By Joseph Kingston, Calabar
Thousands of young Nigerians would be lifted from unemployment within the next five years as a Calabar-based religious organization, Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS) said it was training youths on entrepreneurship/skills acquisition, agriculture, sports, education, broadcasting amongst others.
The organization said that not less than N46.9 million has been budgeted for the programme.
Making this known in Calabar, Monday, during a press conference to mark the commencement of a week-long activities of the 8th Annual Convention of the Brotherhood All Youth Assembly (BAYA), BCS Spokesman, Patriarch Christ Shepherd Edet Archibong, said the programme was aimed at helping youths to be financially independent so as to promote global peace for sustainable development.
He disclosed that BAYA was designed to promote holiness among youths, encourage evangelism, stimulate academic excellence, establish vocational/skills acquisition, institute and support entrepreneurship development as well as empowering the physically challenged in the society.
“This is to directly empower not fewer than 230 youths with a projective multiplier effect of empowering and generating jobs for another 2,150 youths at the cost of N46,960,000 within the next five years.
“Taking into cognizance the divergence in the felt-need of the youths, the plan has earmarked the flotation of programmes in different areas such as agriculture, education, entertainment, broadcasting as well as sports,” he stated.
He disclosed further that 70 youths had already been trained in organic farming such as fish hatching and rearing, mushroom, pepper, fluted pumpkin, okra and tomatoes cropping amongst others, this year, and that starter packs were provided for the trainees.
He said the number were selected from ten States which include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Kogi and Rivers.
“Selection for the 2022 Empowerment Programme, which is on Education, will commence during this year’s Convention, precisely on Sunday. The process will involve contingents from different states picking tickets form lucky dip boxes for UTME (JAMB), WAEC and tuition fees. This is expected to produce 175 beneficiaries.
“The programme is an interventionist scheme that aims at purchase of UTME and WAEC forms and the provision of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship,” Archibong stated, and added that with the programme “a good chunk of the youths will gain entry into a more stable and sustainable source of livelihood.
According to the Spokesman, the BAYA Convention was already impacting hundreds of youths across the country, saying the annual convention had already been held in Rivers State, Abuja, Uyo, Lagos, Owerri, Yenegoa and Asaba.