Buhari can’t be blamed solely for unemployment rate ― Senate Chip Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has said the high rate of unemployment in the country should not be blamed on the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Speaking on Tuesday at the commencement of the Graduate Skills Training (GST) programme, an initiative of an Abuja-based tech company, TerraSkills, the former Abia State governor noted that skills acquisition is lacking in the knowledge imparted by post secondary schools institutions in the country.

He maintained that producing graduates not employable would only continue to swell the number of youths desperately looking for jobs.

He said:” 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.”

Senator Kalu maintained that adequate training is key as he noted that no knowledge acquired is a waste.

“Training is the key. No human being is perfect. Government is not perfect, the private sector cannot be perfect. What you should do is 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. ”

Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Sabi Abdullahi, who is also the founder of TerraSkills, said it took 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 into the job environment.

Also speaking, 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.

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