Ms May Ikokwu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Save Our Heritage Initiative, an NGO, on Friday called for empowerment of youths through skills acquisition to create wealth and end insecurity.
Ikokwu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on the occasion of the World Youth Skills Day, in Abuja.
She expressed concern over the spate of insecurity, drug abuse and other vices among youths, noting that empowering them with adequate skills was imperative for growth and development of the country.
According to her, many young persons are wasting away as a result of joblessness, a factor that has been largely responsible for the increase in crimes such as kidnapping and banditry.
She called on government to devise means of taking the youths out of the streets through productive engagement.
“Many of the youths roaming the streets are endowed with different talents waiting to be harnessed to national advantage,’’ she said.
Ikokwu urged federal and state governments to act fast, not just to save the youths from redundancy, but create wealth through skills acquisition.
“The youths of today are our future and heritage. It is our duty to ensure that their potentials are fully captured,’’ she said.
NAN reports that the World Youth Skills Day is celebrated on July 15, of every year, after the United Nations announcement of its existence in 2014.
The objective of the World Youth Skills Day is to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. (NAN)
