The founder and Chairperson of the Aisha Babangida Youth Leadership Foundation ABYLF has called on the Federal Government and the organized private sector to aid in paying greater attention in mainstreaming entrepreneurship education in the curriculum of secondary schools in Nigeria, she made the call on the occasion of the International Youth Day in Abuja.
She further stated that ABYLF was committed to setting up entrepreneurial skill acquisition institutions as a pilot intervention to provide artisanal know-how to young people in Nigeria. She reiterated her organization’s advocacy in asking the federal government of Nigeria and other relevant stakeholders to continue to provide an enabling environment for Micro Small and Medium Enterprise MSME space in order to kick start meaningful economic growth and reintegration.
“Entrepreneurship is one solid way of catering to the huge unemployment deficit in Nigeria; we should harness our massive youth population so as to not only reduce the endemic poverty prevalent in our communities but to also reach our potential as Africa’s power house”
Speaking on this year’s theme, she encouraged young people to organize themselves instead of agonizing about their situation.
“Young people should form youth clubs, community based organizations and NGOs in order to champion positive causes, for in coming together we can pool our strengths and make meaning changes in our lives and the lives of others” She said.
With Africa having one of the youngest global population she called on heads of government in Africa to as a matter of urgency prioritize youth education and leverage on the opportunities offered by ICT to spur growth in their respective countries.
The 2015 International Youth Day theme is Youth Civic Engagement a main goal of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Youth (Youth Swap) it seeks to promote young people’s effective inclusive civic engagement at all levels.
