The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has praised Nigerian youths for contributing positively to the growth of the economy through the entertainment industry.
Dare said this on Tuesday at the on-going National Youth Conference in Abuja.
In his opening remarks at the 3-day conference Dare asserted that while the youth have energies needed to power the nation, it is high time they understood the many processes and procedures that lead to political choices and decisions.
"They need to start appreciating that decisions taken by Government may not necessarily be popular but critical to national security. They need to start understanding why joining and participating in political parties is essential to getting political power. I hope our speakers will make much reference to this, as we proceed." the Minister added.
Reaffirming that there are many areas the Youth stand tall, the Minister saluted their exploits in Sports, entertainment and the creative industry. "Our movies and music are the biggest Nigerian export today and we have not even scratched the surface yet. The giant strides of our Youth in the movie industry popularly referred to as Nollywood for instance, has placed Nigeria on the global pedestal, contributing at least $7.2bn to Nigeria's GDP.
"You already know that our music industry is a runaway success. We have seen collaboration of the likes of Wizkid, Davido with top artistes across the World. We now talk about the soft power of sports, entertainment and creatives. As a Ministry, one of our most important obligations is to initiate programs that will support and create opportunities for the youth of our country", Dare enthused.
Citing the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) that has provided access to funds to over 6,000 youth MSMEs across the country, the Minister also revealed strategic implementation Partners like the EU, IBM, Google, Microsoft amongst others have collaborated with the Ministry to deliver robust and impacful training and support for the youth in diverse digital skill areas.
The Minister expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his consistent commitment to Youth development, citing various youth-focused schemes like N-Power, NSIP, NYIF, GEEP and his approval for the hosting of the maiden edition of the Conference as an indication of the support of the President for growth of the Youth.
Dare concluded by emphasising that the Conference is about collaboration of Government with the Youth, walking and working together to chart a course for a more prosperous future.
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