The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Engr. Emem Coffie, has canvassed industrial training and job opportunities for youths in the state as part of measures to equip them with skills and make them self-reliant.
Coffie, a civil engineer with about 35 years of professional experience, said government must move beyond encouraging young people to acquire education by creating practical pathways for them to translate their knowledge and skills into productive employment.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, he urged Nigerian youths not to abandon education in pursuit of quick success, saying academic knowledge remained important for career development, specialisation and national growth.
He said the growing perception that education was a waste of time could undermine the development of young people, stressing that formal education provides the foundation for professional competence, particularly in technical fields.
Coffie, who said he had sponsored hundreds of students in Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Abuja, said his commitment to education and youth development was driven by the need to provide young people with the foundation and support required to discover their potential.
He said the development of advanced countries was partly built on education and structured systems, adding that the success of individuals who did not attend university should not be used to discourage young people from acquiring formal education.
According to him, education and practical experience should complement each other, particularly in specialised fields such as engineering and robotics.
‘The truth is that engineering is probably 90 percent from scientific theory and 10 percent empirical.
‘The truth is that education has created a system and whether you like it or not, the countries that are developed today worked with those systems and became what they are.
‘If you want to be a robotics engineer, for example, you must have an understanding of physics and chemistry. I don’t know if biology has to do with medical engineering, but for you to go into robotics, you must have those basic understandings and then have mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, electrical engineering by the corner before you now begin to do robotics,’ he said.
Coffie called for a system that would enable young people to complete their university education early, identify their talents and begin specialising in their chosen careers without unnecessary delays.
He said early identification of talents would also help young people establish themselves professionally and gain access to opportunities earlier in their careers.
However, he stressed that university education should not be the only pathway to success, urging the government to support vocational training, entrepreneurship and other trades.
‘Everybody doesn’t need to go to university; that’s why we get everybody wrong, but whatever level, whatever trade you should apply, the government should support you, train you, and make you relevant,’ he said.
On employment, Coffie called for greater investment in industrialisation in Akwa Ibom, saying young people should be trained in areas relevant to industries that could be established in the state.
He identified oil and gas, refineries, gas processing facilities and steel plants as sectors with potential to create employment opportunities, while advocating apprenticeship programmes to prepare youths for jobs in such industries.
He also proposed financial support for young people undergoing apprenticeship programmes, saying such assistance would encourage participation and enable trainees to remain economically active while acquiring skills.
‘You begin to prepare them, empower them to programme the way they will learn such skills, and within that period pay them, even if they are doing an apprenticeship scheme, pay them during that period so that you can encourage them to participate in such,’ Coffie said.
The PDP candidate also advocated support for small and medium-scale enterprises, including affordable loans to enable traders and entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
He proposed the establishment of cottage industries across the state’s local government areas to create jobs, utilise locally available raw materials and improve the incomes of residents.
Coffie identified palm oil processing and the production of briquettes from palm kernel waste among areas that could support small-scale industrial development in the state.
He further called for a return to Akwa Ibom’s original development master plan, urging successive administrations to sustain projects initiated by previous governments rather than abandoning them when administrations change.
He identified the deep seaport, science park, airport, road network and power plants among projects associated with the state’s development plans.
Coffie said Akwa Ibom needed to revisit its original development priorities and continue projects capable of improving the livelihoods of residents.
He argued that road construction alone could not address poverty without industries and businesses capable of providing jobs and sustainable incomes.
He said his proposed development agenda, ‘A New Drive Back to the Genesis,’ would focus on human capital development, industrialisation, skills acquisition and support for small businesses.
‘When I say Genesis, let’s go back to that master plan and start to execute it all over again.
‘Road construction is interesting but road construction does not put food on the table of people,’ he said.