DEVELOPMENT AT THE TARABA STATE YOUTH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT DATED 22ND-24TH JULY, 2016,
JOLLY NYAME STADIUM GYM HALL, JALINGO
PROTOCOL
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this historic occasion the first ever Taraba State Youth Entrepreneurship Summit with the theme: stimulating fan enabling and sustainable environment for entrepreneur in the state’’.
The summit which is organized by my office in collaboration with the Ministry of youth & sport Development with partners such as CBN, TBS, NDE, Advance manufacturing Technology of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology Jalingo Office, BOA, UBA, GTB, Fidelity,Stanbic Bank, Tarawa Microfinance Bank, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat is therefore expected to address issues of entrepreneur development, Alternative funding, growing SME’s in the State , opportunities in the agricultural and information technology sector. This all important summit has bring together stakeholder and over five hundred (500) youth age 18 and 35 to focus on key issues that directly affect youth development.
Permit me at this juncture to use this opportunity to re-iterate our commitment towards developing policies and programmes aimed at addressing the problems of youth who were not recorded priority attention in the past. Also, in recognition of the fact that there is the need for up-to date data as a basis for decision making, my office in collaboration with the ministry of youth & sport has initiated a research in youth development issues with a view to producing the Taraba State Youth Development Index (YDI). The YDI will be used as a tool to measure progress made in youth development activities through the state.
This initiative becomes imperative in realization of the fact that assessing the impact of the Government Interventions and Investments made in Youth Development more often than not becomes difficult since youth-related-age disaggregated data are not always available.
Where these data exist, they are often part of a large compilation of other population groups, hence consigning youth-specific issues and trends to the back door. We will also collaborate with development partners and other related stakeholders to design various programmes on technical and vocational training, youth empowerment, drug abuse, conflicts resolution and peace building among others. This time around an action committee on youth Entrepreneurship will be launch after this summit and to be coordinated by my humbly office.
Let me inform you that there is a growing concern on youth issues globally. This important segment of the society constitutes over 65% of the total population in the States hence the need to invest heavily in them cannot be over- emphasized. You will also agree with me that the ultimate price paid for inadequate investment in youth can be enormous indeed.
For instance, when young people fell marginalized from Government activities, the tendency is for them resort to all sort of vices such as engagement in all forms of criminal activities drug abuse, prostitution, violence, kidnapping, political thuggery to mention just a few. In this connection, the cost of putting systems in place such as rehabilitation of prisons, addressing crises, overhauling of our security system etc. to deal with the emerging problems arising from inadequate investment in youth concerns can be very high indeed.
Therefore the need to invest heavily in the Youth and mainstream them across various sectors of the economy such as Health, Education, ICT, Agriculture, Housing, Sports, Culture, Industry and Justice etc. cannot be over-emphasized. Adopting a multi-sectorial approach to youth development will result in greater impact and multiplier effect through their empowerment and improved living standard. I therefore urge the relevant ministries, departments and agencies in both the State and Local Government Areas to make adequate provisions in their annual appropriations aimed at addressing the needs of our youth.
Young people are empowered when they acknowledge that they have or can create choices in life, are also aware of the implications of those choices, make decisions. Empowering young people also means creating and supporting the enabling conditions under which they can act on their own behalf, and on their terms, rather than at the direction of others.
These enabling condition fall the following broad categories: Sound Economic and Social based political will, adequate resource allocation, supportive legal and administrative frameworks, access to knowledge, information and skills, and a positive value system. It is our responsibility to provide these requirements if we are to harness the full potentials of our youth, a situation better achievable through youth participation in planning and implementation.
Finally, every past age looks anachronistic to a new age. The youth of every age has called its elders “old fashioned.” On this Leo & Walter Russell, said: “We look about us and see how very unenlightened people of yesterday and say they are old-fashioned people. Shall we forget that tomorrow is not far away when people shall look upon us as archaic people? What do we really think tomorrow will think of us? Can we really feel that we will be thought of as enlightened?” This is the reality of mutual mistrust and misunderstanding between youth and elders, in facts between and the society in general. Youth see society as its problem while society sees youth as troublesome, problematic, disruptive, difficult, undisciplined, uncooperative, and unruly.
What we have is a situation of reciprocated finger-pointing, indictment and blame. Little wonder, youth restiveness is on the increase. Youth are the heartbeat of any society, and any society that neglects its youth has no future. They are a resource to be developed and any person, organization or society that does not develop its resource will end up in slavery, they are not problem to be solved, but a resource to be developed. The youth of today must also understand that life has never been completely easy for any people in any generation. Every generation had contended with some difficulties.
Yet some people worked hard to overcome those difficulties and proceeded to excel, you too can do it. As a youth, you must understand that you were created by God for a positive purpose. Youth either live for that purpose according to these rules or die in regrets. You must understand that everything you are or will ever be, is up to you.
If you want your future to be different and better, you have to make better choices today. And whatever choice you make, there are consequences which you must answer to. The world will not stand still because you have an issue that must be attended to.
Other people also have important issues requiring urgent attention. Be patient with yourself and the system, you must understand that in the journey of life, someone somewhere will use you before you can become useful, submit and learn.
You must know that there is no free lunch anywhere, aim to pay for your own lunch. The world does not owe you anything except free air. Strive to make your world become indebted to you.
Stop complaining about is not working and begin to work to make things work when the chips are down, you are on your own start to take responsibility. Understanding is the key to contentment and contentment is something else.
God bless Taraba State
God bless Nigeria
Thank you
