Employment - News Agency Of Nigeria

Tosin Kolade
Jul, Wed, 2025

Foundation urges FG, states to establish ICT hubs for employment

By Jessica Dogo

The Alice Alobi Foundation (AAF) has urged the federal and state governments to establish more ICT hubs to support employment drives and boost digital literacy in the country.

The co-founder of the foundation, Miriam Alobi, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

She spoke ahead of the Cybersecurity Awareness Workshop to be organised by the foundation and scheduled to hold in Abuja on Wednesday.

NAN reports that the foundation has been working to empower young Nigerians in digital literacy for over three years and recently shifted its focus to include cybersecurity.

She hinted that the workshop aims to educate young people on essential cybersecurity knowledge to protect themselves when they are online.

He said it would also expose them to careers opportunities in cybersecurity.

She told NAN that the foundation planned to establish cybersecurity clubs in schools and work with the Ministry of Education to incorporate cyber security education into the curriculum.

She said that the foundation was in partnership with Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and security agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Control (EFCC) to keep youths safe in cyber space.

‘’We are bringing Nigerian youths, young professionals, young mothers, young parents, youths from the ages of 15, 16, 17 years and above to come and learn more at the workshop.

“We have a link through which youths can join the programme from wherever they are. This is one of the ways of reaching out to the youths, audience,” he said.

She emphasised the need for continuous education and awareness, particularly in schools, to protect young people from online threats and bullying.

She also highlighted the importance of cybersecurity in the digital age, especially for young people who were vulnerable to cybercrime.

She said that many youths were lured into cybercrime due to unemployment, poverty and digital illiteracy.

She acknowledged that unemployment was a major cause of cybercrime among youths, adding that the right education would help to address this challenge.

’’The youth face a lot of challenges in Nigeria, especially in the areas of unemployment, hunger, and the rest of them.

”The youths will be lured, into cybercrime in order to get a quick fix, make money and other resources. But at the end of the day they end up in jail.

“We have watched in the news where EFCC and other cybercrime security agencies arrested youths who get involved in cybercrime.

’’So for us to curb this menace facing the youths we have to focus on cybersecurity.

“The workshop will provide youths with knowledge and skills to pursue careers in cyber security, reducing unemployment and promoting digital safety,’’ she said. (NAN)

Edited by Uche Anunne

Go into agro-business for sustainable employment- Gotomo

Ismail Abdulaziz
Jun, Sun, 2025

Food Security

Go into agro-business for sustainable employment- Gotomo

By Ahmed Dantala

Mr Abubakar Gotomo, founder of Gotomo Farms and Wildlife Services, has urged the youths to explore agro-business as a pathway to sustainable employment.

Gotomo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Diko, Niger on Sunday.

NAN reports that agriculture offers a significant pathway to sustainable employment in Nigeria, particularly when focusing on sustainable farming practices.

These practices, such as crop rotation, agro-forestry, and efficient water management, can boost yields, reduce costs, and improve resilience to climate change.

“People should aspire to come into agriculture to pursue such a business that they can be rich within the shortest possible time. When you pursue it, you do it according to the best practice, be rest assure you will make your money.

“Here at Gotomo farm, we have about 36 concrete fish ponds, we have over 10 earthen farms for fish production. But I’m just giving a simple example of one pond farm which has the capacity to store 2,500 catfish.

‘’2,500 catfish, if well fed, within 100 to 120 days, they can grow to the table size. Three of them can give you one kg, averagely, If you are lucky, two can give you one kg, but three can give you one kg.

‘’At a conservative price now, a kg can give you 2,000. Now imagine, as a graduate, you have one pond farm of 2,500 catfish. You manage it in 120 days; you’d be rest assured of going with a profit of two million Naira.’’

He added that the agriculture sector remains a veritable means of opportunity, saying the value chain is even more significant.

‘’Even if it’s in the service of input, providing input, selling, marketing, transportation, actively performing on the farm. So, I encourage our graduates, don’t wait. You have no time to wait.

‘’You are a fresh graduate from the NYSC, come, try to get that orientation. As soon as you finish your NYSC, please go to the farm, the job is there waiting for you.’’

Gotomo said that the search for economic independence was his drive and motivation to go into agri-business.

