Youth empowerment crucial to national development – Lagos

As the celebration of the 2016 International Youth Day started on Friday across the world, the Lagos State Government has identified training and empowerment of youth as core elements for national development.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Pharmacist Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, made this known on Friday during a press briefing heralding the commencement of a week-long event slated for the celebration of year2016 International Youth Day.
Aminbile-Yissuf said the State government believes that when youth are idle they become susceptible to perpetuate crime and commit all sort of atrocities.
This, according to her, made the State Government intensify and widen the scope of its training programmes for the youth of the State.
She said: “Our intention is to empower youth to be self-reliant and enterprising. We had trained no fewer than 2,000 youth in the heavy equipment sector in partnership with Rated Cranes and Scaffolding Nigeria Limited.
“Majority of the youths were trained in the areas of Mobile crane driving, HIAB training, Crane Operation, Manufacturing safety among others.”
Akinbile-Yussuf also added that 500 students had graduated from the Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Programme in different areas of vocations, including bead making, cosmetology, Head Gear tying among others in order to empower and enhance opportunities for teeming unemployed youth in the society.
The Commissioner said another empowerment avenue provided by the State Government was through the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund meant to provide capital for youths that are willing to engage in enterprise in different sectors of the economy.
She opined that if the youth can properly and adequately utilise all these avenues and opportunities opened for them, achieving the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would not be a problem.
Akinbe-Yussuf called on other youths who are still involved in crimes to desist from such and take advantage of the several training programmes and empowerment initiatives to be productively engaged.
Akinbile-Yussuf urged the general public not to shield criminally-minded youths who are fond of disrupting the peaceful co-existence of Lagosians.
She promised that government would decisively deal with such individuals.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Youth and Social Development, Hon. Adedamola Richard Kasumu, advised the youth to stop blaming the present situation of the country on past mismanagement by our some leaders but rather make the best of the present situation, stressing that the youth of the present age should discontinue the unprofitable bandwagon of the past.
Kasumu commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for giving the youth a prime place in governance, including the constitution of his executive council members.
The International Youth Day celebration is observed all over the world.
It provides opportunity for government and others to draw attention to youth issues.