A renowned social and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Summy Smart Francis, has urged graduate youths to transform weakness into strength and pursue their dreams aggressively.
Francis, the founder and President of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs, AYE, organisation gave the urge to the during the closing ceremony of Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of the 2021 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 1) which featured exhibition/competition.
He told the corps members to rediscover themselves and give the world reasons to celebrate them.
“The certificate you are holding is a privilege document to prepare a way for you to accomplish what God has deposited in you but your resilience and ability to define your altitude is an essential ingredient to make you sit among those who change the world.
“I have been to several countries of the world but you will be surprised if I tell you that the grass is not greener on the other side let alone the pastures but one thing I always tell people is that no one can imprison your mind unless you are an accomplice.”
The Executive Producer of Africa’s biggest Entrepreneurial Reality TV show, produced and aired in Africa charged the corps members to network and embrace skills and vocations that will make them stand at par with their counterparts in other parts of the globe who have access to information.
“Networking is the ability to identify how to harness the untapped hidden talents and nurture it to develop your potentials to assist not only your immediate environment but the society at large,” he said.
The Special Adviser on Entrepreneurship Development to the Ondo State Government and who sits as Chief Executive Officer of the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) said that the state government through the agency would assist the members of the service corps to secure their future.
In her closing remarks, the State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps, Ondo State, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani said that the set of corps members that had undergone the in-camp hands on training should continue with the post-camp training as soon as they settled down at their various places of primary assignment.
She admonished the corps members not to succumb to any distraction but to remain focused and pursue their dreams with more commitment so that they can be part of those who will flatten the curve of unemployment in the country.
During her introductory remarks, the Assistant Director/Head, SAED, Mrs. Itohan Ehimwenma, thanked the Trainers/Facilitators for the unrivaled perseverance which resulted in the successful competition and exhibition.
‘Mama SAED’ thanked the sponsors, Entrepreneurs Trust Fund for fulfilling their promise to bankroll the colourful event and hoped that the collaboration would attract more benefits to the corps members serving in the Sunshine State.
At the end of the Inter-Platoon Skill competition in Fashion and Design, platoon 7 came first, followed by platoons 3 and 9 respectively which came second and third respectively.
In Food Processing, number 6 platoon emerged winners while number 7 platoon followed by clinching second position and the third position was won by number 8 platoon.