“I left the civil service very early because I have been naturally an independent person. And at the civil service I realised that I have a lot of restrictions and limitations and I can’t achieve my aspirations as a civil servant.

“With the civil service I discovered that promotion is your limit, you can’t go beyond promotion. Your competency, your experience, your expertise is not enough for you to secure any job.

‘’You have still to go and start lobbying here and there. I feel, no, I have to look for something more independent. With food production, people must eat and you have access to market when you produce, people must buy.

‘’The fact that you graduate does not mean that you should go and be a servant to anybody. That education should serve as a light that will help you to pursue any venture, so I went into adventure,’’ he said.

Gotomo said that contamination of the soil, chemical application, post-harvest management, application of preservatives and pesticides, are factors affecting the quality and health of the food.

He said that the Gotomo farm uses organic principles in order to give out products that are healthy enough and safe for human consumption.

“We are trying to train people, all the people working here with us, then those coming in to get training, we give them those principles. And with that, gradually, we can scale our food system and ensure food security.

“Food security is not just about the availability of food alone. It is also about the quality of that food,’’ he said.(NAN)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

NSE signs MoU with 2 partners to boost food security

Philip Daniel Yatai
Nov, Thu, 2024

Metro

NSE signs MoU with 2 partners to boost food security

By Angela Atabo

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asset Rise Limited and Lancaster Farms to enhance food security and create employment opportunities for Nigerians.

The NSE President, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, said shortly after signing the MoU on Wednesday in Abuja, that the agreement would open more employment opportunities for the youths.

Oguntala, who doubles as the Chairman-in-Council, said proffering solutions to agricultural challenges in Nigeria was at the forefront of NSE’s agenda.

She said that its 2024 annual conference was hinged on sustainable engineering solutions to food security and climate change.

According to her, partnerships are part of the strategic agenda of the society, adding that collaboration is the only way to deliver on some mandates.

“This partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship, which will not only enhance the activities of the NSE, but also improve businesses.

“On our part, we shall ensure that we do all that we can for all to benefit from this relationship.

“The partnership is all in the interest of developing Nigeria, particularly agriculture and of course, it is one of the reasons that we chose the theme of this year as Sustainable Engineering Solutions to Food Security and Climate Change.

“We are going into some special collaboration to ensure that the issue of food security is not just theoretical, but also very practical and we are taking it very seriously,” she said.

Oguntala expressed hope that the partnership would grow from strength to strength and eventually result in not just putting more food on the tables of Nigerians, but also creating jobs for the teaming young engineers.

Mr Oluwadurotimi Ojamamoye, Group Managing Director, Asset Rise Limited, said the organisation had a structural programme designed to train students who are graduating from schools into owning their own farms.

Ojamamoye said, “We are expanding that project into 1,000 hectares. So as students are graduating, they can cultivate one hectare each to empower them adding that so far more than 1,500 students have been empowered.

“We are glad that NSE is giving us the backbone to achieve this mission and employ more Nigerians, solve food insecurity and possibly stop our youths from migrating abroad because agriculture can create a lot of opportunities for us.”

“We have also been able to introduce our Smart City project, a 3,000 hectares project presently ongoing and we are currently planting more than 450,000 oil palm trees in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, and Ondo states.

“We have developed more than 4,000 hectares of oil palm trees. This is sustainable agriculture and it is the way to go in order to solve the problems of poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and achieve rural urbanisation in Nigeria.”

Ojamamoye said that the organisation was working with the Enugu and Abia state governments where 7,000 and 10,000 hectares were provided respectively to develop agro-smart cities.

He called on governments at all levels to provide land for farming and creation of agro-smart cities just like they have government reserved areas for houses.

Also speaking, Dr Anthony Odigie, Chairman, Lancaster Farms, commended NSE for the opportunity to go into a strategic partnership with the organisation.

“This is a significant milestone to our company, and I believe that by joining forces we are combining our strengths, expertise, and resources to unlock great opportunities for the future.

“The collaboration will enhance our ability to deliver exceptional value to the agricultural industry and in the long term, to activate the economy of Nigeria.”

Mr Patrick Obidoyin, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Lancaster Farms, said the MoU would enable the organisation to empower more youths by taking them off the job markets.(NAN)

Edited by Francis Onyeukwu and Abiemwense Moru