By; Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna

In its efforts towards making Youths self-reliance, the Centre for Human Resource Development and Empowerment Initiative Kaduna (CHRDEI) in collaboration with the Centre for Human Resource Development National Open University of Nigeria (CHRD-NOUN), has graduated 106 students who were trained in Computer ICT and Web Designing for six months free of charge.

The 25th graduation ceremony of the CHRDEI Centre which is meant to promote, support and sustain entrepreneurship and small-scale business through training, education and provision of support to vulnerable groups such as women, Youths, and street children, was held at the National Open University Auditorium along Kaduna – Zaria expressway.

Speaking at the occasion, the founder of CHRDEI Honourable. Dr Muhammad Ali explained that the gesture has become incumbent upon them to give back to society what society has given to them because one of the greatest challenges facing the government today is providing the youths with meaningful and gainful employment and opportunities for personal development.

He added that the CHRDEI can not thank the NOUN enough for affording them the golden opportunity to collaborate with the Centre in the past 11 years to contribute their quota towards human capacity development, saying the process of the collaboration has been able to rid society of disillusionment, despondency, degradation, drug addiction.

Dr, Ali said, “as such, it is gratifying to note that freeing women and youth from the shackles of want and poverty through this program has shown the increased need for a skill acquisition programme, technical, and vocational training because education has become necessary in our collective resolve to tackle the security breaches in Nigeria.

“To eradicate this, we must embark on serious and concerted skills acquisition training backed by entrepreneurial support for our teaming youths population. So, I congratulate all the graduands here today because you are graduating with very useful and marketable skills as I advise you to say no to political thuggery as the elections are around the corner.”

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the National University of Nigeria,( NOUN) Professor Olufemi Peter disclosed that it is important to note that success in the information-driven world today requires creativity and innovation far beyond the conventional educational system to which many had hitherto been accustomed.

The VC NOUN, represented by the director Centre for excellence in migration and global studies (CEMGS), Dr Gloria Anetor expressed utmost appreciation to the host, Kaduna state government for its support and partnership with NOUN, saying many well-paid jobs are no longer for degree holders, but also for those that can creatively solve problems with special skills and add value to human existence.

“I call on you to be the good ambassadors of the CHEDEI – CHRD/NOUN collaboration as you engage with clients in the pursuit of your livelihood, I urge you to be steadfast, committed, resilient, innovative, hardworking, patriotic, and above all built trust while working to achieve your goal.

”Earlier in his remarks, the Director of Centre for Human Resource Development NOUN Kaduna, Dr Aminu Umar explained that the institution is saddled with the mandate of certifying people under a forum or organizations with skills by ensuring professionalism in their fields after putting them to test by their experts.

Dr Aminu Umar Tasked the trainees to be trustworthy wherever they found themselves and also urged them to see themselves as ambassadors of the CHEDEI–CHRD/NOUN while striving hard to become good men and women of this country can be proud of.