A youth activist and a National Service Personnel in the Tamale Metropolitan has appealed to the government to restore the NABCO programme to absorb outgone service personnel to avoid frustration among the youth.
According to Chief Ibrahim Nurudeen, the competition in the job market is tense, and it would be frustrating for a person who has completed national service to secure one.
He said the backbone and the success of every nation depend on the youth: “Youth unemployment is a threat to national security; a nation cannot develop if its youth are not catered for in their late 20s–35s.”.
“If I am given the opportunity to speak directly to people in authority, either the president, the chief of staff, or any body that matters, the first thing I’ll voice out is youth unemployment, especially for us as service personnel and our seniors who have just finished theirs. If for nothing at all, the government should consider bringing back the NABCO Programme to absorb a great part of the outgone personnel; some of them could be used in the agriculture sector, industries, health, construction firms, education, etc.,” he added.
Chief Nurudeen revealed that hundreds of those who just transitioned out of the mandatory national service are already facing the real side of the world; he therefore reiterated the need for the government to engage them through the NABCO Programme.
“As a youth activist and a journalist, I’ll continue to remind people in authority to take the welfare of the Ghanaian youth seriously. I do ask myself, What is next after the National Service? Is there hope for the personnel after the one-year period? With this advocacy, I know and believe the government will create more jobs; however, the government cannot do it alone, so I am calling on NGO’s, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs to support youth development,” he said.
He further advised his colleague service personnel and Ghanaian students to go beyond acquiring academic certificates and start learning skills.
Chief Nurudeen made these comments at a youth forum organised by the Dagbon Advocacy Network over the weekend in Tamale at the Global Dream hotel.
