NITDA Boss Urges Universities To Produce Job Creators

The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged Universities in the country to devote greater attention to entrepreneurship training in order to produce graduates that will create job opportunities, not job seekers.

Inuwa stated this while receiving the management of Federal University of Agriculture Zuru, Kebbi State, Northern Nigeria, led by its Vice Chancellor, Professor Musa Isyaku Ahmed.

The NITDA boss described University’s role in finding lasting solution to Nigeria’s unemployment as critical, in view of the large number of young people graduating annually.

Inuwa noted that most graduates coming out from the universities are becoming liability to the country, waiting for white collar jobs, hence the need for the university system to produce jobs owners instead of job seeks.

“Universities can be used as mentoring, training and coaching grounds to the students, encouraging them to start their own business while in school,” he insisted.

Commenting on NITDA’s National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) programme, Inuwa stated that it was an initiative of the Agency designed to support the Nigerian young farmers that are very passionate about making a career in farming.

The Director General explained that the Agency  has concluded arrangements to engage  Universities’ research works practically on the farms with a view to achieving the set goal.

The Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture Zuru, Professor Musa Isyaku Ahmed, said they were at the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters on a familiarisation visit to further avail themselves with what they have been seeing and hearing about NITDA’s impact on so many sectors, particularly the tertiary institutions.

While soliciting for the collaborative support of NITDA in its intervention programmes, the Prof also called for paradigm shift in the nation’s education system.