The lawmaker representing Ekiti Central Senatorial district, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has solicited the extension of funding of entrepreneurial studies by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to private universities in the country.
Bamidele explained that when private ivory towers are enlisted in the funding by the federal government agency would address youth restiveness and increasing unemployment rate.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, vehemently disagreed with the current template, whereby such funding was being limited to public universities, insisting that intervention should cover both public and private ivory towers offering entrepreneurial studies as a course.
Bamidele, the Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum, said this at Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State at the weekend, while being garlanded with the honourary Doctor of Public Administration by the Joseph Ayo Babalola University(JABU), in recognition of his exemplary and enigmatic services to the nation.
The Federal lawmaker added that the priority placed on entreneurship by JABU, underscored, “its unshaken commitment to abate the cankerworms of unemployment and poverty that are ravaging the country and having resonating effects like kidnappings, killings and internet fraud.”
Bamidele advocated holistic reworking of the country’s curricular from primary to tertiary cadres to inject skills and entrepreneurship that will promote productivity and revitalise the ailing economy.
Proferring solution to the seemingly stroppy crisis of youth unemployment and the attendant multifaceted crises, Bamidele said: “To this end, I implore the Federal Government to encourage all public and private universities that are currently engaging in entrepreneurship studies by extending the TETFUND benefits and privileges to them.
“This is to enable them admit and train more students in line with global standards. Also, as the nation’s private sector and the innovative industry is getting repositioned for us to build a more expansive economy, the Government should urgently create more enabling legal regime and infrastructural environment for business and creativity to thrive better in Nigeria.”
Bamidele applauded JABU for placing high premium on promotion of self employment among its graduates, saying this has distinguished it as a citadel of learning with focus and clairvoyance for excellence.
“The priority your university attaches to entrepreneurship training is indeed, an eloquent testimony to the depth of the vision, wealth of experience and the magnitude of exposure of the founding fathers of this university.
” It is a demonstration of their ability to see ahead and readily admit that the greatness of our future as a nation largely depends on the extent to which our youth can create wealth through the deployment of their diverse skills and innovative ideas.
” Apart from helping to curb the menace of massive unemployment among our graduates and young school leavers, it also gives them the capacity to gainfully earn income, become financially self-reliant and even create job opportunities for others.
“All over the world, it is no longer realistic for Governments to provide white collar jobs for all the young graduates from the universities, polytechnics, technical colleges and other tertiary institutions.
“The contemporary trend is that Governments are seriously looking for ways to prune down the cost of governance and are taking bold measures to replace humans with high tech machines and artificial intelligence,” he said.
Bamidele lauded the JABU’s management for the award conferment , saying this would catalyse him do more in promoting the country further in all his public engagements .
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Olaosebikan Fakolujo, praised Bamidele for his contributions to humanity as a public servant and human rights lawyer.
Fakolujo urged the federal lawmaker to sustain the tempo of exemplary leadership that had distinguished him as one public servant with love and panache for good governance to help in bringing Nigeria out of the current precarious and debilitating status.
