Youths and Sports Development Minister Sunday Dare has said the Federal Government remains committed to addressing youth unemployment and restiveness through well-coordinated initiatives.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has consistently initiated programmes targeted towards entrepreneurial development and employability of the youths, adding that thousands of young persons have already benefitted from various interventions.
Dare stated this while addressing reporters at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, where he also unveiled plans for sports development in the country.
According to him, the ministry has introduced a Digital Skill, Entrepreneurship, Employability and Leadership (DEEL) policy to ensure the youths acquired the right skills and needed qualities to excel.
Dare said educational qualifications are no longer enough in the present age.
The minister stressed that the current Federal Government emphasized practical, technical and vocational trainings to enable youths have competitive advantage among their peers across the world.
He said government was targeting 500,000 young beneficiaries for various programmes in the next two years, adding that the digital skills programmes were aimed at equipping a million youths across the country in five critical areas.
“These digital skills will be applicable for use not only in the IT industry but also in agriculture, health, education, sports, science and technology and environment. The ministry further intends to turn 24 of its youth centres across Nigeria into digital youth training centres with an efficient training module.
“The ministry seeks to support the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in Nigeria. This is in a bid to ensuring the creation of indigenous solutions to local challenges using advanced technology. To do this, the ministry is set to sponsor 2,000 young Nigerians in AI and Robotics training, working closely with Bredhub, a robotics and AI training centre,” the DEEL document said.
Dare explained that the government’s guiding document was the National Youth Policy (NYP), a five-yearly guide with the current one approved last year by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“At the very core of that youth development policy is that the government of Nigeria recognises the value and potentials of our youths and the government makes a commitment to making sure that these potentials are realised by providing the necessary resources for our youths to advance their careers, realise their dreams and to contribute to national development,” he said.

By Precious Igbonwelundu