The Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Council in Niger State, Hon. Aminu Yakubu Ladan, has flagged off computer training on ICT and Digital Marketing for 110 youths drawn from 11 wards of the local government.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at the local government secretariat complex in Minna, the council Chairman observed that one of the issues giving the council and the people of Chanchaga sleepless nights was the issue of thuggery and youth restiveness.
He said the council was trying to use the stick and carrot approach in eradicating the menace of youth restiveness by providing job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the local government.
The Chairman added that they wanted to engage the youth meaningfully so that they could be beneficial to themselves and society, hence the rationale behind the computer training programme sponsorship.
He disclosed that the government can no longer absorb all the teeming unemployed graduates through white collar jobs, but that they can initiate ways to empower them to be self-reliant.
He also disclosed that his administration inherited a computer centre equipped with 200 computers that was set up at the council secretariat and that the best graduates of the training programme will be engaged in the centre which will be used to generate income for the council.
The council Chairman added that the programme was in line with the present administration's youth and women empowerment agenda, adding that the programme was not political but a gesture to ensure that the youths in the local government become useful to themselves and society.
He also disabused the minds of the beneficiaries who were hoping to get a computer after the training so as to sell it off, emphasizing that the council will not buy a computer for anyone but engage the best beneficiaries of the programme and that they were ready to sponsor any of the beneficiaries who wish to go further in their area of specialization after the basic training.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Council Secretary, Ibrahim Saleh Mijinyawa, advised the beneficiaries of the programme to pay attention to the training they will receive, saying they could earn a living if they utilized the opportunity very well.
He also appreciated the consultant of the training programme for proposing the programme for the council and the council Chairman for accepting and approving the sponsorship of the programme.
Also, the consultant of the programme and Managing Director of First Masur Computer Academy, Alh. Umar Mohammed (Talban Samari) disclosed that the council Chairman has approved the training of 110 youths for a period of one month.
He said being computer literate was the main thing now as everything has gone digital, and without computer literacy, one will be left behind.
Alh. Umar, who disclosed that his computer training centre has the best brains one can think of in the digital world, said they will start the training with a week of guidance and counseling sessions before the main training and assured that the beneficiaries of the programme will have the best training in ICT and Digital Marketing.
He equally appreciated the council Chairman for sponsoring the training programme and assured him that the council would get value for every kobo spent on the programme.
In their separate goodwill messages, the former council chairman, Hon. Yusuf Inuwa Fuka (Scony), and the House Leader of the legislative council of the local government, Hon. Ashiru Mohammed, urged the beneficiaries of the training programme to use the opportunity to better their lives, as they will be the first to benefit from any benefit to be derived from the training.
They also disclosed that Chanchaga local government council, being in the state capital, had always led in terms of initiating programmes that add value to society, while others copied from them, calling on the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors of the local government area.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with our reporter promised to make good use of the opportunity and appreciated the council Chairman, saying they would not disappoint the council. There was also a symbolic presentation of admission letters to some of the beneficiaries by the council Chairman.