Gainful engagement of youths will guarantee peaceful co-existence – Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur has said that peaceful co-existence would be guaranteed in the country, if youths were gainfully engaged in creative production.
The entrepreneur, Jimoh Balogun, made this known, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
He said that peaceful co-existence would be beneficial to the society and would ultimately strengthen the quest for national development.
“Youths engagement in positive endeavours will bring out the best in them and make them more agreeable to societal norms and values.
“When people, especially the youths, are well engaged by creating things or adding value to materials already created, they will have a sense of self-worth.
“Government should strive to put action into words by establishing well designed structures to channel their strength into productive venture.
“This should be done with the help of recognised youth role-models that have been tested and trusted in their areas of discipline,’’ he said.
Balogun said his organisation, which produced paint, was in involved in training promising entrepreneurs in various aspects of paint technology.
“After their training with small capital they can start up by making paints and at the same time learn how to coat a house, so that they do not just learn how to make paints, but, also to acquire the knowledge on how to apply it.
“As they are empowered, they will, in turn, empower others and the society will be at peace,’’ the entrepreneur said.
He, therefore, called on other established small- and medium-scale entreprises (SMEs) to invest in youth empowerment, saying, “that is the only way we can sleep and close our eyes and Nigeria will experience peace in national development.’’
Speaking on the forthcoming Science and Technology Expo, he said that it was a good forum for SMEs to showcase their innovations, also an opportunity to learn from other people’s innovations.
“I hope to be given an opportunity to be there to see other young innovators and the things they come up with; ultimately the nation will benefit from it.’
The Science and Technology Expo is an annual event organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology with the aim of bringing together scientists, researchers and inventors across the country to showcase their inventions and innovation.
The 2018 event is scheduled to take place on March 5 to March 9, with the theme: “Fast tracking Sustainable Development of Nigeria through Science and Technology.’’