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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
President of the Ugwumba Leadership Centre, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, has called on the Federal Government to partner with credible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to tackle youth unemployment and accelerate grassroots economic empowerment.
Speaking at the centre’s Skills Up empowerment programme in Abuja, Nwosu said the organisation has impacted more than 10,000 youths and over 5,000 women across Nigeria in nearly a decade through vocational training, mentorship and business start-up grants.
He disclosed that this year’s programme attracted over 8,000 applications, with 3,500 participants receiving intensive entrepreneurial training, while 500 outstanding beneficiaries were awarded seed capital to establish their businesses.
According to him, the centre’s empowerment model goes beyond skills acquisition by providing beneficiaries with the financial support needed to become self-reliant.
“We don’t just train people and leave them. We train them and give them seed money to start their businesses,” he said.
Nwosu explained that the Skills Up initiative was created to bridge the gap between academic qualifications and practical entrepreneurship.
“A certificate is only the first address; the second address is a skill,” he said.
He said participants were trained in wig making, food preservation, paint production, tailoring, mixology, cocktails and other income-generating vocations, adding that many products displayed during the exhibition were produced by beneficiaries from previous editions who now own thriving businesses.
The Ugwumba Leadership Centre president said the initiative has continued to enjoy the support of development partners, philanthropists and volunteers within and outside Nigeria, many of whom provide training and sponsor beneficiaries free of charge.
He urged the Federal Government to leverage the grassroots reach and experience of credible NGOs in delivering empowerment programmes.
“The time has come for the Federal Government to partner with NGOs that have direct access to communities. They can identify beneficiaries, empower them and provide feedback on the impact,” he said.
Advising beneficiaries, Nwosu warned them against diverting the grants to luxury or social spending.
“This money is business capital, not for clothes, jewellery or entertainment. Use it wisely to build your future,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address on ‘Innovation for Tomorrow:Entrepreneurial Education in the 21st Century,’ the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Uju Rochas-Anwuka, challenged young Nigerians to build practical solutions capable of transforming lives.
She praised the Ugwumba Leadership Centre for producing entrepreneurs through its intensive training model, saying she had witnessed participants establish viable businesses with little startups after trainings.
“I have seen what the Ugwumba Leadership Centre is doing, and it works. I have seen what young Nigerians can build with startups and two weeks of training,” she said.
Rochas-Anwuka urged participants to focus on developing proof of concept rather than waiting to build perfect businesses.
“I am not asking you to build a business today. Build something so real and undeniable that others cannot ignore it,” she said.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ugwumba Leadership Centre and the Emir of Dass, Usman Bilyaminu Othman, commended the initiative for empowering young Nigerians and promoting entrepreneurship.
He urged beneficiaries to embrace innovation, remain resilient and develop businesses capable of creating jobs and addressing societal challenges, while applauding the centre’s international partners and supporters for sustaining the programme.
Earlier, the Centre’s Director of Programmes, Blessing Chinyere Kala-Kala said the initiative was designed to equip young Africans with the skills, mentorship and resources needed to build sustainable businesses.
She described the graduation ceremony as the beginning of a new journey for a new generation of entrepreneurs and encouraged beneficiaries to make productive use of the grants to grow successful enterprises.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries,
Zulaika Kadijah Turay thanked the foundation for giving her the opportunity to discover herself and pledged to carefully make use of what she got.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (MBNCWD), Dr. Joan Jummai Idonije; the Acting Director of the Abuja Enterprise Agency, Dr. Chudi Ugwuada-Ezuruigwu; the Chairman of the Global Advisory Committee of the Ugwumba Centre for Leadership Development in Africa (UCLDA), Chris Foltz; and other stakeholders.
They commended the Ugwumba Leadership Centre for its sustained investment in youth and women empowerment and called for stronger collaboration among government, development partners and the private sector to create more opportunities for young Nigerians.
