Wednesday 25 November 2020

IT IS THE ERA OF RESPONSIBLE YOUTH IN NIGERIA

By Razaq Adedeji Jimoh 


THREE
different jobs and empowerment opportunities from the Federal Government policies are subsisting for close 2 to 7months respectively. They are the N75billion National Youth Investment Funds (NYIF) which opened in October amidst the crises of the #ENDSARS protest; and the recruitment exercises for the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) which application closed about the month of March. Interestingly, as should be so obvious, these are policies meant to address the problem of youth unemployment and the so called youth idleness believed to have instigated the protest to the level of wanton destruction of lives and property.

Information available to this Journal in terms of the responses to these job opportunities is that about a million applicants have expressed their interests for them respectively apiece. 

NIS and NSCDC recruitment applicants to seat for JAMB exams

The Minister of Interior, who is also the former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, gave an update on the recruitments into NIS and NSCDC when the members of House of Representatives Committee on Interior visited his Ministry on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, as part of their over sight functions. He confirmed that over one million Nigerian youths applied for the recruitment exercise and were awaiting the aptitude test for the screening exercise. He insisted that the aptitude test would yet have to be done to complete the recruitment process this year because it was already captured in this 2020 budget year.

He further explained that the delay in completing the process was due to the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic and the logistic issue of how to assemble the over one million applicants for the aptitude tests. And to find a way around the latter problem, he said his ministry was already in talk with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to use the Computer Based Test (CBT) facility of the Board for the aptitude test, which would ultimately help to determine the final list of successful applicants.


The National Youth Investment Funds (NYIF)

While the above is about direct job offer by the Federal Government, the NYIF (“the Fund”) is a matter of opportunity meant to encourage the creative minds amongst the youth to aspire for the more tasking challenge of job creation and entrepreneurial development. The set objectives for the Fund include the following:

1.         Improve access to finance for youth and youth-owned enterprises for national development.

2.         Generate much-needed employment opportunities to curb youth restiveness.

3.         Boost the managerial capacity of the youth and develop their potentials to become future large corporate organizations.

However, in making its intervention to the Fund with a N25billion contribution for the takeoff, the CBN expanded these objectives. Releasing its own eligibility guidelines the CBN released on October 30, the apex bank held the understanding that a huge percentage of youth within the age bracket of 18-35 are engaged in the informal sector. Thus accordingly, it intends to use the NYIF to facilitate the transition of informal enterprises owned by youth into the formal mainstream economy where they can be supported comprehensively, build a bankable track record; and be accurately captured as active participants in economic development.

Unfortunately, however, a survey conducted by this Journal after a two-time publication of the related story and adverts in its terrestrial magazines showed that only one in every 95 of the qualified youths had registered for the Fund. This data is derived from a recent statement by Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, who revealed on November 1st that about 1 million youths had registered so far and given that about 95million Nigerians fall within the eligibility demography of Nigerian youths between the ages of 18 to 35years. This should literally suggest a shortfall in what should put the nation at rest for the prevention of a repeat of the #ENDSARS calamity.

The applicants may have increased even by 100 per cent fold to take it to 2million at this time, what this Journal yet discovered to be factors that informed this seemingly low registration include:

1.         lack of the right awareness about eligibility status;

2.         poor readership culture among the youths;

3.     the psychological disorientation of the youth by the information manipulation strive of the mainstream media;

4.        the bastardisation and abuse of the social media with high rate of misinformation and purveying             of fake news.

Above all these is the problem of government-citizen distrust that has taken root in the Nigerian governance system.

All these factors inform the primary reason for this special report aimed at bringing at least about 15 per cent of all eligible youth into the scheme of NYIF. This is what this article intends to achieve by bringing this enlightenment directly to your homes via this platform.

Let me begin that the application site has already been subjected to abuse by fraudsters. Twice now, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development have had cause to warn prospective applicants and the already registered youths to be wary of any online site seeking their BVN for them to get enlisted for the due training. It was first officially released by way of print media advert on November 2nd before it was again repeated twice via two online platforms that included the twitter handle of the Honourable Minister, Sunday Dare.

The caveat story signed by a Permanent Secretary, Gabriel Aduda, for the print media advert partly advised applicants not to “access unsecure and fraudulent application portals” for their registration.

What should have informed this public warning? This should be discernible in the purported online version of the caveat issued the following Friday by the Ministry’s Director of Press, Mrs. Lere-Adams Adjobome, where she identified a FAKE application site already trending on the social media as https://nyif-edi.mystrikingly.com and warned prospective applicants to avoid like a leprous disease. The common points to all the channels of the warning message are here emphasized, quoted verbatim as so itemised:

1.         Do not access any fraudulent application portals.

2.         Do not disclose your BVN and other personal information to fraudsters. Your BVN is not required for you to access entrepreneurship training with approved EDI.

