On Youth Entrepreneurship Dev Fund Bill

It is a known fact that youth of Nigeria constitute over 60 per cent of the workforce, 40 per cent of the unemployed and about 50 per cent underemployed in the nation. It is also regrettable that these youths practically live in squalour due to the absence of the necessary enablers for their sustainability.
In recognition of the enormous potentials of the teeming Nigerian youth, which constitute over 55per cent of the country’s population and many of whose budding talent have not been effectively harnessed for the socio-economic growth and development of the country, that the envisioned legislation titled: ‘Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund Bill,’ sponsored by Hon. Dr Farah Dagogo (Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency), was conceived.
The proposed law for youths to be the beneficiaries of five percent of the country’s capital estimates in the Appropriation Act of every year, last Thursday, February 24, 2022, received overwhelming support from the public at a one-day hearing.
In a statement made available to The Tide by Hon. Dagogo’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Lawal, at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja stated that the heavily attended public hearing, coordinated by the House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, received overwhelming support and standing ovation from those in attendance.
Speaker of the House, represented by the Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said the 9th House of Representatives was desirous of providing legislations that would have long-lasting positive effects on the well being of the youths.
Dagogo pointed out that, while the youths of Nigeria have the capacity to effectively and significantly contribute to the nation’s development,  constraining factors that are largely economical in nature have contributed to the stifling of these positive potentials from ‘this significant group of the populace.’
He said that such challenges might not be unconnected to the negative vices by some of the youths to plug these economic gaps, thus bringing about some level of instability in the polity and system of the country.
He likened the future of the nation, and it’s people, is like a  mirage and looking very austere, saying: “Based on the sordid situation we find ourselves, may I pertinently ask these rhetorical questions:
“What went wrong with Nigerian youths, and how can we reverse the trend to galvanise them to become more functional and pivotal of entrepreneurial change?
“Here lies the essence of this Bill. This Bill is monumental, colossal, titanic and a roadmap for safe guarding the future of Nigerian youths.
“When passed, it would provide the necessary panacea on how to re-invent the economy and jettison poverty with youths taking the lead as tigers of revolution,” he added.
“The federal lawmaker posited that the proposed Youth Fund, therefore, aims to concretely tackle these issues at its root causes by making readily available and accessible a dedicated Trust Fund to which statutory accruable resources will be paid into, administered by a statutory body, and devoted strictly to advancing economic facilities to youths for the entrepreneurship and skills development.
“In the bill we are proposing that sources of revenue would not be less than five percent of the capital estimates of the Appropriation Act of every year and profits accruing periodically from approved investments made out of the capital in the Youth Fund.
“We are also bringing in private entities to contribute to the youth fund. Consequently, and mandatorily, they would contribute about one per cent of profit as declared and other revenue legitimately accruing to the Fund by means not provided for in the bill.
Importantly, the Youth Fund shall be managed by the youths, thus they automatically become bosses. It would be a fiscal responsibility that engenders transparency and accountant ability, because relevant sections in the bill have been proposed to address these issues.
“In the Bill, we are proposing that sources of revenue would not be less than five per cent of the capital estimates in the Appropriation Act of every year and profits accruing periodically from approved investments made out of the capital in the Youth Fund. We are also bringing in private entities to contribute to the Youth Fund. Consequently and mandatorily, they would contribute about one per cent of profit as declared and other revenue legitimately accruing to the Fund by means not provided for in the bill. Importantly, the Youth Fund shall be managed by the youths, “the sponsor Farah Dagogo explained. He listed some benefits of the bill as follows:
“It is hoped that the Youth Fund would provide a vehicle for assured socioeconomic security for Nigerian youths.
“Also it would spur them to become employers of labour, self-reliance and captains of industry.
“The aim is to reduce unemployment which, in the main, would diminish social vices that stiffen development currently pervading the country.
“This bill is monumental, colossal, titanic and a roadmap for safeguarding the future of Nigerian youths.
“When passed, it would provide the necessary panacea on how to reinvent the economy and jettison poverty with youths taking the lead as tigers of revolution”.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Yemi Adaramodu, lauded the sponsor of the bill, while dismissing claims that the youths have been catered for in various youth programmes, and pointing out that ‘the so-called intervention programmes’ were not backed by law and as such difficult to monitor.
Also in their separate reactions, some important personalities have added their voices for the speedy passage of the bill by the Chairman, House Committee on Youth Development, House of Representatives, are as follows:
A Professor in the Department of History and International Studies, Kogi State University, Prof Patrick Ukase, expressed joy ‘that there is a consensus on youth unemployment’ and an urgent need to arrest the situation with the idea surrounding the bill.
Similarly, Prof Sam Otamiri (Ignatius Ajuru University, Rivers State) described the bill as an idea that should be encouraged to see reality, adding that the bill is a clear solution to the problems of youth unemployment.
A Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Peter Mbah, stated that the importance of establishing the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund cannot be overemphasised. This is because this Bill seeks to create a Fund which will be used to provide financial support to Nigerian youth with entrepreneurship skills. It is hoped that the Youth Fund would provide a vehicle for assured socioeconomic security for Nigerian youth, to galvanise them to become employers of labour, self-reliant and captains of industry. Admittedly, entrepreneurs are important to market economies because they can act as the wheels of the economic growth of these economies. By creating new products and services, they stimulate new employment, which ultimately results in the acceleration of economic development.
Finally, the Trust Fund if established will improve leadership experience. It will improve self-discipline, communication skills, passion, optimism, patience, and unrelenting work ethic. Building a company from the ground up hones these leadership traits, which means that entrepreneurship, can transform one into an inspiring leader both professionally and personally.
Consequently, this Trust Fund will play vital roles in human resource development in Nigeria where such technical resource is needed for her development. This can be instrumental in making the remarkable contribution to economic growth of Nigeria by way of suitable fund provision according to the needs of the entrepreneurs. Thus, the establishment Trust Fund can help our Nigerian youths respond to the challenges of unemployment for self-reliance.
Mbah emphasised that the procedure adequately evaluates unemployment status in various areas such as labour, resources, and any other information pertaining to the operation of the economy. Besides, in this age of unemployment, only Youth Entrepreneuship Development Trust Fund can assure one of a job and a comfortable living.
He added that Nigeria has one of the largest technical manpower in Africa, yet compared to its population it is not significant and there is a tremendous scope of improvement in this area.  The emphasis has been on general education, with entrepreneurship at the receiving end. This has resulted in large number of educated people remaining unemployed.
“This phenomenon has now been recognised by policy makers and hence there is a greater thrust on entrepreneurship education and the need to set up the Trust Fund. The Trust Fund if established will put in place the application of theoretical knowledge to practice (PRAXI) and this can be described as the master key to social, political and economic transformation of Nigeria.’
According to him, “I strongly recommend the passage of the Bill for the establishment of the Bill for a law to establish the youth entrepreneurship development trust fund (establishment) bill, 2021.’
Others who spoke in glowing terms of the bill included, Prof Tamuno Dappa (Federal University, Wukari, Taraba) and Dr. Tony Egobueze (Rivers State University). They were in unison that the bill if fully implemented would ‘ afford politicians, lecturers and others avenue to sleep with their two eyes closed’.
However, the Director, Kaduna Study Centre, National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Umar Aminu described the allocation of 5% capital of the country’s annual Capital Appropriation and one percent profit from the Private sector as ‘being over ambitious’. He nevertheless supported the other aspects of the bill, saying if passed into law and implemented, it would serve as a major pillar for the country’s development and ultimately its economy.

By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana