It is said that the ultimate solution to the menace of youth unemployment in Nigeria lies in youth entrepreneurship programme. The conviction is that not only is the informal sector a major driver of the economy, many people also believe that its multiplier effects include facilitating youth job creators and the emergence of change agents.

It is also believed that to own a successful business is as lucrative as it is liberating, because it frees one from the dangers of placing one's ladder on someone else's wall, thus making one the architect of one's prosperity.

Meanwhile, despite several intervention programmes by individuals, non-government agencies, local, state and federal governments on high unemployment rate in the country, the menace still assumes worrisome dimension.

Buoyed by the above practical experiences, the Senator representing Kwara Central senatorial district, Senator Bukola Saraki, in collaboration with the Kwara State government, has commenced an entrepreneurship programme that is expected to provide 5,000 jobs for youths in the state in the first quarter of next year with the injection of over N50 million for every quarter of the year.

This is just as the lawmaker called for a state of emergency on youth unemployment in the country to ensure peace and development.

"The issue of youth unemployment has become something we must take drastic approach to find solution to. My constituency office is collaborating with the state government and the youth in the state. We'll look at their business plan and how we can support them in their proposal with N50 million every quarter," he said.

Speaking at a one-day Kwara Youth technical summit organised by his constituency office, tagged, "Youths Unemployment in Kwara State, The Way Forward" in Ilorin, Senator Saraki said there cannot be stability, peaceful environment and prosperity of any sort with a high level of youth unemployment in the country.

He said the employment scheme, which would include both entrepreneurship and regular white collar jobs, would also include provision of a capital take off grant at the end of the programme.

The lawmaker, who sought the partnership of the state government on the programme, said that youths account for 65 per cent of the nation's population with 23.9 per cent of the unemployment rate in Nigeria, (according to the National Population Commission), added that Brazil with a working population of over 130 million has unemployment rate of 14 per cent.

He said despite the low unemployment rate of nine per cent in the state, making it the second lowest in the country, the state government must strive harder to be creative in solving unemployment problem.

Senator Saraki, who said that entrepreneurship and self employment is a way to address the challenges of high youth unemployment rate in the state, added that it also offered pathways to overcome the problem.

He, therefore, said special attention should be paid to social entrepreneurship model that should be infused in the real economy closer to the youth within their local environment to contribute to their welfare and general good of their communities.

Also speaking, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the workshop demonstrated his administration's shared commitment to youth empowerment and the benefits of continuity in governance.

"As the largest component of our population and the inheritors of the future, youths are our most vital resource. We must nurture, support, and prime them for productive engagement through appropriate training and tangible opportunities.

"Therefore, this technical workshop's theme-Youth Unemployment in Kwara State: The Way Forward- is a poignant reminder of the challenges facing youths and a clarion call for urgent action. As a youth-focused administration, we have implemented several interventions to get more youths into employment and into business since 2011," he said.

These include the creation of direct jobs, promotion of youth entrepreneurship through training and the reform of vocational education. However, it is increasingly obvious that government alone cannot meet our youths' aspirations for jobs or society's expectations that government will engage the thousands of graduates produced annually by tertiary institutions.

"For us in Kwara State," the governor added, "the solution to this social challenge is two-pronged. First, we are creating a new crop of youth entrepreneurs through capacity building and access to affordable micro-credit funds on the platform of cooperatives.

"Second, in line with Dr Saraki's vision for agro-led prosperity in Kwara State, we are assertively promoting youth involvement in agribusiness through targeted training, access to funding and mentorship. I therefore call on Nigerian youths to take up entrepreneurship by leveraging the spaces created by government in the informal sector and in agribusiness."