Samuel Bello, Abuja
Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies, Aliko Dangote, has expressed concerns over the rising unemployment among youths and the insecurity challenges ravaging the country.
Speaking in Abuja after meeting with delegates of NTA StarTimes Naija Farmers Reality TV show led by its CEO, Dr. Chigbo Okoli, Dangote said Nigeria could continue to witness insecurity challenges if the problem of unemployment was not tackled headlong.
Dangote, represented by Executive Director, Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communications of the company, Mansur Ahmed, however, assured that he would not relent in the effort to reduce unemployment to the barest minimum.
“We are in the crisis today, unemployment is massive and obviously, the consequential poverty in Nigeria is such that if we don’t take some very measures and steps to change the direction of things, we will all be in serious trouble. Let me say clearly that this team and Dangote Group are committed to working with other stakeholders to help lift and increase number of Nigerians that are currently below the poverty line and create conducive environment for young people to be more meaningfully engaged in productive economic activities, because that is the only way we can also address the twin problems of insecurity.
“We believe that insecurity is direct consequence for poverty. When there is poverty, there is likely to be insecurity. When there is insecurity, it tends to make poverty situation worse. So, we have to address this issue and I believe that all of us, at every level, have a role to play,” he said.
Ahmed said Dangote Group and the visiting delegation, who are from Federal Ministries of Labour and employment, Youths and sport, Women affairs, would jointly work on partnership template with a view to empowering targeted Nigerian populace.
“We will deliver this message to him (Dangote) and I have already told Dr. Okoli that we will sit down and discuss in details, the framework and define a template on how the Dangote Group/Foundation can participate and the role it will play because that is absolutely essential and where you are going at a start, otherwise you will be where you are expected to be,” he said.