BY MAIRIGA Juliana, Minna
Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger state, Engineer Mohammed Jibrin Imam has said his greatest worry is that youths in Niger state are not willing to engage in profitable ventures yet always in a hurry to get to the tops.
“Many youths, particularly in the ruling APC are not interested in profitable ventures but eager to get to the tops, the party chairman pointed out as he recalled how he had secured spaces for a good number of them from the various windows of opportunities by the federal and state government’s job creation which they ‘sold out’.
“I enrolled many of them into various entrepreneurial schemes but to my greatest surprise only very few of them showed enough interest and commitments, others sold their slots and preferred to go about begging”, Mohammed said.
Speaking in an interview after he received an Award from Igbo youths in Niger state on behalf of Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello, the APC chairman said the quest by youths to get to the tops without knowledge of the basics and not willing to engage in useful venture is a bad precedence by the youths priding themselves as leaders of tomorrow.
Though few have shown readiness to learn the ropes from the scratch aiming to the tops but majority, Mohammed said he is particularly disturbed that most of the APC supporters are not ready to take advantage of the various windows of opportunities the federal and state government offered to become self-reliance.
Only few accepted the offer and are doing well in various fields of endeavours, but majority of them sold their slots instead of taking advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities by the federal and state to become enterprising like their peers in southern Nigeria.
“I brought 50 forms but as I am speaking only about five or less than ten of them completed the forms and have shown enough commitments to be engaged in any form of enterprise, others sold their slots and prefer to go about begging”, he lamented.
Mohammed said it was wrong for anybody to insinuate that the government has not provided jobs for the teeming youths that worked for the success of the party, adding that, “Many of them were enrolled into various job creation schemes but they sold their slots and collected the money and prefer to continue to go about begging”.
Meanwhile, the APC chairman has challenged youths in Niger state to emulate their peers from the southern parts of the country, especially that of Igbo extractions to being more resourceful and enterprising without which their aiming to the tops will remain a mirage.
On their request for an all-inclusive government and equal opportunities for all citizens, Engineer Mohammed assured the Igbo youths that he would communicate their request to the Governor, expressing optimisms that, ‘the governor will do something about it’.
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