The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Tertiary Education, has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to eradicating poverty and unemployment among the state’s youth and graduates by prioritising digital and entrepreneurship knowledge.
This declaration was made over the weekend by the Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Sule, while addressing undergraduate students from Lagos State-owned tertiary institutions during the state government-sponsored Job Initiative Lagos (JIL) programme at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo campus.
Commissioner Sule emphasised that the Lagos State Government, under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is resolute in implementing the THEMES PLUS Agenda and will not allow students graduating from state institutions to be left behind in the dynamic, digitally-dominated global landscape. “Despite competing demands for state resources, the government has continued to prioritise digital and entrepreneurship knowledge as a vital key for youth and graduates to achieve self-employment,” Mr Sule stated.
The Commissioner strongly encouraged the students to fully leverage the training opportunity to acquire essential skills that complement their academic learning. He stressed the importance of taking the training seriously, reminding participants that the resources being utilised are public funds. He urged them to justify the government’s investment by contributing significantly to the economic and productive sectors of the state in the future, thus fostering the overall development of Lagos.
In his contribution, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Mr Adeniran Kasali, informed the students that the training curriculum was meticulously packaged by leading experts in digital and entrepreneurship knowledge. The facilitators were drawn from a group of professionals specifically chosen for their ability to relate practical information and experience on achieving success in difficult and challenging environments.
Mr Kasali implored the student participants to validate their attendance by immediately putting the newly acquired knowledge into practice, ideally before graduating. He asserted that the government has empowered them to become future employers of labour.
The three-weekend training programme for students in state-owned tertiary institutions is being conducted simultaneously at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, and the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET), Yaba. This initiative is a core component of the current administration’s strategic implementation of the THEMES Plus Agenda, aimed at equipping state tertiary institution undergraduates with the necessary knowledge to compete for global opportunities and cement the state’s position as a digital hub in West Africa.
