos, Promasidor’s Harness Your Dream has since been held in Abeokuta, Ogun State and now Abuja.
The primary aim of the pan-Nigeria project is to help public school students understand varieties of career options and guide them along their career paths with PNG staff members serving as resource persons.
Promasidor Nigeria, makers of Cowbell, Milk, Loya Milk, Onga, Top Tea and other quality brands, supports education and youth development, among other CSR interventions.