3.         Only the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development can contact and invite applicants for Entrepreneurship Development Training and assign the applicants to an approved EDI. Please discard any invitation for training that is not from the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

4.         Disregard messages and advertisement inviting youth to pay any sum of money for entrepreneurship training, writing/business plan development or other services related to application for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

5.         Access to the Application portal and Entrepreneurship Training for the NYIF is FREE. 

The Facts You Need to Know about the NYIF and Your BVN

The NYIF is conceived as about three-year rolling youth empowerment programme for which the federal government had set the sum of N75 billion for its implementation. The central bank of Nigeria (CBN) is releasing the sum of N25 billion for the scheme to take off officially. It is a loan to be offered for a maximum tenor of 5 years depending on the nature of the business and the assets so acquired with it. The interest is also put at a variable that shall not be more than 5% per annum (all-inclusive).

 As is the case with CBN, any financial intervention for social policy programmes it is getting involved in the country is implemented through NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank (NMFB). This makes the origin of the NMFB in the link for the online registration site.

In a superficial look at the warnings above, item 2 which warns against disclosure of your BVN could appear confusing by virtue of its contrast to the first step you will encounter at the registration site. Entering your BVN is the first requirement. This is inescapable because what the NMFB would need to open transactions with you is your BVN and your name.

So, this is the first interface request you will encounter when you successfully connect to the application site and it is what will take you to the next interface where you can now register your personal details. It must however be made clearer that the purported caveat actually warns that the fraudster site seeks your BVN to “access entrepreneurship training as so underlined for emphasis. 

Eligibility Matters

It should interests you to know that both the literate and non-literate youth are eligible. Earlier in the month of July, or there about, when the Federal Government first announced the scheme, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development appeared on many television programmes to explain the whole concept of the Fund. Therein, he emphasised that the NYIF would not discriminate against any Nigerian youth by the limit of their academic qualification. In other words, it does not matter whether you are a graduate or School Certificate holder or First School Leaving Certificate (primary six certificate) holder.

The broad primary eligibility is defined by any of these questions for anyone between the ages 18-35 years: What can you do? Or what is your skill? Or what idea do you think have that you think you will need what sum of money to develop into a business?

The eligibility guidelines of the CBN clearly make this clearer with categorization of applicants into the non-formal (individual) and formal (corporate) type. The non-formal type that obviously takes care of the artisans and non-literate group holds that an eligible youth must fulfill the following conditions: 

1.         Be a youth within the age bracket of 18-35 years.

2.         Have business/enterprises domiciled and operational in Nigeria.

3.         Has not been convicted of any financial crime in the last 10 years.

4,         Has a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN)

5.         Possess Local Government Indigene Certificate.

The Formal business type refers to the youth owned enterprises that are legal entities duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The eligibility requirements for this category are:

1.         Evidence of registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (Certificate of Incorporation and Form CAC 2A);

2.         Business questionnaire;

3.         List of Directors with BVN nos.;

4.         Evidence of regulatory approvals (where applicable);

5.         Tax Identification Number (TIN).

6.       Cooperative societies duly registered with the relevant government authorities and members of Commodity Associations that fall within the eligible age bracket are also eligible to participate.

7.       Applicants currently enjoying NMFB loans, including the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) and Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme – AgSMEIS loans that remain unpaid are NOT eligible to apply.

8.     Beneficiaries of other government loan schemes that remain unpaid are also not eligible to participate.

Under this category, the Fund appears more technical in choice of its business supports. Accordingly, the CBN goes further to list the business sectors that would likely get priorities even though they are well encompassing to have covered all sectors of the economy too. They include:

1.         Information and Technology related businesses

2.         Agriculture and related value chain

3.         Green Economy and Renewable energy sector

4.         Manufacturing

5.         Hospitality/Tourism

6.         Construction

7.         Logistics and supply chain

8.         Healthcare and the value chain

9.         Creative sector and

10. Trading and Services

11. Others as may be determined by NYIF/CBN from time to time.

Therefore, when you look at the aggregate of all these questions, you will see that:

1.         Your being an artisan of hair stylist, a tailor, a mechanic already prequalifies you to register for NYIF.

2.      Your being a School Certificate holder without pre-existing skill but has an idea to transform already qualifies you for the Fund.

3.       As a graduate of any tertiary level of education but dissatisfied with your current employment status and thinks going the entrepreneurship way is way out, the Fund is for you.

So wait no more get on board now by clicking on the link below

https://nmfb.com.ng/nigeria-youth-investment-fund/
                        OR
https://nyif.nmfb.com.ng/

ESSENTIAL NOTE: IF ANY OF THESE LINKS FAILS TO TAKE YOU THE APPLICATION SITE DIRECTLY, COPY THEM OUT AND TYPE DIRECTLY ON YOUR TO CONNECT IT

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