109 Zamfara youths benefit from NITT skill acquisition programme

NO fewer than 109 youths, including 10 females from Zamfara North Senatorial District have undergone a two-week training programme on various skills at the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, NITT, Zaria.

  Sponsored by the Senator representing the area, Senator Sahabi Ya’u, the programme attracted participants from the four local councils in Zamfara North Senatorial District. They are Zurmi, Kaura Namoda, Shinkafi and Birnin Magaji council areas.

  Tagged Youth Empowerment Skills Acquisition programme, the training covered welding practices, computer appreciation, wheel balancing and alignment, vulcanizing and auto-electric works.

   Speaking at the closing ceremony that held at the headquarters of the Institute in Zaria, the Director General, Dr. Aminu Musa Yusuf, commended the sponsor of the programme, Senator Sahabi Ya’u for his burning passion for youth empowerment and wellbeing of his people.

   The Director General also said that skills acquisition is vital to national development and growth of any given people, adding that its gains include elimination of hunger and poverty, reduction and eradication of joblessness and reduction of crime through effective engagement of the youth.

  According to him, considering the high rate of unemployment in the country, skills acquisition should be treated as an urgent matter of national importance.

  Dr. Yusuf further explained that most developed countries have, at one point or other in their historical evolution, introduced programmes akin to the skills acquisition scheme, just as he commended the initiative by an individual in Zamfara State, which is aimed at promoting the cause of future leaders of the country.

  The NITT boss commended the participants for being selected to participate in the programme and also for the zeal and commitment demonstrated during the training.

  He urged them to put into practical use the knowledge acquired during the training, while also assuring them of the readiness of the institute to continue to partner with individuals and organizations yearning to provide training and retraining for their staff in order to improve their skills and competence in their duties.

   In his remarks, Senator Ya’u noted that although some of the participants are graduates, they had no requisite skills to contribute to the development of the society.

  It was on the basis of this that “I decided to empower them through the skill acquisition programme, to enable them stand on their own and contribute to the development of not only their localities, Zamfara State, but the nation at large”.

  Represented by the Jakadan Gusau, Dr. Abdullahi Maiwada, Senator Ya’u emphasized that “where there is no youth, there is no nation, where there are no skilled youths there is an unskilled nation and where there are equipped youths, there is an equipped nation.”

  He lamented that Zamfara state, which was created in 1996, is still lagging behind in several areas of human endeavour, stressing that 45 to 50 per cent of the youths are unemployed, while 45 to 60 per cent of the population are illiterates.

  According him concerted efforts are now being made, not only to change the trend, but to contribute to the development of the state.