The editorial board of Ohibaba.com news website has chosen the Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, as its State Governor of the Year 2024.

The e-paper said on Monday that Governor Soludo was chosen for his idea of the “One Youth Two Skills program,” which has already empowered over 5,000 youths in the state with employable skills for self-employment or to be hired by employers.

The second phase of the scheme, being implemented by Anambra State Ministry of Youth and Development,  is commencing with over 8, 000 candidates.

This is commendable and noteworthy,  given the fact that Nigeria faces skills shortage due to some factors, including:

• Lack of modern skills: The average Nigerian graduate lacks the skills needed to compete in the job market, such as digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving. 

• Inadequate education: Many Nigerian graduates lack the technical and practical skills required by industries like oil and gas, IT, and healthcare. 

• Technological advancements: Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and robotics require specialized skills that are not widely available. 

• Economic shifts: As Nigeria diversifies its economy, industries like fintech, agriculture, and renewable energy require skills that existing workers don’t have. 

• Brain drain: Highly skilled professionals leave Nigeria for better opportunities abroad, which exacerbates the skills gap. 

• Limited investment in workforce development: Some companies don’t prioritize training and upskilling their employees. 

This is commendable and noteworthy,  given the fact that Nigeria faces skills shortage due to some factors,

Soludo said: ” The One Youth, Two Skills” program is aimed at “empowering youths on a sustainable basis, to teach them how to fish and eliminate hunger.”

The governor said the goal of his administration is to transform Anambra into the largest skill hub to give the youth employable and exportable skills.

“This is a unique training program. Many of the artisans’ works and skills are now in short supply,” Soludo said during the launch of phase two of the scheme recently.

” Our investment in youths, with our innovative ‘One Youth, 2 Skills Programme’— which the Federal Government has now adapted into the national curricula, has created over 5,000 new entrepreneurs, with an additional 8,300 soon to complete their apprenticeship and will be empowered to become entrepreneurs.

Our innovation district— our own Silicon Valley—aims to create a million digital tribe army, and so far, tens of thousands have received digital training including Coding skills. Many are already employed in the digital space.

We are very intentional in this drive to empower the next generation to take charge of their lives and move Nigeria forward.

The year 2050 Expectations

By 2050, it is expected that there will be more than 400 million Nigerians and by the end of this century, Nigeria will be the third most populated country in the world after India and China.

With an aging Europe and North America, Nigeria must opportunistically prepare to become the number one supplier of labor to the rest of the world.

Probably by then, the export of labor will be Nigeria’s largest source of export earnings.

So, the Nigerian state must deliberately prioritize and invest in the people—especially their health and education.

“The tomorrow we see in the One Youth Two Skills program, makes Ohibaba.com pick Governor Soludo as our State Governor of the Year.

Editor.