Creating decent jobs for Nigeria youths: Government, CSO, Academia, others brainstorm on ways forward
By Isaac Eranga
Benin City: Stakeholders comprising the government, academia, civil society organisations, environmental strategists, non governmental organisations, experts in climate change mitigation, students, and the media, gathered recently in Benin City to develop a blueprint on creating decent jobs for Nigeria youths. This was on occasion of a one-day high level consultative forum on Nigerian Youth Employment Decade: A Job Creation Summit 2019 in commemoration of United Nations International Youth Day in Edo State, put together by the Connected Advocacy for Empowerment and Youth Development Initiative (CAEYDI).
In a keynote address, the Edo State Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment, Hon. (Dr.) Felix Akhabue called for the use of green climate resilience opportunities to enhance jobs creation. He said global warming and other adverse effect of greenhouse gas emissions can lead to environmental degradation which affects economic growth and development.
"Besides, adaptation to climate change and measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, offers opportunities to create new jobs while increasing the resilience of existing ones.
"Green climate opportunities abound in renewable or solar energy sector, soil and water conservation, protection against floods, reforestation, irrigation, etc. Anecdotal evidences have shown that the youth particularly are interested in working in innovative climate-smart industries.
"Any plan aimed at job creation will amount to little if the labour force is not equipped. Hence, the need for government's at all levels to initiate training and skills development to enable workers take advantage of new employment opportunities in industries with low carbon emission, natural resource management and clean energy," the Honourable Commissioner said.
Hon. Akhabue also correlate green climate to educational transformation and curbing of youth restiveness. According to him, "awareness creation on green climate can also be adapted at the level of secondary school curriculum, thus transforming education. Besides with Empowerment generation, the youth will be occupied and youth restiveness will be effectively curbed".
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of Connected Advocacy for Empowerment and Youth Development Initiative (CAEYDI), Prince Israel Orekha said the summit became imperative after careful analysis of the level of youth restiveness, depression, kidnapping, irregular migration, prostitution, crimes and other social vices associated with most Nigerian youths as a result of unemployment and closed civic participation space.
Prince Israel Orekha
"This prompted the need for a regional synergy of young people to drive sustainable development goals (SDGs), to creat a strong voice against youth unemployment with sustainable solutions, as we advocate and move towards 'green climate resilience opportunities for decent jobs', alternative Job creation through smart agriculture, and innovations that brings peace.
"This stakeholders' summit seeks to promote synergy among strategic stakeholders, to drive innovative sustainable development actions in tackling unemployment situations and climate change while advocating for decent jobs for the Nigerian youth.
"The specific goal of this stakeholders consultative forum is to educate and build capacity of critical stakeholders on innovative approaches to reducing the harms of climate change, and unemployment through sustainable decent green jobs, smart agricultural practices, renewable energy solutions, waste bank recycling, geo-engineering, climate financing, and adaptation", the Connected Advocacy boss said.
Prince Orekha called on government and private sector to open space for young people to learn the act of service delivery through volunteerism and internship, to engage indigenous youth, which will turn out to be positive development in the country.
On her part, a Senior Lecturer and Sub-Dean, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Igbinedion University, Okada, Dr. (Mrs.) Georgina O. Erifeta highlighted the importance of annexing green values and resilience opportunities in creating decent jobs. She said out of the 17.7 billion world population, 1.8 billion are youths, and that out of the 1.8 billion, 200 million are unemployed globally.
"That is why the Secretary General of United Nations declared 2020 to 2030 as Youth Employment Decade; a declaration that will encourage member States to consider youth employment a priority in their policies and that will engage them in achieving the goals established", she said.
Dr. Mrs. Erifeta said waste management is a big problem in Nigeria and that if waste are properly sorted, it will be easier for proper differentiation for recycling. She highlighted the following as ways of improving employment opportunity: multitasking, and eco innovation.
Dr. Mrs. Erifeta
Also speaking, Sales Director of AStevens Group, Mr. Stephen C. Ubaka highlighted the importance of investment than savings. He frawnec at the fact that the government is not doing enough and as such, youths need to find ways of helping themselves.
