The Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), has charged youths in the Niger Delta region to “rise above the entitlement mentality”, to set the stage for success.
Interim Administrator of the PAP, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), gave this charge while speaking on Saturday in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, at the 3rd Niger Delta MSME Summit.
“If you rise above entitlement mentality, the sky will be too small to be your starting point. Everybody stands a chance,” he said, adding that the youths must begin to think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas.
Ndiomu said the war between Russia and Ukraine has exposed the harsh realities surrounding grains globally. “There is scarcity of grains, starch globally now, and we have cassava plantations all over the region,” he said, noting that very soon, brewery companies in Nigeria will start looking for starch. “This global shift affects everybody”.
The interim Administrator who was represented by Musa Wilfred, PAP’s Head of Reintegration, thus advised the youths to heighten awareness, and take advantage of the current situation.
He reiterated that the “mandate” of PAP remains “to manage the destiny of thousands of youths and we have decided to begin to reason outside the box”.
“We must understand the times and take advantage properly. We must map out opportunities. We must be in a place where we are able to adequately predict the future. We must innovate, we must remind our delegates that there is virtue in adversity, resilience. Good things don’t come cheap.
“There is a notion about the region out there, and we must all agree jointly to alter that narrative.
“As young business owners, you must understand that beyond innovation, collaboration, networking, access to funds, loans and grants, lobbying, you have a role to play. You must embrace discipline, mentoring. You must understand that good things don’t come easy. You must understand that for every height you want to attain, there is a price to pay. Young leaders must be ready and willing to pay the price,” Ndiomu said.
While advising the youths to keep a calm head, he reminded them that skill without character is useless. “You must be worthy in skill and character”.
Meanwhile, critical stakeholders across Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region have urged youths to strive to build a culture of entrepreneurship, and look away from the decades-old dependency on crude oil.
Speaking in his opening remarks at the summit, Chief convener, Moses Siasia noted that this narrative if adhered to, will transform youths in the region into competitive business owners, and place them at par with their peers globally.
At the event which held symbolically on the same day as the International Youth Day, Siasia who doubles at the Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professional Forum (NYPF) and the Niger Delta Young Professionals (NDYP), regretted that young people have been “malnourished by broken promises”, leaving them abandoned.
To bridge this gap, he said the organizers – the Niger Delta Young Professionals (NDYP), is working to provide opportunities for young people engaging in productive ventures to thrive. “We want our young people who are entrepreneurs to understand that the future is theirs, and that the future is entrepreneurship. The world today is diverting from hydrocarbon. We are talking about Energy Transition, Climate Change. These are where the world interests are driving to, so we must conform to modern realities. This is why we are doing this to reshape the entrepreneurial culture in the region.”
The Convener stressed on the need for state governments across the Niger Delta to partner and support the initiative. He recalled that in the past editions of the Summit held in Delta and Rivers states, as well Saturday’s edition in Akwa Ibom, governments of the region did not show support for an initiative that is deliberately thought out to positively impact the lives of young Niger Deltans.
He cautioned young people to consider exploring the Social Media to promote their brands and businesses, rather than jumping on it as a tool to abuse political office holders.
Similarly, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), harped on the need for youths to key into the initiative, adding that it already has the database of youths in the region, with which it is working to create enormous opportunities to improve their lives.
Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, Managing Director of the NDDC who was represented by Obayelu Patrick, Commercial and Industrial Development Directorate (CID), NDDC, expressed passion for the initiative and assured of the Commission’s continuous support.
