The Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Nura Sani Kangiwa, has expressed confidence in vocational skills acquisition of the Nigerian arts and crafts industry in the fight against unemployment and poverty in the country.

Kangiwa, who stated this recently, while declaring open a Skills Acquisition and Empowerment of Women in Arts and Crafts training session, organised by the North-East Campus of the institute in Bauchi, pointed out that the fight against poverty in Nigeria is everyone’s responsibility.

He said NIHOTOUR, as skills and vocational training centre, would continue to play its part in imparting knowledge-based skills that will offer them employment and financial earning opportunities in line with the federal government’s agenda to fight poverty.

The director-general, represented by the head of the North-East Zonal Campus of the institute, Samuel Ibrahim, called on participants to make good use of the programme.

Ali Babayo, Permanent Secretary of Bauchi State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, urged Nigerians to look inward to be economically self-sufficient.

Nelson Lucas, the coordinator of the Bauchi zonal office of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), noted that tourism was a multifaceted industry offering ample opportunities for employment in the arts and crafts.

He further noted that the skill acquisition training programme was timely and called on the trainees to make the best use of their knowledge at the end of the training session for a better livelihood.

In his goodwill message, Alamai Murtala, the department head of Travel and Tourism at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi said knowledge-based skill acquisition remained the surest way to excel in any trade or profession. At the same time, he noted that participants in the skills acquisition training programme should count themselves lucky.

Murtala urged them to make judicious use of the skills they will acquire for their socio-economic benefits.

A non-profit organisation, Call to Love Initiative, in collaboration with Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), has sensitised low cost schools on strategies and skills to improve the quality of education they provide.

According to the NGO, the move was as a result of the feedback it got from low cost school owners and teachers about requiring funding to provide facilities needed to enhance the learning process of their students.

The founder, Omowunmi Ajila, said the organisation is glad that the state government, through LSETF has a dedicated fund for low cost schools, where they can access loans as high as N5 million with interest rates as low as 9 per cent, to improve their school facilities.

“This forum is aimed at appreciating low cost school owners and teachers for their efforts in terms of imparting knowledge and skills in the children and also to sensitise them about the available funds provided by the Lagos State government through the LSETF.”

“We employ a targeted approach of interaction with our beneficiaries and delivery of projects that drive lasting solutions and contribute positively to transforming our target audience. Our mission is to enrich lives through social development and our target audience is pupils from low cost schools and orphanages.”

Ajila added: “We are trying to ensure that students in low cost schools can compete equally with more privileged students from high cost schools. Our vision is to also raise a pipeline of beneficiaries that can pave the way forward in the nearest future.”

The Head, Micro Enterprise and Micro Enterprise Startup, LSETF, Funsho Ogunlumade said the funds provided are for low cost schools operating in Lagos “as one of our missions is to create employment opportunities and wealth for residents of Lagos.

“You cannot underrate the role of the education sector in building a credible society which is why we have partnered with Call to Love Initiative to come to the grassroot to engage the low cost schools to enlighten them on how to access funds that are available.

Ogunlumade said they also partnered First Bank and Edfin Microfinance Bank to disburse the loans to the school owner.

“In regards to eligibility for the loans, the school must be registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission and must have been operating for at least a year. The school must have evidence of tax payment.

“We also require that the school or training centre should have at least a minimum of fifty students. Also, the provision of guarantors is required. As regards the tenure of the loans, we have the 12 months and 24 months duration.”