The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odii, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to lifting Nigerian youths out of unemployment and economic difficulties through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development.
Mr. Odii who made this known in Port Harcourt after a youth economic empowerment programme, described the initiative by a non-governmental youth empowerment advocacy group, the Young Entrepreneurship and Development Initiative Assembly(YEADIA) as a deliberate shift from dependency- based empowerment to productivity- driven inclusion, stressing that Nigeria’s youthful population must be viewed as an economic asset rather than a social burden.
“A skilled youth is not a problem to be managed, but a solution to be deployed”, SMEDAN Chief stated.
Mr. Odii explained that Nigeria’s ongoing grappling with high youth unemployment could deepen poverty and insecurity if left unaddressed. He noted that SMEDAN’s approach in 2026, which prioritizes vocational training, business incubation, access to finance, and market linkage, is expected to reposition young Nigerians as job creators rather than job seekers.
Mr. Charles Odii, who cited Proverbs 14: 23, noted that: “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty”.
The Director-General further disclosed that the success of the programme will depend largely on transparency, continuity, and measurable outcomes.
Mr. Odii observed that SMEDAN resolved to ensure that Nigerian youths in the 2026 fiscal year is lifted out of unemployment and economic vulnerability through skills acquisition and structured entrepreneurship development.
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He described the initiative as a quick response to Nigeria’s worsening unemployment crisis, noting that a nation that neglects its youth plants seeds of instability. ” Our focus as an agency saddled with the responsibility of providing youths with adequate training programmes for job creation instead of becoming job seekers, is to move young Nigerians from dependency to productivity-Skills give dignity”, he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate remains alarming, with millions of graduates and non- graduates struggling to find meaningful work.
However, analysts say SMEDAN’s emphasis on skills, incubation, financing, and market access could mark a turning point, if backed by discipline and transparency.
A management expert and lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences,
Rivers State University(RSU), Nkpolu, Port Harcourt, Dr. Greg Nwankwo, who spoke to Our Correspondent on the way forward of youth empowerment and employment in Nigeria, stressed that Nigeria cannot continue to manage unemployment with speeches, noting that skills are the new currency of development, cautioning that nations that ignore this truth pay dearly. Dr. Nwankwo noted that, as Ecclesiastes 10:10 reminds us: “If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success”.
The don, however, used the opportunity to call on government at all levels, to ensure that the axe, which serves as the youths in this context, are sharpen through relevant training, accessible finance, stable policies, and honest evaluation.
“We urge SMEDAN to publish impact data, protect programmes from political capture, and ensure inclusivity. Empowerment must be measured by outcomes, not by announcement”, Dr. Greg Nwankwo concluded.
