3rd September, 2015
Mr Nobert Onaga, the National Coordinator, Golden Heart Foundation, an NGO, on Thursday said 22,000 youths had benefited from entrepreneurial skills as part of the NGO’s initiatives to reduce unemployment.
Onaga said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja ahead of the National Youth Summit scheduled for Sept. 24 to Sept. 26.
According to him, the youths have been trained on carpentry, bead making, dress making, soap making, fishery, hair dressing, cosmetics, perfume and soap making as well as phone repairs.
“More youths across the country through the foundation are now independent; many have left crime and prostitution.
“The NGO is committed to redirect the youth across the country to engage in meaningful jobs to earn their living,’’ he said.
According to him, the purpose of the summit is to redirect and energise the youth to embark on profitable ventures.
“This year’s summit will attract youths from other countries, we want to equip and train those that will play major roles in shaping new Nigeria and Africa,’’ Onaga said.
He said there was need to build a new generation of value driven and responsible leaders that would think towards excellence, integrity, vision and passion for common good.
Onaga said that this was part of efforts to contribute toward the development and eradication of poverty in the country.
“The future of Nigeria rests upon the youth. The government cannot do all. The youth should start to take their destiny in their hands and not wait for government jobs.
“Youths have potentials in various skills but they do not have the resources to promote the skills. This is why the foundation is there for them.
“The responsibility of changing Nigeria rests on the youth of this country. We want to see those that are gifted in different areas and help them to discover, develop and deploy the gifts,’’ he said.
Onaga said the focus of the forthcoming summit was aimed at personal development of the youth, modelling the right leadership path through mentorship to impact on different spheres of the economy.
“We believe in inculcating the spirit of patriotism, respect for moral and ethical values in Nigerian youths.
“Every Nigerian youth has what it takes to make a difference in the society as the power to change our society lies within our ability and readiness to engineer change,’’ he said.
The national coordinator said that there would be follow-up of post-summit training programmes for participants of the summit.
He said arrangements were being made for the training to reach the 36 states of the federation, especially for higher institutions, the National Youth Service Corps scheme and undergraduates.
Onaga appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, private companies and the Federal Government to support the foundation for the creation of value driven youths for the country.
NAN reports that the foundation was established in 2007 to address the vast potentials that young people represent for Nigeria and to provide practical vehicles for maximising their full potentials.