By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
Kaduna Entrepreneurship Volunteerism Service (KADEVS), an initiative of Entrepreneurship Research & Development Centre of the Kaduna State University, has disclosed that it would produce over 50,000 entrepreneurs before the end of 2019 in Kaduna State as part of contribution to eliminate unemployment in the country.
This the centre is convinced, can be achieved through ‘volunteerism entrepreneur’ which is an aspect of social entrepreneurship, which according to the Director of the Centre, Professor Seth Akutson is at the moment a noble solution to the growing unemployment challenge in the state and country at large.
Professor Akutson, who made this known at the 1st KADEVS train the trainers programme on Tuesday, stated that the first set of 250 participants are 10 volunteers each, drawn from the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state and the KASU community.
The theme of the programme is “Turning Kaduna State Women and Youth into Entrepreneurs Through Volunteerism & Craftsmanship”.
“KADEVS is a scheme where we are training 10 people each from the 23 LGAs in the state, KASU is also a Municipal area, so if you add 10 from KASU you will have 250 women and youths.
“So we want to train and empower them as volunteers, so they will now be the ones training other volunteers, and through that volunteer scheme, they are going to secure jobs, they are going to secure respect, they are going to help their communities.
“There are questions they are going to be answering in the communities, like what is the problems of their communities and how they can solve them without government support, so by the time we finished this, I tell you, the state will be better for it. Our target is about 50,000 volunteers between now and next year.” He added.
In his remarks, Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Muhammad Tanko, reinstates the institution’s commitment to continue to help reduce the rate of unemployment in the state, adding that the programme is aimed at helping the participants to realise potential and capacity to create jobs for themselves.
“This is an opportunity coming to our youths, it is an opportunity to get trained and to realise what potential exist with them. It will help them recognise what areas they can be of benefit to their communities and the society in general that they belong.
“There is no doubt that entrepreneurship is the solution to any economy in the world. The centre is giving you opportunity to know that you do it and that you can make it, at the end of this programme you will know that you actually have potentials that you have been seating on.”
Professor Tanko, thank the state governor for his confidence on the university to allow them to organize the programme. He also commended Kaduna State Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Ministries of Education, Science and Technology and Local Government Affairs.
On her part, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, who represented the Commissioner, Mrs. Nana Bade, appealed to the centre to give preferential treatment to women by increasing numbers women beneficiaries in the programme in the next phase.
She noted that when you educate a woman you educate a nation, adding that if women have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, it will be more easier to eliminate poverty and unemployment because all her children will natural learn the trade from their mother.
The Permanent Secretary, however, commended the centre for coming up with the initiative, which she believed will help in the reduction of unemployment as government does not have the resources to employ everyone.
