Ribina community in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State is to build Skill Acquisition Center and Empowerment Programme to encourage entrepreneurship among women and youths in the area.
It will also provide a platform for youths and women empowerment and self reliance.
The center when completed will have a computer training lab, sewing, knitting, welding, carpentry and all other training carried out by the National Directorate for Employment (NDE).
The chairman of the Ribina Youths Women and Cultural Organisation Alhaji Musa Umar Ribina stated this in Ribina during the annual cultural day and funds raising for the construction of the skill acquisition center of the community.
He said the project was initiated between the association and the NDE to train and empower women and youth, so as to reduce poverty, insecurity and to help them to become self reliant.
Musa said “Societal challenges like poverty and illiteracy can be mitigated through such trainings and empowerment schemes”.
He urged the community to redouble its effort in building the skill acquisition center to train their people as part of effort to boost their business with the little they got.
He said “To be skilful is to be creative, artistic and inventive. A skilful person is indeed a resourceful person. These are parts of the initiatives, that the association brings together for teeming youth and women to be self reliant and empowered.
“Through skill acquisition, individuals, communities, and countries can create a more prosperous future. Moreover, it is a more realistic solution to the perennial problem of unemployment”
The Chairman of the occasion Mr Sarki Kizuwa of ECWA church Jos, said government alone cannot provide job for all and appealed to the state government, and NGOs, wealthy individuals and corporate organizations to focus more on women and youth empowerment programmes.
Mr Sarki said “This appeal has become imperative considering the high rate of unemployment and poverty ravaging our region. This can be achieved through consistent and diligent implementation of government policies and programs, especially those policies that borders around poverty alleviation and empowerment”
Guest speaker at the occasion and Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi Architect Sanusi Waziri Gumau, represented by the Director Enterpreneurship of the Polytechnic Dr Aminu Abubakar, urged youths in Ribina to improve the quality of their products to meet modern market standard.
He said improved products will encourage investors to invest so that the entrepreneur and the government can get more money.
