Ayodeji Ake

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Lagos State, Mr. Sam Egube, has charged youths in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local government to embrace the use of technology and acquire digital skills to promote entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment.

In his keynote at the Mindset With Vice Chairman, Series Eight, themed ‘Powering the Next Generation of the Digital leadership Mindset’,  Egube noted that the importance of the youth to be technologically inclined is for self-development.

He said: “We always say that when we build the youths, we build the nation. The governor’s second agenda has heightened the focus on inclusion for our youth population. We see this as a partnership with the government of Lagos state to encourage self-development, entrepreneurship, and mindset-development. And today we are with the vice chairman of Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government and we are excited to be here, aligning with what the governor is doing.” 

“We can as well see that our people are eager to learn and participate in growth. Seeing this shows that Nigeria has greatness in her and it’s manifesting. I believe that we are continuing to get better as a people and we will acculturate our minds to continue. This is what we stand for in Lagos. Special thanks to the Vice Chairman and the partner. This is a good sign of what the local government can do and the impact they can make in their environment,”

The Convener, Hon. Lucky Uduikhue, who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the local government, also said the annual event, which started as just engaging young entrepreneurs, grew into empowering youths in the local government with digital skills to reduce the unemployment burden. 

“This project started eight years ago when I came on board as the chief of staff in the local government. This programme started not with The Mindset but just a breakfast with the CEOs. They are the petty traders and entrepreneurs. We saw things differently on our way to change their orientation and how their business can thrive. We partner with Lagos state trust fund, Bank of Industry (BoI), and the rest. To help them get access to soft loans. When they came on board, they were happy and ensured their businesses were registered.” 

“In 2022, when I became the vice chairman of the local government slot, they were coming and thinking of just money, and we decided to first change their mindset, which is why we changed the programme to The Mindset, trying to add values to businesses and empowering our youths. We want them to give back to the government and the society and that’s how we got here.”

“Today, we have about 1,000 youths here, they are empowered. Today’s message is just about value and that we shouldn’t devalue ourselves. Every year we will be leaving here with value,” he said. 

Also part of the event was the official inauguration  of DataPoint Office by the deputy chief of staff, who  said the tech hub will provide both an onsite and virtual atmosphere for tech courses learning. 

The Chairman of the Local Government, Hon. Fatai Ayoola, who was unavoidably absent, in his good will message, urged the youths to seize the opportunity to learn and equip themselves. 

“We are committed to bridging the technology gap in Ajegunle and promoting digital inclusion. Our partnership with Willis Capital and WMarket will provide our youths with access to cutting-edge technology and expertise. We believe that by empowering our youths with digital skills, we can unlock their potential and create a brighter future for our community.

“To our young leaders, I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn, network, and grow. To our partners and stakeholders, I thank you for your support and look forward to working together to bring positive change in our community,” he said.

Representative of Willis Capital,  Aso Obinna, also expressed gratitude and pledged to support the initiative of equipping participants with digital skills. 

“We are yet to support this initiative and to change the mindset of the youths here positively. We are the official partner of this event this year, and we have good things to say about this local government before providing our support. We are going to be training them on how to engage them in the digital world. Specifically,  fired trading. We provide funding for the talented youths. In this event, we are going to be giving a $3,000 account to over 20 youths who can work because we are in the business of training talented soldiers,” he said. 

​