As parts of efforts of harnessing entrepreneurship as a veritable tool for alleviating unemployment and drive national growth, the Catholic Brothers United (CBU), St. Agnes Parish, Maryland, Lagos held it’s 2023 annual lecture, which bordered on seeking innovative solutions and opportunities to strengthen the entrepreneurial landscape within the country. The event which was the 20th Annual Lecture/ 29th Anniversary of CBU, had as its theme, “Entrepreneurship drive: A tool for mitigating unemployment for national growth”, and saw a huge turnout of people from far and near, to seek knowledge on entrepreneurial strategies, job creation and economic development from a reputable panel of discussants.
Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, moderator on the occasion, disclosed that 50 million unemployed Nigerians, most of who are youths are actually not lazy, but that they are hardworking people. Fr. Ehusani said the youths need to be equipped to get into various businesses, and also be able to use their talents to solve problems in Nigeria and anywhere in the world. According to him, “We are now in a global village. So, a Nigerian can sit down in a Nigerian village and recognise that in the UK they have a particular problem, and he could come up with a solution for that problem. And that brings dollars in, and that makes our economy to grow. He said Nigerians need functional as well as vocational education that does not just prepare them for white collar jobs that are not there, but help them come up with ideas on how to solve problems. “That is how economies grow. And that is the kind of thing that this discussion is all about”, he said.
On Nigerian youths that ‘Japa’, he said well, a number of people can ‘Japa’, but let them prepare themselves and come back to help develop this country. Mr. Patrick Akinwutan, Chairman on the occasion, said the level of unemployment which is about 33 percent, and poverty level estimated at close to 60 percent, requires all to come together, to look inward and reignite the kind of entrepreneurship spirit that Nigeria has always had. He said parents need to put the right values in their children and pay attention to the skills the children have passion for. According to him, “Education is one thing, but what children are naturally endowed with will be different from the specific course of study in the university. “
There is nothing wrong in encouraging that child to develop that skill and ensure when they graduate with a first degree, the child has vocational skills, which he or she will be able to employ himself or herself. And the whole idea is to start small and grow. It’s not everyone who will come out from school and start driving a Lexus immediately. Mr. Kenechi Ndubisi, Vice President, CBU, representing Mr. Samson Awuapila, President, CBU, said the essence of the lecture is to sensitise the immediate environment and beyond on the need to channel efforts and resources towards entrepreneurship as a way to solving some of society’s problems, one of which is unemployment.
He said it is common to see someone approach others saying they don’t have money to eat or struggling to pay house rent because they do not have a job. “We have so many instances. We see many scenarios where things like this happen. So, we decided to have this programme to sensitise people towards unemployment and create solutions for this problem.” He urged young people to invest in their side hustle and create something that can feed them and create employment for others.
