At least, 215 unemployment youth across the 11 local government areas that make up Oyo Central Senatorial District in Ibadan, Oyo, and Ogbomoso, are undergoing a three-day intensive training for them to become successful entrepreneurs.
The training, which was facilitated by Dr. Yunus Akintunde, the Senator, representing Oyo Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, is taken place simultaneously at Jesus the Rock College, Olorunsogo/Akanran Road, Jegede Bus-Stop, Ibadan; Opete Community Hall, Opete, Ogbomoso; and IPMAN Event Centre, Akinmorin Road, Oyo.
A total of 121 beneficiaries are undergoing training in Ibadan Centre, while 69 and 25 youth are also receiving the training in Oyo and Ogbomoso Centres respectively. The 3-day training, which commenced on Monday, ended on Wednesday with empowerment packages for all the participants.
The beneficiaries of the training were a mixed of graduates and non-graduates. They were taken through the concept of entrepreneurship development in Nigeria; financial management and funding opportunity for small business enterprises; as well as starting and managing a small business.
The topics for the training also include basic sales, marketing techniques and business strategies for small business; the legal aspect of entrepreneurship in Nigeria; how to become successful entrepreneur; and importance of entrepreneurship development in our generation.
Oyo Central comprises 11 local government areas, with five in Ibadan zone, four in Oyo zone and two in Ogbomoso zone. The four local government areas in Ibadan are Akinyele, Lagelu, Egbeda, Ona Ara, and Oluyole. In Oyo zone, they are Afijio, Atiba, Oyo East, and Oyo West. The two councils that fall under Oyo Central in Ogbomoso zone are Surulere and Ogo-Oluwa.
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Alhaji Yinka Folarin, described the training as first in the series of the programme. He added that fashion designers were the focus of the first training programme.
Folarin, who represented Akintunde at the official opening of the training in Ibadan, said: "Senator Yunus Akintunde asked me to greet you. He said with the way the society is going, entrepreneurship education must not be taken with levity. It is not everyone that attended higher institutions that will get white-Collar jobs. So, we have to look in the direction of gainful employment.
"In Oyo State for instance, the civil servants in the state are not up to 50,000. If you know the number of graduates our tertiary institutions are producing every year, you will know the state and federal government cannot absorb everyone. Also, private organisations cannot employ everyone.
"This training, however, is a way out of mismanagement of businesses. It will help to instill the right mindset for good business practices. The programme was designed by the Federal Cooperative College. It is solid. Senator Yunus Akintude has done well."
In his address, the Chairman of APC in Oyo Central Senatorial District, Dr. Joshua Oyebamiji, also said: "This is a programme that is being facilitated by a serving senator, Dr. Yunus Akintunde. The programme that we are doing in Ibadan, is at the same holding in Oyo. It is equally going on in Ogbomoso, where we have Suruere and Ogo Oluwa Local Government Areas as part of Oyo Central.
The programme encompasses training and empowerment. It is facilitated by
Senator Yunus Akintunde.
"This type of training is very important for our entrepreneurs and unemployed youth. It is not enough to learn a trade. It is equally important for our people to learn management aspect of the trade. This will help them to do well, manage their customers and finances, establish best practices, and ensure that they take calculated risks."
The trainer, Mrs. Christiana Ojo, who is one of the Heads of Departments in the Federal Cooperatives College, Ibadan, took the beneficiaries in Ibadan Centre, through series of lectures on how to become a successful entrepreneurs. The same training manual outline was used at the Oyo and Ogbomoso Centres as well.
"Entrepreneurs recognise opportunities, where they are and they utilise them by producing products or services that will fill the vacuum identified," Ojo stated.
Two among the beneficiaries, Mr. Abdulwaheed Olalekan, and Miss Bolanle Ambali, commended Senator Akintunde for facilitating the training,
Olalekan said: "I am a fashion designer and I have been a tailor since the past 12 years. I am happy about this training. It is not just that we are being trained on how to sew clothes. We are all professionals. But there are aspects of fashion designing that many of us have been taking for granted. We don't separate capital from profits. We do put everything together, and spend.
"But this training has provided opportunity for me to know about customer care, creating and maintaining quality always, the right prices to be charged. The good management aspect of tailoring is generally what I have learnt. It will keep me going for a long time. So, I thank Senator Yunus Akintunde for giving me the opportunity. I believe that this is a good training that will help to stabilise our businesses."
Also in the words of Miss Ambali, "I must say that I am very happy to be part of this training. I am a graduate of Economics from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, in Ogun State. I served Nigeria through National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos. I had to learn fashion designing after my service year, when I could not secure any white collar job. I have been into full time in fashion designing for the past two years, and it has been a good experience for me.
"So, I thank Senator Akintunde. With this training, he has helped Nigerian youth to hone their entrepreneurial skills and he has helped to reduce unemployment in the country. I want to plead with him that he should keep up the good job. I want to also advise his colleague lawmakers to also empower Nigerian youth the more."