The Director-General, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Shuaibu Ibrahim, has asked corpers not to rely on salaried jobs but to start their own companies instead.
Mr Ibrahim was on Saturday addressing prospective corps members at the permanent orientation camp in Kaiama, Bayelsa state.
In a statement issued by Adenike Adeyemi, the Director, Press and Public Relations Unit, NYSC, in Abuja on Sunday, the DG asked them to strive for self-employment.
Mr Ibrahim said that “salaried jobs were hard to come by,” citing opportunities provided through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme as reasons why corpers should look to themselves for jobs.
“Ibrahim spoke of a number of ex-SAED trainees, who are now owners of flourishing businesses,” Mrs Adeyemi said in the statement.
“Some that decided to learn automobile repairs and fashion design were mocked by friends, who saw no reason why graduates should go for such vocations, but they remained focused.
“Today, apart from reaping fortunes from their businesses, they have also trained and empowered hundreds of youths of the host communities.
“So, I advise you to identify your talents, be focused on your dreams: pursue them with passion, and the sky will be your limit,” Mr Ibrahim was quoted as saying.
A World Bank report in July indicated that the unemployment rate in Nigeria has risen more than ever in the history of the country under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led regime.
The report says the rate was significantly higher for Nigerian youth (42.5 per cent) when compared to non-youth (26.3 per cent).
The current unemployment rate in Nigeria has risen fivefold from 6.4 per cent in 2010, hitting 33.3 per cent as of the last quarter of 2020, per the National Bureau of Statistics’ report.
Mr Buhari had once expressed happiness that Nigerians were now dumping white-collar jobs for farming.