Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government had launched a Data Capture Portal under the State Ministry for Information and Communication Technology to bolster employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths across the State.
The portal was launched to enable the people of the State especially youths to benefit from the various interventions from the Federal Government and other organisations in the country.
Speaking during the event, the State ICT Commissioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammdu Magoro, said that the invaluable gesture was part of the unwavering commitment of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, to ensure the development of the people in all sectors.
According to him, the portal was launched, in order to collate accurate data of all unemployed, educated, uneducated youths in the State and that registration is free of charge.
He said: ‘The State Government was poised to having a robust and efficient database of all the unemployed youths in the State, hence, allow for better planning. The data will be captured so that, when the opportunities abound, more qualified youths from such interventions from the Federal Government and other Development Partners.
In his remark, Emir of Gwandu and Chairman of Council of Chiefs and traditional rulers in Kebbi State, Alhaji Muhammad Illiyasu Bashar charged youths to make use of agriculture opportunities to develop themselves and making quick profits.
The monarch noted that, if they can’t take up farming, they can become buyers and sellers of farm produce such as rice, parboiling it and reselling to the general public for immediate turns over.
The monarch, who was represented by the Waziri Gwandu, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar noted that many youths Corp members posted to Kebbi State for NYSC are making profits from buying local bags of rice, parboiling it and sending them to their various states for sales.
‘If somebody could come here do something like this, what about us indigenes of this State? With all these agriculture programmes that are springing up, there are so many opportunities to grabbed and so much to be done.
‘God has blessed us with water, fertile land to make our crops to germinate. If you can’t go to the farm, you can start engaging in buying and selling and making profits.’
The traditional ruler who commended Kebbi State Government for introduction of data capturing noted that it will enable the State Government to properly plan for the youths and their future.
‘I must say here that the society that does not develop its youths is a dead society. We must ensure that the youths are mobilised and we should show them the way and the youths too must wake up and utilise the opportunities they have.’
In his remark, the Kebbi State Chairman of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Alhaji Nura Bello, noted that the data capturing portal will enable the State Government to have proper planning for all citizens and entrepreneurs in the State.
He added that the Federal Government has provided N75 billion facilities for youths to grabs, as well as N30,000 survivals payment to cushion the effects of COVID-19 stressed that many people in the State have benefitted from the surviving payments.