Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the birth of the Jubilee fellowship is an important statement on the new and dynamic way to solve current economic problems.
Osinbajo expressed this view in address at the deployment of the first batch of Nigerian Jubilee Fellows on Thursday in Abuja.
The Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP), inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 31, 2021, is a youth empowerment partnership initiative between the Federal Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“The idea is to have every year, 20000 Jubilee fellows working in establishments all around Nigeria, learning work skills, being mentored by entrepreneurs, business managers and experienced public servants. And they are paid every month for the year.
“So, the birth of the Jubilee fellowship is an important statement on the new and dynamic way to solve economic problems today.
“ It must be a collaboration among government, private sector, and civil society, development partners or what is called third sector.
“ It must be individuals in these sectors, coming together to talk informally and then developing big game changing ideas.’’
The vice president described the beneficiaries as powerful and energetic, potential entrepreneurs, business leaders, public sector leaders, and the movers and shakers of business and industry.
Osinbajo offered pieces of advice to them.
“The first piece of advice I would like to give you is this–so you are going into organised work places at a time when jobs are relatively scarce.
“The point then is that you must be prepared to make an impact on your employers and on your colleagues such that whenever they have to make a recommendation on who to employ they think of you first; in other words, how do you make yourself a valuable employee and a valuable colleague to your co-employees?
“ The answer is to understand what is required in the modern workplace; you need a competent, knowledgeable team player.
“What every employer wants is a good team, a team that works closely; the rule today is collaboration, working together, you need to be the employee who is willing and ready to work with everyone, not try and look better than everyone else, so that like a football team, by working closely together your team scores goals and wins.’’
According to him, a selfish, self-seeking player no matter how smart, will destroy the work of the team.
He said that one could only be a good team player if one understood the game, or how the organisation worked.
“And are you competent? So, even if you are a receptionist at an organisation, you must read up and ask questions to understand what the organisation is about, what they are trying to achieve, how they work, what their strengths are, what their challenges are and how to help to solve some of their problems or how best to support those who are doing the actual work.
“I once asked a young man who was working at a large establishment the name of the managing director of the company he worked for, but he didn’t know.
“There was another young man who served as a youth corps member in a consulting firm but couldn’t tell me the substance of one single consulting job the firm was engaged in.”
The vice president said that one could not be competent if one did not know one’s organisation, the business it did and its goals.
He said that that competence was not just knowing what one was trained to do, but also about being knowledgeable about a lot of things by being prepared to learn, to study, and to ask questions every day.
Osinbajo said that the best worker was one who could multitask.
“Let me end by saying to you, that you are young and educated at the most advanced moment in human history, this is the most advantageous moment for any young person and many of you are proving this.
“Since 2015 we have seen 6 tech and innovation companies who are now described as unicorns that is a company valued at over one billion dollars, established by young men and women under thirty many of them trained in Nigerian universities.
“But you don’t have to be the entrepreneur to be a success; you can be the great software engineer, the administrator, or the manager of men and resources.
“Every day presents that great opportunity, seize this moment and achieve your best dreams!
“So, let me again thank our partners, the UNDP, the EU the private sector, 5000 businesses and especially Sterling Bank for their support and fresh commitments they have made,’’ he said.
In his goodwill message, Mohammed Yahaya, Resident Representative of the UNDP in Nigeria, said that 1000 companies, including 13 from the European Union, had joined the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme.
Representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, UN, EU, private sector partners also delivered goodwill messages at the event. (NAN)
