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Complement your positive engagements to create meaningful environment for Youth- Olawande urged Stakeholders

Published

2 years ago

November 22, 2024

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, has urged various stakeholders in Youth development to complement their positive engagements to create meaningful environment so that young people of this country can thrive.

The Minister made this appeal when he received the team of World bank officials led by their team leader Masheshwor Shrestha, World bank economist in his office in Abuja.

In the words of the Minister: “when you are engaged positively, you have a feeling that the government exists and what the president is doing. We can complement this to create a meaningful environment so that young people of this country can thrive”.

According to the Honourable Minister, since the inception in 2007, the Ministry has been saddled with the development of more than half of Nigeria’s population.He explained that the current reality shows that 60 million youths are in the labour market and additional 5.5 million youths join the labour market every year and almost 58 percent of informal workforce are young people while the majority of these informal youths are found in rural areas and semi-urban areas being vulnerable and at risk. These data, he opined, will go a long way in the development of Nigeria if harnessed effectively.

Olawande expressed his dissatisfaction in the deficiency of skills for job market, relevant vocational training, lack of access to capital and funds safety, infrastructural deficit.He thereby implored various stakeholders to build on the existing collaboration with the world bank to address all these challenges to better the lives of Nigerian youths.

“Since we assumed office, our focus has been to achieve a strong coordinated mechanism for all youth interventions, focus on economic inclusion, provide jobs directly and indirectly for at least 10 million youth within the next five years, ensuring that youth is proficient in at least two income generating skills, expand our credit support funds by 50 million dollars to reach young people businesses and to increase Nigeria’s Youth -focused infrastructure” the Minister stressed.

In his presentation, the World bank economist and the leader of the team, Masheshwor Shrestha disclosed that his organisation is ready to engage Nigerian youths on three pathways . According to him, the first of these three pillars of engagement is to give them the skills and match them to a job that they are suited for.

The second is to facilitate, manage migration opportunities which would probably not give the jobs to everybody but it will relieve the stress on the economy, particularly, when there are no enough domestic jobs.

The third pillar,he added ,is the fallback employment and there could be safety net type support, like public works where they get some income but at the same time, use that as a platform to link them to more skilling entrepreneurship, and other opportunities that are out there.

“One of the key assets of this Ministry is the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC )program and because of the number of Youth NYSC touches every single year and throughout the year, it is a platform that is unequal to the rest. The idea here is to use it to leverage that platform”. Shrestha stated.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Olubunmi Olusanya stated that the Ministry will do everything possible to build on the existing collaboration with the World bank for a more robust opportunities for the youth of this country to thrive.

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Eagle Times Newspaper Will Be Voice for Nigerians – Publisher Chukwunyere Vows

Published

1 day ago

October 2, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Publisher of The Eagle Times Nigeria, Sir Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, has pledged that the newspaper will promote accountability, credible journalism and public-interest reporting in its coverage of national affairs.
Chukwunyere made the commitment on Thursday, October 1, 2026, during the official unveiling and launch of The Eagle Times Nigeria.

He said the new media organisation was established not merely to add another newspaper to Nigeria’s media landscape, but to provide a platform committed to serving the public interest.

According to him, the newspaper’s guiding philosophy, “The Voice for the People, The Watchdog for the Nation,” places a responsibility on the organisation to listen to Nigerians, tell their stories, highlight issues affecting their daily lives and scrutinise those entrusted with public responsibilities.

“To be a voice for the people means that we must listen to Nigerians, tell their stories, highlight their concerns and give visibility to issues that affect their daily lives,” he said.

The publisher added that The Eagle Times would be guided by accuracy, fairness, professionalism, credibility and responsible journalism, stressing that the newspaper would not publish stories merely because they were sensational.

“We will verify. We will investigate. We will seek the other side. We will correct our mistakes when we make them,” he said.

Chukwunyere further stated that the newspaper would endeavour to give individuals and organisations the opportunity to respond whenever allegations were made against them.
“Our commitment is not to any political party, government or individual. Our primary commitment is to journalism, to truth and to the Nigerian public,” he said.

He noted that the newspaper was launching at a time when the media industry was undergoing rapid transformation, with audiences increasingly consuming news through digital platforms, including websites, television, podcasts and social media.

He said The Eagle Times would therefore operate as a multimedia organisation, combining its newspaper with digital platforms and The Eagle Times TV to reach audiences across different channels.

According to him, the organisation also intends to create opportunities for young journalists, writers, photographers, producers, digital creators and other media professionals to develop their skills and contribute to journalism and national development.

Chukwunyere said the newspaper’s coverage would include politics, governance, business, economy, security, judiciary, education, health, technology, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and international affairs.

He, however, said the organisation intended to distinguish itself not only by the subjects it covered but by the quality and approach of its journalism.

We want to tell stories that matter, we want to investigate issues that require investigation, we want to highlight Nigerians who are making a difference, and we want to give communities that are often ignored an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

The publisher acknowledged the challenges involved in establishing a newspaper, saying the venture required investment, commitment, professional discipline and the courage to pursue an idea.

He expressed appreciation to the management, editorial, reporting, production and digital teams, as well as families, friends, partners and supporters who contributed to the establishment of the organisation.

Chukwunyere also assured readers, viewers and the newspaper’s digital audience that The Eagle Times would strive to earn their trust and remain accountable to the standards it had set for itself.

He said the newspaper’s success would not be measured only by circulation figures, website traffic or social media followers, but also by the confidence Nigerians placed in its journalism.

“Today, we spread our wings. Today, The Eagle Times takes flight,” he said, reaffirming the newspaper’s commitment to its slogan: “The Voice for the People, The Watchdog for the Nation.”

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