The Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Orji Uzo Kalu has charged Nigerians not to hold President Muhammadu Buhari or the national legislature accountable for the country’s high rate of unemployment, adding that, many graduates are not properly trained.
Kalu, a foremost entrepreneur and lawmaker, made this charge while declaring open the maiden ceremony of the Graduate Employability Skills Training organised by Terraskills Learning Systems, Abuja.
He hinted that, many lecturers in tertiary institutions don’t know what they are teaching, which resulted in the nation producing unproductive graduates.
His words: “We should not blame President Muhammadu Buhari nor the national assembly over the high rate of unemployment in the country which is causing insecurity. I’ve been a governor so I know what I am talking about.
“Most of our graduates are not properly trained for the jobs. That’s why there is insecurity. Everything is not on Buhari or the national assembly. It is because most people are not groomed properly for leadership.
“Going to the university is not enough because most of these lecturers don’t even know what they are teaching you. I became an entrepreneur before I went into politics and I am still the chief adviser of my companies that employ over 13,000 people so I know what I am talking about, ” Kalu said.
Kalu while advising the participants of the TerraSkills graduate skills training said most people in many companies are not well trained.
Saying, “Training is the key,” “No human being is perfect. Government is not perfect, the private sector cannot be perfect. What you should do is to take the good and throw away the bad.
“No knowledge is a waste. Even now, I want to leave the comfort of my office and go to the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and study. I won’t mind being a student with you here at TerraSkills because studies are important,” Kalu stated, adding that most of his factories are in Lagos but now want to establish 150,000 tons of rice mill in his village.
Also, Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Sabi Abdullahi, who is also the founder of TerraSkills, said it took them three years of research to come up with the graduate skills training programme.
“This is not about making money, but about developing human capital. Many graduates don’t have the skills. I’ve told the staff that anyone that is not trainable, after two weeks, his money should be refunded because he or she doesn’t have a place here.
“The essence is to improve the productivity of companies in Nigeria. We also want to help reduce the number of graduates without jobs in the country. We will continue to equip the graduates with the necessary skills to fit in the job environment.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Director General (DG) of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Aminu Mohammed, said TarraSkills is replicating what they are doing at the ITF adding that they will ensure they continue to make Nigerian youths employable.
