Lawmaker Seeks Youth Empowerment as Way out of Insecurity, Unemployment

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

The member representing Enugu North and South federal constitution at the National Assembly, Chimaobi Atu, has called on leaders at all levels to invest in youth empowerment in order to tackle widespread insecurity and unemployment in the country.

Atu made the call yesterday in Enugu during the takeoff of the training and empowerment of 150 Senior Secondary School (SS3) students and fresh school leavers across his constituency.

The training, which will last for four days, between May 14 and 18, 2024, will empower participants with skills on the production and marketing of chemical products. 

In his address, Atu said the goal was to build young people in Enugu State who are economically self-reliant and socially responsible and who cannot contribute to the growth and development of the country.

He noted that part of the reasons why there is an increase in crime rate in Nigeria is because there are millions of people who do not have jobs and the only way to survive is to take to crime.

“Our future lies in human capital development and the development of our young people. Insecurity can only be a thing of the past if we come together to build their entrepreneurship skills so that they can be busy and also create jobs,” he said.

He urged the participants to take the training seriously, while also calling on the instructors to teach diligently.