EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE COORDINATOR SAED DEPARTMENT NYSC KOGI STATE

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE SAED COORDINATOR  DEPARTMENT NYSC KOGI STATE

 The ICT department, SAED program in NYSC orientation camp Asaya Kogi state 2017 batch B stream I reporter’s crew meet with the coordinator of the SAED program, Mrs. J.O Akaah  To hear her views, expectations and admonishment on the on-going SAED program in Asaya camp.

ICT Crew:-  Good day ma, we are from the ICT section of the on-going SAED program, we are here to interview you about the SAED program. Ma please can we meet you?

SAED Boss:- Yes, you are welcome.

ICT Crew :-  Thank you Ma. Our first question will be on SAED. Can you tell us what exactly is SAED?

SAED Boss:-  ‘SAED’ is Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development program.

ICT Crew:-  Ok Ma. The SAED program has started for some years now. Briefly, can you tell us what brought about SAED as a program in the NYSC scheme and since when has it started?

SAED Boss :-  SAED started since May 2012. It was orchestrated by the high rate of unemployment among the youths that resulted into restiveness. You see a lot of kidnappers arrested, many of them are youths, and unemployment has resulted into socio-cultural challenges and difficulties for parents and graduates. All these is because emphasises have been placed on theoretical education and not practical.

ICT Crew:-  Now coming to SAED in Asaya camp, we observe that you are so passionate about making SAED in this camp one of the best in Nigeria and we really do appreciate your effort.  Ma. Thus far what are the challenges you are encountering with the SAED program in this camp.

SAED Boss:-  The challenge has been one trying to get the youths appreciate the fact that this is something they must embrace. Quite a number of them really have not the idea, we are trying to get them buy in to the concept of SAED. Another challenge is that some of them don’t know what they have passion for. Like today I have to ask some of them to come to me for counselling. They did not grow to know their talent, while some too are not enterprising, they really don’t see the reason why they should participate. So being able to get the youths to embrace SAED is really a challenge, because if they embrace the program, you won’t be pursuing them everywhere to attend the classes, they will be the one asking when the program will start.

ICT Crew:-  Alright Ma, we heard a corper in this camp saying that with the skills he had learnt from this SAED program, he can be able to make up to #200 million, how possible do you think this is?

SAED Boss:-  Well, I wouldn’t question anybody’s prowess if he have connection, you know life is about connectivity. He may have connections that can win him a contract and with that contract, he may be able to make that sum. So I’m not in a position to question what he has said.

ICT Crew:-  Thank you Ma. At the end of the training, what will be the involvement of the government in providing funds for this corpers to start up their businesses?

SAED Boss:-  The government’s involvement in setting up establishment is in making funds available to get the materials needed to train the corp members. We have so many sewing machines, oven, gas cylinders, hair dryers, clippers etc. We also have a building dedicated to SAED at the secretariat in Lokoja that corpers do come over the weekend to learn this skills and the same thing, we want to replicate in the camp here, all that is the effort of the government to make sure that the corpers are well exposed to these skills before they end their service year.

ICT Crew:-   What advice do you have for corp members towards the SAED program?

SAED Boss:-  My advice and appeal is that the youths of today should wake up to the reality of our present time. Jobs are not there, so the earlier they acquire a skill and engage themselves in something useful, the better for them. It is better to have a skill to trade with than to be roaming about the streets all in the name of looking for job. When you have something you can trade with, your future is secured.

ICT Crew:-   Ma’am, is there any certificate that will be issued out to participants after the SAED training?

SAED Boss:-  uhm! Yes and no. Yes in the sense that anybody who participates regularly and is adjudged to have learnt the skill at the end of the service year, during the post camp training will be given a certificate to show that he/she has really learnt a skill. But our experience over the year is that some corp members will start but will not finish the learning, so as long as you don’t finish the training and we don’t know what you are made up of, we won’t give you our certificate, we don’t give certificate to half-baked entrepreneurs. 

ICT Crew:-  As we said earlier, we are from the ICT section of the SAED program and we’ve realised that our trainings cost over #250,000. We want to appreciate the NYSC for that. But we want to know what other effort the NYSC is putting in place to ensure that youths are encouraged to learn this skill? Because, we just realised the value and we hope every other person will do the same.

SAED Boss:- Well, If you ask one or two corp members on camp, when we started this program we gave them all workbooks free of charge. We brought the Director General of PPP to come and motivate them, we also brought ex-corp members to motivate the youths. The essence is to let them see their age bracket talking to them about what we are saying. The same reason why we bring in some young entrepreneurs as trainers. Because we know if we bring the elderly ones, the corp members will think that acquiring the skill is old school. You can see that 70% of our trainers are young people (ex-corp members).

ICT Crew:-  So Ma’am, are you saying that we will have the opportunity to come back here to train corp members coming behind us?

SAED Boss:-    Definitely! I look forward to having some of you becoming trainers next camp after your passing out.

ICT Crew:-   Thank you Ma’am for your time, we will keep in touch to have more of your guidance.

SAED Boss:-  You are welcome.

credit

MISS KEMI ABIOYE
 (TEAM LEAD FOR SAED ICT SCRIPT WRITER )