Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has advised the young Nigerians who have been selected for the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, NJFP, to endeavour to make an impact on their employers, show competence in what they do and be knowledgeable about a lot of things.
Vice President Osinbajo was speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the deployment of the first batch of participants in the programme.
President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Nigeria Jubilee Fellowship Programme in August last as a youth empowerment partnership initiative between Nigeria and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.
The Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme is designed to provide opportunities for young graduates to learn new skills and get job placements to earn a living in public and private sector organisations.
A total of 20,000 young Nigerian graduates are in the programme’s roaster for 2022.
Professor Osinbajo advised the fellows to be mindful of the situation in the job market and be prepared to make an impact on their employers as they go into organised workplaces.
“The point then is that you must be prepared to make an impact on your employers and on your colleagues such that whenever they have to make a recommendation on who to employ they think of you first.
“In other words how do you make yourself a valuable employee and a valuable colleague to your co-employees? The answer is to understand what is required in the modern workplace.”
Urging the young fellows to strive towards competence and adequate knowledge, Osinbajo told them to work as team players and collaborate with other employees.
“What every employer wants is a good team, a team that works closely. The rule today is collaboration, working together, you need to be the employee who is willing and ready to work with everyone, not try and look better than everyone else, so that like a football team, by working closely together your team scores goals and wins.
“A selfish, self-seeking player, no matter how smart you are, will destroy the work of the team. But you can only be a good team player if you understand the game, or how the organization works.”
The vice president also spoke on the need for the fellows to be knowledgeable about a lot of things, saying they needed to be prepared to learn, study, and ask a question every day.
“The best worker is one who can multitask,” the Vice President said, adding “that you are young and educated at the most advanced moment in human history, this is the most advantageous moment for any young person and many of you are proving this.”
Osinbajo informed the Jubilee Fellows that six tech and innovation companies founded by young Nigerian entrepreneurs since 2015 have grown to become unicorns—that is a company valued at over one billion dollars.
“But you don’t have to be the entrepreneur to be a success—you can be the great software engineer the administrator, or the manager of men and resources.”
1000 companies join the programme
Delivering his goodwill message at the event, the Resident Representative of the UNDP in Nigeria, Mohammed Yahaya said that 1000 companies, including 13 from the European Union, EU, have joined the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme.
Yahaya stated that the EU has also allocated about a 44million Euros to the Programme.
He said that Nigeria showed commitment to the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows and released 1 million dollars to the UNDP for the design of the programme.
“Nigeria is a pioneer in this area, an innovation that is being copied in many other African countries.
“The UNDP is being asked to look into this kind of design in parts of the continent because the issue of getting young people to start and getting a job is a continental problem, not only a Nigerian problem.”
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mathias Schmale also spoke, pointing out that Nigeria contributes about 20% of Africa’s young people who could be harnessed to achieve the country’s development aspirations and to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.
“We know Nigerian youths are known globally as trendsetters and pacesetters. Not only are you highly skilled and educated but also top creative and innovative entrepreneurs.”
While stating that Nigeria is a leading destination for startup investments, Schmale said that the country faces enormous challenges and is exposed to life-threatening risks.
Among others who delivered the goodwill messages at the event were the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, Samuela Isopi, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, represented by Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Habiba Lawal.
Dominica NwabufoTo
