In Ebonyi, 2,000 Youths Kick against Crime, Joblessness …As college holds entrepreneurship summit

odogwublog.com brings youth story of OBINNA ODOGWU of The Sun newspapers. Read below.

More than 2,000 students of Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo and youths of Ikwo community converged at the TETFund Lecture Theatre Hall of the institution for entrepreneurship summit organized for them by the college. The skill acquisition and training programme, which according to the institution, was part of her “continued efforts to contribute immensely to the socio-economic cum educational development of Ebonyi State starting from its host community, and environ,” was also targeted at “arming the youths with requisite skills in various areas of human endeavour with a view to discouraging them from engaging in social vices and channelling their youthful strength on legitimate work that can earn them a living and sustain their dignity.”
The training, first of its kind in the history of the institution, was a brainchild of a Batch B youth corps member, Mr Cheta Ikemsinachi Onuecheta who established College Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) in the school, but was boosted by the College Provost, Prof. Silas E. Omebe.
In his lecture, an established, China based entrepreneur, Mr Nnabuike Francis, CEO of Frankris Designers, China took turns to lecture the youths on series of profitable ventures including clothe manufacturing and designs, shoe production and other wardrobe accessories. He also hinted on marketing techniques and sales practices that can assist a young entrepreneur to attain enviable heights, even as he disclosed that with N97, 000 capital base, his company as at January 2014 hit N5.1 million gain.
Hear him: “Time has gone when the government provided job with mouth-watering salary. That’s when there were few graduates in the streets. But now, virtually all the nooks and crannies of this country have tertiary institutions scattered all over, and thousands of graduates are churned out annually. So how can you survive after graduation? It’s simple. You have to make use of the brain God has graciously given you. Entrepreneurship, handiwork, self-employment, call it anything is the answer. Making out time to learn leather works, sewing, fashion and designs, textile work, hand bag production and all whatnots found in the wardrobe can make you a billionaire within a short time if you’re serious. There are other areas that are profitable that you can venture into.  I’m a designer based in China and I can confidently tell you I’m a testimony.”

In her lecture entitled Practical Entrepreneurship: The Role of the Government and Youths, Dr (Mrs) Beth N. Oluka of the Department of Educational Foundations, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki regretted that “many Nigerians think that it is degrading for an educated man to work with his hands.”
She blamed the “failed system of education in Africa” as one of the factors militating against the success of practical entrepreneurship training in the continent.

Hear her:  “It has been observed that the attempt for Nigeria to expand educational programmes and get people to have more access to quality entrepreneurial education has been tampered with. The quality of higher education in Nigeria has been on the decline especially with regards to entrepreneurship. This is due to input, process, external examination and output imbalance. Experts looked at expansion of access and assurance of quality and relevance and then noted that one way of looking at these would be as if access and quality were either not interrelated or are mutually exclusive. Against this background, this study further examines the relationship between quality, quantity entrepreneurship education and development in Nigeria. However, Nigerian youths have obtained more formal education over the years. It is worthy of note that educational systems in Africa have witnessed declines in quality, both in curricula and infrastructures at all level in the last two decades. They are geared toward providing basic literacy skills that could empower individuals towards self-employment. However, this situation is a mismatch between university curriculum and labour market. It is of importance to note that Africa’s educational systems are yet to adjust effectively to the changing demands for knowledge, skills and attitudes required in the labour market. Because of this, those who have received formal education but lack the skills required in the labour market, become unattractive to employers of labour who prefer skilled and experienced workers.”

But to reversed the ugly trend, she advised that “entrepreneurship education should be enriched in school curricula from post primary to tertiary institution; vocational training centres should be created within the rural villages and semi-urban areas to be able to train rural dwellers on entrepreneurship development; encourage the young people to take entrepreneurial development courses in tertiary institutions, since it’s the only education which gives its graduates the saleable skills to be self-reliant; Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) should be adequately funded and properly coordinated to get students used to the industrial sector; involve local craft people in the delivery of technical and vocational training nationwide and so on”
Also speaking, the founder of the College Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) in the institution, Comrade Cheta Ikemsinachi Onuecheta told Daily Sun that CEI was established as a platform to continually organize entrepreneurship trainings for the students of the college with a view to assisting to attain their lives’ aspirations.
Hear him: “It is set aside to motivate the youths; to encourage the youths and direct them on the path towards the realization of their lives’ goals and aspirations; to redirect the minds of the young people on the notion that it is the responsibility of the government alone to provide them with jobs, hence the mad chase for white-collar jobs which has turned out to increase the rate of unemployment in the country. Here we are talking about waging extensive war against the poverty of money and poverty of ideas.”
“It is my passion and believe that there is something that can be done to help this society. And that passion keeps pushing and moving me to contribute my quota to assist young people no matter how small. I have always believed that the youths have a lot to offer to the society but it is just that many of them do not have the opportunity to meet with people who would ignite the flames of success in them; right mentors who would give them directives. It appears that the ruling class has little or no time to spend on issues that concern young people. But for me, it is time the youths take their destinies in their own hand for good. I believe that time for the youths to begin to chart new course for themselves is long overdue. When I came down here, I saw a loophole, a gap that urgently needs to be filled, hence the need to take it up starting with this entrepreneurship training. Mind you, entrepreneurs are not just people who ride Keke NAPEP, make shoes and all that. Real entrepreneurs are people who invent or conceive ideas and breathe life into them; people who sow and harvest ideas and we want these youths to mine their hidden ideas and rise to stardom. Today ideas are money, and I believe we can do it in Ebonyi State and that’s why I dedicated myself to drive it” he added.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Provost of the College, Prof. Silas E. Omebe who was represented by the institution’s Director of Academic Planning, Dr Emeka Nwachukwu revealed that “what we are here for today is in line with the National Policy on Education 2004 which states among other things that the national educational goal should include the acquisition of appropriate skills and development of mental, physical and social abilities; and competences as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the society. We are here to talk about how to acquire entrepreneurial skills and competences you need in order to establish your own businesses so that you can be employers of labour. A school of thought has it that there is high level of unemployment because there is lack of acquisition of basic skills among undergraduates and the youths generally.”
A cross section of the students who spoke to Daily Sun expressed happiness over the training describing as “long overdue.”