The Director-General, Na
tional Board for Technology Acquisition (NBTI), Dr Mohammed Jubrin, says Nigeria’s problem is not unemployment rather lack of financial support for the establishment of businesses.
Jubrin made this assertion in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said that there were many avenues through which people could make a living in the country apart from oil and gas.
“But that nobody wants to look at these areas because everyone wants a ready-made market,’’ he said.
He said that even in the country’s forests, nature itself had endowed it with many things that could be used to generate income and employment.
The NBTI boss said that Nigeria has enough timbers that could be made into finished goods as furniture, if only people who were ready to render these services were empowered with financial support.
“I told the people of Calabar when we went there for inspection that whoever says there is no employment is because there is no support for such people.
“ But I still maintain and I can say it boldly that there is no unemployment in this country, that is if the people who are unemployed would be supported to be on their own.
“Nigerians are industrious people, they can create the much needed jobs and most of our youths will be off the streets if they can be given the support in the provision of infrastructure and capital.
According to him, one barrel of honey is more expensive than 12 barrels of crude oil but nobody is pursing honey production although world class pharmaceutical companies have great need for it.
“We don’t have the lab to test the quality when people are able to harvest it; the only lab presently provided is that of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria.
“Now tell me, if the government can encourage even private people to establish labs; it should not be only the Standard Organisation of Nigeria that should provide labs,’’ he said.
Jubrin said that the technology of bee keeping was important in Nigeria and should be a core research element in the universities.
“I spoke about timber in Kaduna State and they have one of the finest timbers but the timber forest in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna is housing criminals.
“That is the place with the second highest criminal activities in Nigeria apart from Sambisa,’’ he said.
Jubrin decried the fact that even with a huge deposit of timber in the forests, most of the country’s universities do not offer courses in timber technology.
“Ethiopian airlines come to Nigeria five times daily from China importing woods, building the country’s’ economy and creating jobs for their youths, while we lament that there are no jobs in Nigeria,’’ he said.
He said that youths could be supported with infrastructure for production in areas such as cocoa production and fish farming.
He therefore called on both the government and the private sector to provide support in areas the country has comparative advantage, especially in forest reserves.
“It is only with these measures that unemployment will be eradicated in our country and youths will be gainfully employed to contribute meaningfully to national economic development.