Dr Tony Elumelu, Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA), urged Nigerian students to embrace entrepreneurship in order to overcome the problem of unemployment.
Elumelu, founder of the Dr. Tony Elumelu Foundation made the call in Sokoto where he addressed students at the National Dialogue Series
organized by the Students’ Union, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
According to him” I applaud this kind of initiative that brings today’s leaders and the people to whom the future truly belongs to interact and share perspectives.
“ The Tony Elumelu Foundation is committed to empowering young
African men and women as my contribution towards the development of our continent.
” This is borne out of my deep-rooted belief that entrepreneurship is
the single most critical ingredient for economic empowerment and jobs creation.”
Elumelu further commended the efforts of the Vice Chancellor,
Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru and the University’s management for
instituting the National Dialogue Series.
In the same vein, he lauded the efforts of an alumnus of the University Dr. Shadi Sabeh, for his efforts and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, respectively in seeing that the National Dialogue Series sees the light of the day while describing Shadi as,” a fine example of the great force and impact our young ones can achieve, if we support and empower them.”
institutions.
” If you are a student of this great university, you have every reason to be proud, and if you are an alumnus, you equally have every reason to be proud.”
In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Muhammad Zangaria, acknowledged the great impact the guest speaker has been making in seeing that the African Continent joins the league of developed nations.
Also speaking, Vice-chancellor of the University, Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, lauded the UBA Chairman for the intellectual nurturing of students of the institution noting that Elumelu remains an icon of great recognition in the continent and globe at large.
Zuru further advocated the establishment of the Tony Elumelu Business School in the University, in partnership with Elumelu while disclosing that the proposed School would be training budding Entrepreneurs in the country, to further tame poverty, unemployment and youths restiveness.
Similarly, the Vice Chancellor opined that the proposed school would help in providing plausible solutions to the formidable socio-economic problems
plaguing Nigeria.
While commending the management of the institution, President of the Students Union, Comrade Idris Mubarak Maibasira said,” the unparalleled philanthropic movement of Elumelu had taken myriad of Nigerians out of poverty and had equipped scores with entrepreneurial skills.
He further enjoined the Sokoto State Government and Elumelu to assist in easing students accommodation problems on campuses while requesting the UBA Chairman to construct a pedestrian bridge at the ”Kofar mata” route, to serve as part of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility.“