Rivers State residents tasked on entrepreneurial skills
By Amaike Ihuoma Okoronkwo, Port Harcourt
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Special Duties, Dr. George Nweke, has called on residents and indigenes of the State to take matters concerning skills acquisition and entrepreneurship seriously.
He made the call recently while receiving an award of excellence bestowed on him by the management and staff of St. Georgia Entrepreneurial and Development Schools, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Dr. Nweke decried the state at which the younger generation seem to have lost focus in the areas of career and skilled labour, maintaining that skills acquisition and entrepreneurship have better promises for our teeming youths as against being a nuisance in the name of ‘kporfire’ or crime syndicate in the state.
He warned that Rivers State maintains a security system that does not spare nor hide crime syndicates and appealed that the youths of Rivers State as well as residents should turn a new leaf and face a brighter future through skills acquisition.
“Due to the fact that Rivers State is a cosmopolitan state, the state government has never relented in their efforts to provide and secure lives and property in the state.
“Parents should make it a point of duty to ensure that their children acquire skills because the white collar jobs cannot pay much. I have had the privilege of offering some youths an opportunity to acquire a skill, come and work in a farm and earn at least a forty thousand naira monthly stipend.
“You would learn how to set up your own farm or establishment tomorrow as a poultry farmer, or animal husbandry but to my greatest surprise the offer was turned down and I ask, why? The answer became that the labour is not worth it compared to ‘kporfire’ or illegal mining of petroleum products.”
He maintained that, “The government has not given their consent on the issue of modular refineries yet and if they are to do so they need to train the people so they would acquire the skill and not be left out. So in any case, acquiring a skill cannot be overemphasised.
“For now the facilities so far provided by the state through the ministry and other sister agencies in partnership should be a stepping stone towards career building amongst our youths.”
Presenting the Award on behalf of the schools’ management, the Coordinator of the school (SEDS) Mr. Kingsley George, extolled the virtues of the PS, saying that skills acquisition and entrepreneurship remains key to manpower development and empowerment.
Responding, Dr. Nweke had this to say, “We would keep trying but I must remind ourselves that people can work as employees yet are free to establish some other genuine means of livelihood.
“You must not leverage yourself to only one source of income generation, as demands are on the increase ideas on how to move forward are never restrained. Get a skill and be an entrepreneur and not a crime syndicate,” he advised.
