‘Youth Empowerment, Potent Weapon against Insecurity’

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

A Member of the House of Representatives from Oyo State, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, has described human capital development as the best weapon for Nigeria to overcome the challenges of kidnappings, killings and banditry. 

Akande-Sadipe, who is representing Oluyole Federal Constituency of Oyo State, harped on the need for governments at all levels  to embark on aggressive empowerment of the country’s youths in the areas of skills, entrepreneurial and knowledge acquisition to wean them of criminal tendencies.

The federal parliamentarian said this in Ado Ekiti yesterday where she pointed out that this need spurred her to empower150 members of her constituents to bail them out of poverty.

“I presented cash gifts to 350 constituents, alongside various entrepreneurial tools, such as sewing machines, grinding machines and deep freezers,” she said.

According to her, no nation could witness radical development in its socio-economic lives, when its productive population are neglected and made to rot in joblessness.

Akande-Sadipe said: “I am of candid belief that the empowered constituent is an individual, who has acquired knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to success and financial freedom.

“Nigeria is today bugged down by the menace of insecurity because of increasing youth unemployment and which we should all show concerns. That is why I am midwifing this kind of programme to build the human capital resources of this federal constituency.”

In a lecture titled: “20 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Fails to Count His First Millions,” a scholar, Dr. Oke Aruleba, warned the trainees to guard against financial indiscipline in order to be able to succeed in their small and medium scale businesses.

He told them that “inability to earn customers’ trust via loyalty and ability to delight them, financial indiscipline as well as lack of essential skills and strategies for wealth creation and management” are among the reasons for failure in business.

The scholar charged the participants to make good use of the opportunity provided for them by the lawmaker.