By Edith Nwapi
An entrepreneur, Mr Marcus Eberechi, says job creation remains the best security policy Nigeria can adopt to promote national development.
Eberechi, who is the founder of Eminent Emerging Entrepreneurs Foundation, said this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the 4th Annual National Dialogue on Decent Jobs Creation.
The entrepreneur, who is also the convener of the event, said the time for “patchwork” solutions had passed, stressing that the country needed to move from plans to concrete action.
The dialogue had the theme: “From Production to Prosperity: The Road to Inclusive and Decent Job Creation in Nigeria.”
Eberechi said Nigeria was not short of energy or potential but lacked direction and effective execution.
He said decent jobs could not be created through central government action alone, but required deliberate interventions at the grassroots.
“Those jobs will not be created by central command alone. They will be created where people live — in Zaria’s workshops, Aba’s markets, Makurdi’s farms and Yenagoa’s creeks.
“We must localise policy and liberate grassroots innovation. National frameworks must descend and become community action plans.
“Give states, local governments, traditional institutions and cooperatives the tools, data and funding to identify what their people can produce, and support them to produce it at scale,” he said.
He called for increased funding of business hubs, technical support and access to markets, saying such interventions could significantly expand employment opportunities.
Eberechi said when a welder in Kano received design support or a cassava processor in Benue gained access to packaging and cold-chain facilities, one job could become 10 and 10 could become 100.
He said addressing insecurity required creating opportunities for the people rather than relying solely on security measures.
“We do not need state police to end insecurity. We need a state opportunity to end desperation.
“A job is the best security policy a nation can have,” he said.
Eberechi also called for a redefinition of what it meant to be a graduate in Nigeria, saying academic certificates should be complemented by practical skills.
He said for too long, Nigerian youths had regarded NYSC certificates as evidence of readiness for the world of work.
” A certificate without capability is a ticket to nowhere.
“Let us make a bold, constitutional shift: vocational skill capability must become a requirement to certify any graduate of any course of study in Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, graduates of History should be able to digitise archives and communicate Nigeria’s history to the world, while graduates of Agriculture should be capable of running agribusinesses from production to the market.
He added that engineering graduates should also be equipped with the skills to fabricate and repair equipment.
“NYSC should not be the end of preparation. Skill certification must be the beginning. This is how we move from a nation of job seekers to a nation of job creators,” he said.
Eberechi further said access to capital alone could not create sustainable jobs, noting that financial literacy was equally important.
He said many businesses failed not because of lack of funds but because of inadequate financial knowledge.
The entrepreneur urged stakeholders to make financial education a compulsory component of financial support programmes rather than a political slogan used during elections.
He said inclusive and decent job creation required deliberate and sustained action.
“Inclusive and decent job creation is not an accident. It is a choice — a deliberate, daily, disciplined choice.
“Nigeria does not lack potential. Nigeria lacks execution. Let this generation be remembered not for the reforms we announced, but for the jobs we created.
“Not for the certificates we issued, but for the skills we built. Not for the money we shared, but for the wealth we sustained,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Emmanuel Afonne