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Chinwendu Obienyi
There are at least one or more than one billion people in Africa, and 60 per cent of them are under 35 years old, indicating that the bulk of the continent’s population is composed of young people.
It is believed that about 25 to 45 per cent of African youths are currently unemployed and this is attributed to lack of institutions to impact them with values, knowledge and training. Taking a look at Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, unemployment has assumed a rather worrisome situation in recent times.
Nigeria, currently ranked 14th among 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, saw a growth of 1.94 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, easing from an upwardly revised 2.10 per cent expansion in the prior period.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report for the month of September, stability in oil output as well as the successful political transition was the main drivers to growth. This is not a bad omen as it is in line with analysts’ projection of 2.5 percent for 2019.
This, indeed, presses home the point that the country is dependent on stable oil prices, exchange rate stability, commodities as well as imports. However, economists have continued to point out that Nigeria’s infrastructure is still at its lowest ebb despite being older than other African countries since it gained independence. A study conducted by Mckinsey on Nigeria’s infrastructure requirement threw up the need for the investment of well over $31 billion annually, over a 10-year period for the country to bridge her huge infrastructure deficit.
Given the huge amount required, therefore, it is near impossible to expect government to foot the entire bill, neither will traditional project finance models essentially leveraging medium to long term funds from banks and development finance institutions do much, given the huge funds required for infrastructure projects and the needs that the DFIs contend with on the African continent.
To address this, many notable economists and financial experts have pointed to youth empowerment and entrepreneurship as Nigeria’s best option for wealth creation and economic growth.
Yes, there have been countless youth empowerment projects rolled out but none has yet made a huge impact than the Fidelity Bank Plc’s initiative dubbed “Fidelity Youth Empowerment Academy (YEA)”.
This empowerment programme, which is part of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, is primarily targeted at creating a new breed of entrepreneurs among Nigerian youths, designed strategically to drive awareness as well as empower undergraduates with requisite entrepreneurial skills that will not only help them establish sustainable businesses but also eventually turn them into huge employers of labour.
Now in its sixth edition, Fidelity Bank Plc, in partnership with Gazelle Academy and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka recently concluded an entrepreneurship training programme for over 200 students in Anambra State.
Organised under the Fidelity Youth Empowerment Academy (YEA 6), the training programme was aimed at empowering Nigerian undergraduates with vocational skills and enterprise training relevant for self-reliance.
Making the call at the opening ceremony of the programme, the wife of the Anambra State governor and Founder, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE), Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano, urged the participants to take the training seriously, stressing that they are being empowered to impact their lives now and in the future. Obiano urged the participants not to sell or mismanage the starter-packs to be given to them but to put them to good use and change their lives.
She said, “You can make money from the skills and knowledge received here even while still in school and when you graduate, we expect you to be employers of labour as opposed to searching for paid jobs,” she said.
Commending Fidelity Bank and Gazelle Academy for the initiative and for partnering with her organisation to touch lives, the first lady, thereafter, called on other corporates to emulate the gesture, saying that the best investment any organisation could make was to invest in the youths and the less privileged in the society.
While explaining the rationale behind the Bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the Fidelity Bank remains determined in its efforts to advance the cause and wellbeing of communities where it does business.
He noted that the bank takes great pride in its modest accomplishments of entrenching the culture of true and responsible citizenship among its staff.
“It is this passion for our country and our people that has motivated this Staff driven initiative, which we fondly call the FHHP”.
Alluding to the fundamental role of government in fixing the myriads of problems facing every community, the Bank Chief said that government alone cannot solve the problems of mankind especially now that it is faced with daunting economic challenges.
He called on the organised private sector to lend their support to government, particularly as it relates to the provision of basic infrastructure and social amenities.
Okonkwo further disclosed that Fidelity Bank has channeled significant human and financial resources towards improving the lives and property of its host communities. “Taking responsibility is the only way that lives can be enriched in Nigeria today; and if every citizen, be they Corporate or Individual, can play their part, our nation will truly rise above its current challenges.”
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Charles Okechukwu Esimone described the programme as an excellent initiative that is in consonance with the aspiration of the institution in training students with entrepreneurial skills. “We have two worlds, the world of financial abundance and the world of scarcity, entrepreneurs are shakers the world with their finance. At Nnamdi Azikiwe University, we train students to shake the world,” he noted.
