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Sustainable Youth Engagement, Leads To Economic Growth-Minister

Published

5 years ago

February 3, 2020

Joel Ajayi

When youths are positively engaged with sustainable economic activities, this will not only ensure socio-economic progress, promotion of National cohesion, peace, and stability but there will be a huge reduction in incidences of crime and juvenile delinquency which are factors inimical to national developmental efforts – strategic positive youth engagement where attributes such as their energy, creativity, adaptability which are beneficial factors that have contributed to the growth and development of Nations globally will be sure avenues for Nigeria’s National development in no distant future.

These were the submission of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare at the closing ceremony of Youth Empowerment Program on Capacity building and Scale-up on Sustainable Livelihood programme in Tailoring and Fashion Design for unemployed youth at the National Youth Development Center Ode-Omu, Osun state. He said the potential of youths if harnessed can transform development efforts positively.

Speaking further, Mr. Dare said to achieve President’s Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to lift 100 million out of poverty in 10 years, the Ministry with its initiative of Youth Empowerment program which has been in operation since 2007 is increasing the number of trained youths annually.

In 2018, 84 youths across the Nation with FCT were trained, also in 2019, another set of 140 participants from the 36 states and the FCT have successfully completed the three weeks training with assisted start-up grants. Among the Youth Centers used for these skill acquisition are the National Youth Development Center, Shere Hills, Jos, Plateau state, Owode-Egba in Ogun State, Batagarawa in Katrina state and Ode-Omu in Osun state where the capacity of youths are being built in diversified Vocational and Agro-Allied Skills for sustainable livelihood for job and wealth creation.

The potential of entrepreneurship to mitigate the problem of youth unemployment cannot be overemphasized, as entrepreneurship is one of the viable solutions to job creation and poverty alleviation. The Minister commended the program where youths are being trained and equipped on entrepreneurship as a viable alternative means of employment and also being well-skilled on the rudiments of how to start and manage their own businesses.

He encouraged the participants to use the opportunity with responsibility and good conduct, bearing in mind always the goal of the programme, which is to empower not only themselves but also other youths in their communities, more so for the social-economic development of Nigeria. He reminded them that officials of the Ministry will monitor their progress periodically to guide and ensure compliance in line with the objectives of the programme.

In her vote of thanks, a female participant from Rivers state, Barrister Okirigwe Megan appreciated the FG and the Ministry, she, however, appealed for an increased number of Youth participation with a more enhanced start-up grant.

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RMRDC: Making Giant Strides Under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

As we embark on a journey, we always pray for an able, experienced, and courageous driver, pilot, or sailor depending on the means of transportation.

This is because the captain will have enough experience and boldness to navigate out of turbulence and to bring all the passengers and crew to the intended destination.

Interestingly, these fine qualities of ability, experience, boldness, and many more, abound in the man, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, who we all are pleased was appointed the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, the Director General/CEO by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few months ago. This is because he has brought his knowledge, ability, experience, and doggedness to bear in carrying out his assignment in charge of the Council.

The RMRDC, operating under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, is pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth by optimizing local raw materials exploitation, development, and utilization. RMRDC, ab initio, was conceived as a child of necessity when Nigeria was reeling from the throes of global recession and plummeting crude oil prices.

Without an iota of doubt, today, the council is experiencing a transformation with massive innovation in raw material exploitation, development, and utilization, supporting business and industrial growth, and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office, he said the council is laying a solid foundation through numerous innovations that will further enhance growth in the country.

According to him, “In the past 100 days, my strategic pursuits have been to lay solid foundations for enduring success in these goals.

“Upon assuming this position, I set five crucial deliverables which include, refocusing the Council as a premier research institution; Strengthening the Council’s productivity and operational efficiency; and Significantly improving the staff welfare to be the best in the class of similar organizations.

“Others include, Boosting the Council’s visibility and instituting remarkable culture change that encourages ownership and productivity as well as Strengthening and deepening the Council’s place in the international arena.”While speaking on his Achievements so far, the DG revealed further: “My first task, therefore, was to implement a strategic goal-setting for the Council’s staff to define and set out clear objectives and targets to be achieved by the Council within a specified period towards refocusing on this historical mandate. We unleashed five significant initiatives in that regard.

“The nationwide raw material data collection exercise that focused on technical and investment information to drive our mission forward.

“The restructuring and renaming of the former Technology Innovation Complex (TIC), at the Obasanjo Space Center at Airport Road, Abuja, to a Research and Demonstration Plants Complex (RDPC). This complex will be Africa’s first center of excellence in raw material research, featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, technology development workshops, and proof of concept demonstrations.

“We have reactivated the Council’s Journal and repositioned it internationally. The repositioned Journal of Raw Material Research (JORMAR) will host RMRDC’s researchers’ publications, which are crucial in promoting awareness, facilitating knowledge sharing, and informing stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in Nigeria’s raw materials sector. “The collaboration with universities and academies will strengthen our capacity for conducting market-guided research, ensuring sustained workforce training while deepening our orientation in science.

“The council has reformulated a new template for all our research proposals to ensure and sustain a clear departure from the old culture of blue-sky and deliberately endless research.”Speaking further, Prof Nwanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso stated that Staff welfare remains a top priority as an issue of unpaid salaries is settled as well as set up a comprehensive welfare program. “Similarly, we established the RMRDC Training School to sustainably build our staff and stakeholders’ capacity to further the staff welfare improvement goal.

“We are committed to openness, inclusiveness, and performance management and have initiated steps to continuously improve staff ownership, orchestrate transformative culture change, boost our corporate visibility, and enhance.

“To further strengthen our visibility and communication strategies, we are upgrading our media infrastructure, which includes the launch of the RMRDC online media platform, The RMRDC TV Online.

“Additionally, we are working hard to effectively enhance the intellectual property and patent portfolio of RMRDC from its current 40 to approximately 200 new patents within the next 24 months. This proactive approach secures valuable IP assets and positions the Council as a leader in innovation within the raw materials sector, contributing to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.“As well as launching an e-registration and certification portal to enhance transparency in the raw materials sector,” DG revealed.

He however reaffirmed his commitment to reshape the future of research, technology, and innovation, driving Nigeria towards an industrially vibrant and technologically resilient economy.

“As I mark 100 days in office, I boldly say that the Council is on the verge of rewriting its history.

“I believe that in no distant future, RMRDC will play a leading role in enhancing raw materials’ development to boost raw materials’ industrial trial processing and attain sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

The DG, however, applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for his unwavering support and mentorship, saying the Minister’s leadership has been instrumental in the progress made so far.

In his opening remarks, the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Mr Chucks Ngaha commended the hard-working DG who has weathered the storm further to put the Council on the ladder of more prosperity.

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