By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has vowed that the state government will begin the training of female indigenes of the state at the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Learning Centre, to make the state produce the highest number of female engineers in the country.
He disclosed this while delivering his remarks at PAN, when he visited the trainees of the Ganduje Auto Mechanic Engineering Training (GAMET) in Kaduna.
According to him, this has become important in view of the cultur and economic benefits the training will provide for the state.
“We shall create another programme for women so that they can come here and become women engineers. If you go inside Kano City, you will see inscriptions at their gates informing that males are not permitted to enter the compounds.
“But when you need to repair your fridge or maybe your toilet in your bedroom, you have no option but to carry the male technician or plumber into your bedroom to provide a solution. But what is wrong for
our girls to be here to learn to become engineers?” he asked rhetorically.
The governor praised the trainees for being good ambassadors of the state throughout their training, while assuring them that he would consider the requests they made in ensuring they were adequately
established after their skills acquisition.
“Now there would be a huge difference between you and other road side mechanics because besides the knowledge you acquired, you would also be using technology to make a mark. Some of these road side mechanics if you drive your car to their workshop, if unlucky, they would make it worse and you may be needing a towing van to move it from there,” he added.
In his remarks earlier, Managing Director/CEO of PAN, Mr. Ibrahim Boyi, said that in partnering with the company, Kano has contributed a lot to the society by reducing the number of unemployed.
“One of the biggest challenges before us in Nigeria today is youth unemployment. Any government that takes capacity building through skills acquisition should be commended by all,” he said.
He said that PAN would not only stop at training the engineers, but would also link them up with their customers so that they can be engaged in rendering of after sales services.
The MD praised the trainees for being good ambassadors of their state, while disclosing that for the first time, they would be presented with City and Guild Certificates, alongside drivers’ licenses and ICT training that would make them stand apart from the regular road side mechanics.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, President of GAMET, Yahaya Suleiman thanked the governor for providing them the opportunity to become shining examples among their peers.
“As you are seeing us now even though we have one more year to go, we are now qualified auto engineers. We are appealing to the government to help in establishing us by setting up a mechanic village and
assisting with equipment like the computers we would be needing,” he said.
A total of 72 trainees are currently being trained in four categories; Auto Mechanics, Auto Panel Beating, Auto Spraying and Auto Mechatronics.
Governor Ganduje was accompanied on the visit by the Chief Whip of House of Representatives, Speaker Kano State House of Assembly, his Deputy and several members of the Kano State Executive Council.
