Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has recounted his experiences as a young undergraduate struggling to survive in a United States school.
He said he had to seek a night job as a certified welder with the skills acquired at the Government Technical College Bukuru to support his education at the Virginia State University when the scholarship they were enjoying then stopped coming.
He spoke at the inaugural Engr. A. A. Sule Colloquium in Lafia with the theme; “Technological-Driven Entrepreneurship as a Panacea for Unemployment and Catalyst for Economic Growth and Development.
“Then, I worked as a welder at night and attended school in the day in the US to complete my scholarship money.
“Being a certified weilder that I was, and still am, I got a job with Alkowa Energy. I got the work, and then I could work both as a welder and iron bender at night to be able to pay for my hostel. I was making $3.75 an hour. The more hours you worked, the more you got paid. That was a lot of money at the time,” he said.
Governor Sule said his vision for a skills-based knowledge for youths in the state was driven by his experience, noting that corporations achieve their goals with skilled workers, not certificates.
Governor Sule said the idea behind organising the colloquium was to afford youths in the state the opportunity to listen to successful individuals with a view to learning from their experiences, as well as to encourage them to acquire skills.
He noted that with the emergence of industries in the state, it was the vision of his administration to groom and train the citizens, especially youths towards meeting both internal and external demands of certified technicians.
“The idea is to train and groom sufficient technicians to fill industrial needs, especially with the coming of companies such as SaroAfrica, Avarta, Jualin Mining Company and others. Our vision is to establish an institution that industries would track. That is what I want to bring to Nasarawa State,” he stated.
The guest speaker at the occasion, Engineer Jelani Aliyu, called on the youths to individually and collectively focus on progressive opportunities and solutions, with a view to reawaken the possibilities in them.
“It all starts in the mind. If you can imagine it and clearly see it in your mind, then you are halfway there. You can easily strategies, jump into action and bring it into reality. Nothing is impossible,” he said.
“Why technology? Why now? Why us? Technology is coming up with solutions that make your lives better. Cell phones, electric cars, AI. The bottom line is technology makes our lives easier.
“Every great nation is leveraging technology to advance its people. Why us? Because we are special. Africa is the land of the pyramids of Egypt where thousands of years ago super structures couple of feet talk were built. We have the Edo Empire in Nigeria. We all are special people with great heritage. We must not let ourselves to be left behind,” Aliyu who was also the director general of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, said.
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