By Comrade Giwa Moore
The words “Youths unemployment and restiveness” is a global mantra on the lips of many nations for years now such that it has a life of its own, after all an idle man they say is the devils workshop. Youth in any given society comprises social, political and economic force which are made up of larger portions of the productive population.
Senator Tokunbo Abiru, being aware of the world surrounded by technology and the product of science, saw the need to tap into the sector by involving the youth through training in the field of Science and Technology which will not only create employment opportunity for the youths but improve the nation’s economy.
Marching desires into reality, the peoples oriented Senator in 2021 established an Innovation Lab and later an edifice was commissioned by H.E (Sen.) Kashim Shettima the Vice President of Nigeria and H.E Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo Olu on the 19th of May 2023.
The Innovation Lab was created in partnership with a tech Company founded by Dr Bosun Tijani the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. The Co-Creation Hub (CcHub, Is Africa’s First Innovation Center that is dedicated to accelerating economic prosperity and is run under the SAIL Foundation. SAIL is a dedicated innovation and tech lab that is providing relevant technology, business and digital skills to tech enthusiasts and young entrepreneurs.
SAIL’s Primary objective is to create employment opportunities, inspire grassroots innovation and build partnerships, networks that will drive economic prosperity for the Senatorial District, Lagos State and Nigeria at large. The SAIL Lab offers basic foundations and cross functional Programmes and opportunities for young people (students, undergraduates, job seekers in Lagos East Senatorial District.
The programmes initiated by the Distinguished Senator were put together to tackle issues of Youth restiveness and unemployment, it was targeted at the Youth in other to create opportunities through Science and Technology in the area of Artificial Intelligence.
Given the universally acclaimed status of Youth empowerment as the strongest weapon to transforming the society. Senator Tokunbo Abiru took a keen interest to address the issues of unemployment and Youth restiveness because of his believe that the best way to restructure any society is to start building human capacities that will be able to compete globally. The world is evolving and he succinctly believed that people need to be well acquainted with Science and Technology to deal with their environment.
The recent achievements recorded by Senator Tokunbo Abiru through his SAIL Foundation has been commended by numerous stakeholders nationally and globally, they couldn’t be more proud of the achievements. The uncommon stride of the the Dist. Senator has began to yield the desired fruits as over 100 youths that has successfully undergone Tech Talent and Data Science training at the SAIL Innovation Lab has been engaged into a very lucrative artificial intelligence jobs with the most famous Awari AI. It was indeed a significant milestone for the innovation lab, seeing visions becoming reality.
The SAIL Innovation Lab has become a beacon of hope, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of over 4,173 participants through diverse programs such as Tech Talent Development, STEM initiatives for Senior Secondary School Students, Lagos East Teachers Fellowship, Start-Up Accelerator, and Data Science for Society.
These programs have evolved to bridge the gap of lack of skills and unemployment among the teeming youths. The peoples Senator has vowed to stop at nothing in making sure that many youths are positively engaged to create value and curb crimes in the society. This is a lifetime project that will continuously provide training in high-demand tech skills by SAIL foundation in collaboration with Awarri and some other companies in other to secure more decent job placements for the trainees .
What more does a nation requires of a leader than a man who sees beyond now, creating a window for the benefit of the youths empowerment and generations unborn. Indeed the youths are singing an endless hymn of praises to the Peoples Senator who transformed them and make them better.
It’s now crystal clear that Senator Tokunbo Abiru policies and programmes is in building and securing the future of our young champ in the tech industry and beyond.
Peoplesmind
