Lagos govt to empower 1 million youths in ICT, AI inclusive

   .Calls for collective action against drug abuse among youths

Ibrahim Quadri

Lagos State Government on Wednesday announced a new partnership with an international organisation to provide opportunities in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for one million youths in the state.

This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mr. Mobolaji Abubakre Ogunlende during the ongoing Ministerial press briefing at Alausa, Ikeja.

He said the programme will be divided into four cohorts, starting with 250,000 youths, and will offer different cadres of certificates, including Artificial Intelligence.

According to the commissioner, “We are starting with one million youth in Lagos State and we are looking to break it down to four cohorts, starting with 250,000 youths., it is tailored for formal and informal youth.

“Some youths have not been opportuned to go to school, but they want to learn, while some have gone to school but have drop out, some do not like school, there are programmes that have been established for them, and there are different cadres of certificates. The brilliant one can go as far as Artificial Intelligence there are programmes that will suit you as well. It’s across the value chain from the formal straight to the informal.”

The Commissioner emphasized the need for a collective effort to combat drug abuse among youths in the state.

He however expressed concern over the increasing rate of drug abuse among the younger generation, noting that many are introduced to it at a very young age due to peer pressure.

He revealed that the state government has been engaging in various programmes and activities, including drama, musical concerts, and training of psychotherapists, to address the issue.

“Whilst we’re giving this briefing, it is also an opportunity to make a claim that advocacy on drug abuse is the responsibility of all of us. And we will continue to request, to plead, to beg, that we all come together to ensure that we do advocacy across legal states.

“Again, consciousness is advised that we’re seeing amongst the younger generation and it’s something that a lot of them are imbibing at a very young age. We continue to do programmes and activities which are not limited, but to include drama, musical concerts, training of psychotherapies to see how they can aid some of the children that have been caught in this act.

“But again, a lot of it is also caught in advocacy. And you see, we also realize that some of the children that are caught in this act is against peer pressure. So we continue to do a lot of advocacy, we go to a lot of schools, with the help and support of our social workers, we ensure that we go into the schools in the remote areas where we found that some of these activities drive out from,” he added.

In the same vein, he reiterated that advocacy remains a crucial aspect of the fight against drug abuse, and urged everyone to join hands in this effort.