Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has enjoined Nigerian youths to borrow a leaf from the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigeria’s industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, stressing that it is the desire of the Nigerian government to have more of him in the country’s industrial space.
Speaking during the disbursement of funds to some youths to mark the commencement of the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme, YEDP, he said the Federal government appreciates Dangote’s exceptional business investments dotting the entire African continent and exemplary humanitarian efforts.
While assuring that the government would continue to provide the enabling environment that will give room for more of Dangotes, the CBN governor acknowledged the role Dangote and his many companies have been playing in the employment of labour in Nigeria and Africa as whole.
The programme was instituted to promote capacity building and funding for Nigerian youths to empower them to be entrepreneurs rather than seeking white-collar jobs. It was against this backdrop that Emefiele urged the youths to fulfill their dreams, and not just become entrepreneurs, but be employers of labour.
He noted that Nigeria has spent millions of dollars in forex on importation of foods and other needless items, explaining that the developed countries of the world are strong economically because they produce and export more than they import thus giving them the desired trade balance.
He said this is also the thought line of the present government and would pursue the task of industrialising Nigeria through the exploitation of the nation’s vast mineral resources which have long been neglected.
The CBN governor told the beneficiaries that the youth entrepreneurs were part of the CBN programme of creating one million jobs in the next four years, adding that; “Youth entrepreneurs have been hindered in the past by lack of capacity and access to funding.
“It is thus a matter of urgency to roll out the YEDP. Our youths are full of ideas and we want to empower them to make the dreams realities. “We want to nurture your dreams, not only to be entrepreneurs but also to become employers of labour.
“We want to raise many Dangotes from among our youth entrepreneurs. We want our youths to build conglomerates and giant companies that can employ millions of Nigerians and produce goods for not only local consumption but also for export.”
It would be recalled that the business mogul had indicated that his new $12 billion three-in-one project, the refinery, petrochemical and fertilizer plants currently under construction would create a minimum of 235,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect jobs, as it becomes operational in the first quarter of 2019.
Dangote said the refinery would have a capacity to refine 650,000 barrels a day, while assuring that there will be market for the refined products because even in Africa, as only three countries have effective functioning refinery with others importing from abroad.
He disclosed further that the Petrochemical Plant will produce 750,000 metric tonnes per year, MTPY, of Polypropylene, while the Fertiliser Plant will produce 2.8 million metric tonnes per annum, mmtpa, of Urea and Ammonia
Dangote said gas from the Gas Pipeline Project can supply fuel to Central Power Plants to generate electricity for households and Nigeria will save over $7.5billion for Nigeria annually, through import substitution.
