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Proffering solutions to the challenges facing entrepreneurship in Nigeria and creating a better entrepreneurial society, Kano State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Honourable Nura Muhammed Dankadai, has called for determination of the people and government to change the narrative.
As part of efforts towards economic recovery and emancipation of the Nigerian economy, he said entrepreneurship education remains the solution. Dankadai said Nigeria is a country that is blessed with both human and material resources but it is bedevilled with economic problems.
To him, the business environment in Nigeria is more receptive to new entrepreneurs, calling on youths to take advantage of it to acquire new skills. Consequently, he noted that it is natural for any country or nation to go through these stages, adding that what the country needs is the political will to overcome the problems and solve them once and for all.
Hon Dankadai said the nation also needs to have the determination of the people and leadership to get out of the menace. The commissioner noted that challenges are inevitable as any nation can experience economic problems.
He said, “One cannot say that the challenges facing Nigeria are too bad but it needs an overhaul so as to fix it for citizens to live peacefully and comfortably. When we tackle the economic problems even the security problems naturally will go down. But we must come together and put all hands on deck. We must create job opportunities for our youths and train them to acquire skills for them to be professionally sound and to be self-reliant.”
On seeking white-collar jobs, he said it is a wrong to depend on white-collar jobs, urging people to also massively engage in learning skills even while in school.
He continued: “I have been telling my political followers to go back to school and acquire the necessary skills, confidence, and technical know-how to bring about positive change in the country.
“But when you are depending on someone to take your responsibility then you don’t have a say. This is one of the problems we are facing today as politicians in this country. People do not acquire skills and want to depend on others to be giving them money daily.
“When you depend on someone to give you money then you must also wait for them to decide your life. You need to be independent and when you want to do that you have to stand on your two feet.”
He urged Nigerians to be independent, adding that the youths must rise and be more productive in their respective fields of endeavour.
Asking the youth to seek partnership when necessary, Dankadai said, “Young Nigerians should seek partnership and join hands together and do business as partners in progress in order to help the economy.
“It behooves parents not only to take their children to school to read, but also acquire skills in fields like agriculture, craft making, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, among others.”
On the empowerment programme of the federal government, he said instead of giving the youths N5,000 or N30,000 for a year, they should be trained by consultants and given one-off start-up capitals.
Culled from LEADERSHIP
