UNFPA Encourages Bauchi Govt to Empower Youths Through Education, Entrepreneur Skills Acquisition 

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi 

In commemoration of the International Youth Day, the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) has urged the Bauchi State government to deliberately invest inclusively in youths and young persons by empowering them through education and entrepreneur skills acquisition in order to harness their potentials towards an overall socio economic development of the state. 

The organisation also stressed on the role of digitalization in the lives of youths, saying that this will enhance their empowerment initiatives which is essential for the development of the Nation.

The Bauchi State Coordinator of UNFP, Deborah Taraba, stated this yesterday at a one day Sensitisation and Entrepreneurship Acquisition Training for adolescence and young persons with theme ‘From Clocks to Progress:Youth Digital Pathway for Sustainable Development’ organised by the Bauchi State Government through the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) held at the Mac Dallas event center in Bauchi.

She said that young people have the power to make physical and digital world more just, equal, peaceful and safe, stressing that 

a young generation born into a digital world are adept at harnessing the vast opportunity that technology offers to build a more inclusive present and future.

According to her, “Young people have boundless potential to inspire and change our communities, state and the national as a whole, as they are vibrant and full of ideas.

“On this International Youth Day, we celebrate the resilience, strength, and progress young people are making towards driving change in their communities and beyond. Their journey is one of overcoming obstacles and asserting their rights.

“We commend the office of the Bauchi state Sustainable Development Goals for organising this event as part of the governments effort to empowering young people through education and entrepreneur skills acquisition, highlighting the significant strides being made to harness young people potentials”

“UNFPA’s mandate is grounded in the International Conference on Population and Development and its Programme of Action, which calls for addressing the interrelationships between population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, as well as poverty, hunger, health, education and

gender equality in policies and programmes, which are without doubt some of the most important of all the United Nations SDGs.

“In the spirit of partnership and cooperation, UNFPA is committed to working closely with Bauchi state government to achieve its development outcomes for the growing population of young people, who constitute more that 35 per cent of the 8,780684 population (2024 UNFPA population projection) in the state”

“It is important to put the right investment to harnessing their potential towards an overall socio economic development of the state. As no state can achieve sustainable development without understanding the needs and deliberately investing inclusively in the youths and young persons living in our communities today including persons with disability to ensure than no one is left behind,” she said.

Also Speaking at the event, the State Commissioner of Budget, Economic Planning, and Multilateral Coordination, Aminu Hammayo, disclosed that the state government has will soon  establish an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub to engage the state’s youth in ventures that promote growth and development.

He stated that Governor Bala Mohammed has approved the appointment of 27-year-old Ibrahim Tijjani to head the ICT unit of the state, adding that the government believes in the ability of the youth to participate actively in governance, which is why it has included many young people in its cabinet, making it a youth-driven administration.

Earlier, the Direction General of  Bauchi State SDGs office, Lydia Shehu, said that the meeting was organized to celebrate the 2024 International Youth Day and raise awareness among the youth in the state.

Lydia Shehu, who highlighted the objectives of the SDGs, urged the participating youth to take the training seriously and fully understand the various presentations for their growth and development.