The youth population in Nigeria, being one of the highest in the world, has made the country a fertile ground for the cultivation of talents.
Unfortunately, some peculiar challenges in the country have made many youths unable to properly harness their talents.
Many youths have veered off the path of living a productive life because they’ve been overwhelmed by harsh socio-economic conditions.
How not to be a frustrated Nigerian graduate
Disappointingly, vices such as internet fraud (Yahoo-Yahoo), cultism and robbery amongst youths are more prevalent today.
Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) pegs the percentage of unemployed youths in Nigeria at 42.5%.
But Noble Kodel, an indigene of Tombia in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, says he has chosen to positively harness his potentials.
The linguistics and communication studies graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, in an interview with Mangrovepen.ng, said hunger and desire to be self-reliant spurred him into furniture-making.
“Two things motivated me to go into furniture making. One is hunger, I fear hunger a whole lot. I don’t want to depend on anybody. The second one is that while growing up, I noticed I can be handy around pieces of furniture and when I was about graduating, I noticed learning this skill could be useful.”
Noble, who is based in Yenagoa, highlighted the “lack of machines for good finishing, poor power supply, and customers pricing below cost for job production” as some of the challenges he’s facing as a furniture maker.
In his admonishment to the youths, Noble charged them to “thrive to be better.”
“They should not be dependent on politicians or whoever would use them for their own selfish gains”, he added.
When asked about his plans for the future, Noble said he sees himself being a household name in the furniture and interior business.
“I see myself impacting lives through what I do and even more,” Noble stated.
