Gov. Nasir El-Rufai on Wednesday, says the State Government will support the emergence of a hub for cultural enterprises that will provide source of livelihood for the youth.
El-Rufai said a fully developed culture hub would serve as center of innovation, encourage creativity and talent development, as well as boost the state Internally Generated Revenue.
The governor made the pledge when he hosted a delegation of performing artists who visited him at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
He stressed that government has an obligation to expand options for young people across all sectors.
“Kaduna State has a population of about 10 million people, with 70% of them being youth. The state government can only employ less than 100,000 into the civil service.
“This is why we are looking at other ways to create job opportunities for our youth to earn a means of livelihood, and specialize in certain skills,’’ he said.
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The governor added that youth unemployment is a major cause of the current vices and insecurity in the country, as such it’s imperative to look outside the box and create avenues for youth to be gainfully employed.
El-Rufai explained that the promotion of talent and enterprise was the reason the state government established the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology.
According to him, the mandate of the ministry includes encouraging innovation, enterprise, job creation and economic diversification.
“The focal areas for this ambitious effort is to support talent and skills, which include enterprises in the technology, cultural and other spheres,’’ he added.
The governor appreciated the contributions of the culture industry in terms of skills generation, job creation, promotion of cultural values and history preservation.
Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Mandawari, a prominent Kannywood actor who led the delegation, appreciated the governor for the pledge to support the emergence of Kaduna hub for cultural enterprises.
He said that the proposed culture hub, which would host a world class theater, a cinema and shopping malls, would boost economic activities in the State.
Mandawari added that the enterprises in the culture sector, including books, music, animation, movies and others, are veritable avenues for job creation, from direct jobs in studios, on sets and in the fashion industry, to vendors in the hospitality sector, among others.
He appreciated the support given to them by the Kaduna state government and assured that they will continue to promote peace, unity, enlightenment and job creation.(NAN)