The Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies (CENTS), Professor Babatunde Adewumi has charged Nigerian populace, particularly the youths to engage in the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills as a solution to unemployment and poverty in the country.
Speaking while receiving students of the Ogun State Foreign Trade Investment Services Africa (FTAISA), City and Guild Techbac Skills and Entrepreneurship Development Program, Professor Adewumi disclosed that rather than wait for white collar jobs or depend on salaries, youths can create wealth by practical knowledge and practice.
According to him, the University in its foresight and in line with the policy of the Federal Government established the Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies in 2011 with the objective of enriching and branding the university’s graduates and its neighbouring community on entrepreneurial skill such that the problem of unemployment can be taken away from the nation.
“Many people go to the university with the mindset that they are going to learn theory but if you learn theory and you cannot practice it when you graduate, then you are useless to yourself and you become a liability rather than being an asset to the nation”, he stated.
The University Don revealed that the Centre has more than 35 different skills where studentS in the University are expected to take a four to five unit course on entrepreneurial skills, aside those taken in their various Departments such that they will not graduate and still be frightened of unemployment.
Professor Adewumi commended the Ogun State Government and FTAISA for the International Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Development Program for Nigerian Youths Initiative, which is structured under the City & Guilds of London Institute TECHBAC curriculum.
The program allows students to develop theory and practical skills and on completion, students obtain qualifications that are recognized internationally with the resulting benefits being a highly talented young workforce that will contribute to job creation and boost economic growth.
The schedule for the students included a visit to FUNAAB Alpha Indigenous Poultry Breeding Centre where they were received by Professor Olufunmilayo Adebambo. According to her, the project is a Bill and Melinda Gate funded project, which has the vision to empower rural household with indigenous chickens in order to bring people out of poverty.
Professor Adebambo disclosed that through her research on local chickens, she has been able to develop breed whose yearly egg production increased from just 40-60 eggs to between 200-250 eggs per annum and instead of a body weight of about 800 grams to 1 kg, breeds that weigh between 2.5/2.6kgs have been developed.
Other locations visited were the pig, fish , poultry, meat processing, honey, cashew, sheep and Goat production Units of Directorate of University Farm (DUFARMS); the Bread, Garri, Palm wine, Palm oil and seed production units of FUNAAB Companies; the High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) and odourless fufu production Unit of the Cassava Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA II) Building; the Kalahari and Kalawad Goat, Mushroom production units of Institute of Food Security Environment Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR) and Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC) herbal soap, natural cream, liquid soap and spices, products.
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