"In AStevens, we train youths on manufacturing solar systems. This is one way we empower youths and we are using this medium to encourage youths to invest their time and resources in the training so as to live meaningful live and live desist of crime", he said.
Dr. Hon. Felix Akhabue
In a keynote address, the Edo State Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment, Hon. (Dr.) Felix Akhabue called for the use of green climate resilience opportunities to enhance jobs creation. He said global warming and other adverse effect of greenhouse gas emissions can lead to environmental degradation which affects economic growth and development.
"Besides, adaptation to climate change and measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, offers opportunities to create new jobs while increasing the resilience of existing ones.
"Green climate opportunities abound in renewable or solar energy sector, soil and water conservation, protection against floods, reforestation, irrigation, etc. Anecdotal evidences have shown that the youth particularly are interested in working in innovative climate-smart industries.
"Any plan aimed at job creation will amount to little if the labour force is not equipped. Hence, the need for government's at all levels to initiate training and skills development to enable workers take advantage of new employment opportunities in industries with low carbon emission, natural resource management and clean energy," the Honourable Commissioner said.
Hon. Akhabue also correlate green climate to educational transformation and curbing of youth restiveness. According to him, "awareness creation on green climate can also be adapted at the level of secondary school curriculum, thus transforming education. Besides with Empowerment generation, the youth will be occupied and youth restiveness will be effectively curbed".
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of Connected Advocacy for Empowerment and Youth Development Initiative (CAEYDI), Prince Israel Orekha said the summit became imperative after careful analysis of the level of youth restiveness, depression, kidnapping, irregular migration, prostitution, crimes and other social vices associated with most Nigerian youths as a result of unemployment and closed civic participation space.
Prince Israel Orekha
"This prompted the need for a regional synergy of young people to drive sustainable development goals (SDGs), to creat a strong voice against youth unemployment with sustainable solutions, as we advocate and move towards 'green climate resilience opportunities for decent jobs', alternative Job creation through smart agriculture, and innovations that brings peace.
"This stakeholders' summit seeks to promote synergy among strategic stakeholders, to drive innovative sustainable development actions in tackling unemployment situations and climate change while advocating for decent jobs for the Nigerian youth.
"The specific goal of this stakeholders consultative forum is to educate and build capacity of critical stakeholders on innovative approaches to reducing the harms of climate change, and unemployment through sustainable decent green jobs, smart agricultural practices, renewable energy solutions, waste bank recycling, geo-engineering, climate financing, and adaptation", the Connected Advocacy boss said.
Prince Orekha called on government and private sector to open space for young people to learn the act of service delivery through volunteerism and internship, to engage indigenous youth, which will turn out to be positive development in the country.
On her part, a Senior Lecturer and Sub-Dean, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Igbinedion University, Okada, Dr. (Mrs.) Georgina O. Erifeta highlighted the importance of annexing green values and resilience opportunities in creating decent jobs. She said out of the 17.7 billion world population, 1.8 billion are youths, and that out of the 1.8 billion, 200 million are unemployed globally.
"That is why the Secretary General of United Nations declared 2020 to 2030 as Youth Employment Decade; a declaration that will encourage member States to consider youth employment a priority in their policies and that will engage them in achieving the goals established", she said.
Dr. Mrs. Erifeta said waste management is a big problem in Nigeria and that if waste are properly sorted, it will be easier for proper differentiation for recycling. She highlighted the following as ways of improving employment opportunity: multitasking, and eco innovation.
Dr. Mrs. Erifeta
Also speaking, Sales Director of AStevens Group, Mr. Stephen C. Ubaka highlighted the importance of investment than savings. He frawnec at the fact that the government is not doing enough and as such, youths need to find ways of helping themselves.
"In AStevens, we train youths on manufacturing solar systems. This is one way we empower youths and we are using this medium to encourage youths to invest their time and resources in the training so as to live meaningful live and live desist of crime", he said.
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