Pause: Entrepreneurship should be taught as a subject in all schools across Africa.

By far the biggest employer of people in Africa is what is generally called the "informal sector." I personally don't like this title "informal," preferring something like the "entrepreneurial" sector, but the truth of the matter is that most people in Africa survive and put their kids through school, by being "self-employed" in some sort of business activity.

Whilst most of the people in this sector are generally literate, having been to school, there's very little in our education system that actually prepares them for a life running their own business.

This attitude that people must "fend for themselves" is something we need to end across Africa. Governments do have a responsibility to help create real jobs in an economy.

For those government leaders that ask for my advice, there are always five things that I recommend:

1. Publicly acknowledge that the "informal sector" is the central activity in your country. Whether people are smallholder farmers, street traders, or tradesmen and women, don't be ashamed to acknowledge them as real economic players. They are contributing to the economy just like the biggest businesses that you have in your country.

2. Acknowledge the importance of this sector by putting in place policies that enable them to prosper. When they prosper, they will grow, employing more people. Start by holding meetings with them which are genuinely aimed at listening, and engaging them with dignity and respect.

3. Ensure law enforcement officials respect the informal sector. If governments don't formally recognize the key role of this sector in the economy, law enforcement may treat these entrepreneurs badly. This is what makes this sector vulnerable to corrupt officials.

4. Ensure this sector enjoys real rights under the law. For example, no policeman should be allowed to arbitrarily confiscate someone's goods, without due process. Courts should be arranged (and officials trained) in such a way that they can adjudicate the needs of this sector speedily, and cost effectively.

#My favorite:
5. Introduce entrepreneurship training into the formal education curriculum. By the time someone has completed seven years of school, they should be able to put together a basic profit and loss statement, and a basic balance sheet. They should also be able to read financial statements. This is really, really simple, and not much more complicated than reading football scores!

A high school leaver must also know:

# how to register a company, and register for tax.
# the basic company law of their country.
# about banks and how they operate.
# about payroll, and laws governing the rights of others.
# how businesses really operate, and how prosperity is generated in an economy.
# about sustainability, of both economic growth and the environment.

I would go as far as to say that anyone who goes to a university must also have mandatory entrepreneurship training, irrespective of what they study. This is because we have university graduates that are also unemployed, who could easily create jobs for themselves and others.

Together we can help our vast army of entrepreneurs in Africa become skills-based "enterprise builders."

I strongly believe that if Africa focuses on fostering and developing entrepreneurship, there will be a remarkable uplift in job creation.

End.

N-Power:Federal Government Set To Re-open Portal For Another Batch

The Presidency has promised to open the portal of the federal government N-Power volunteer corps programme next month, to allow more unemployed graduates to register for the second phase of the programme. The Presidency last December employed 200,000 unemployed graduates under the N-Power scheme with the promise to employ additional 300,000 soon. Senior special assistant on job creation and youth employment to the president, Afolabi Imoukhuede, speaking to newsmen after meeting with Governor Ibikunle Amosun in Abeokuta, said that more youths will be given the opportunity to register under the scheme very soon. On his visit to Ogun state, Imoukhuede said it is to address various issues of non payment raised by some of the volunteers.

Dogara Releases Payslip Reveals How Much He Earn Monthly

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara on Tuesday disclosed that he earns N346,577.87 monthly after deductions. He made this known in his three months’ pay slip released in response to the disclosure by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai who also released his monthly pay on Monday. A breakdown of the Speaker’s monthly pay as reflected in his pay slip below is as follows: Basic salary; N206, 425.83, Constituency allowance; N175,461.96, recess allowance; 20,642.58. and pay as you earn; 55,952.50.

Amosun Begins Construction of 285 Rural Roads

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Wednesday, said the state government is set to immediately construct, rehabilitate and expand a total of 285 rural roads spread across the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state.

The governor disclosed this at a stakeholders' meeting held at the Obas' complex, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta on the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads under the Ogun State Rural Access and Mobility Project, RAMP 3.

Governor Amosun, who revealed that the roads would improve industrialisation of the state's economy, added that apart from the 285 roads to be fixed by the state government, an additional 500km rural roads would be rehabilitated by the Access and Mobility project of the World Bank.

He added that the elected leaderahip of the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Areas, LG/LCDAs have also been provided monthly fund to tackle infrastructural development projects of their choice within their areas of jurisdiction.

Speaking on the benefits of these projects, the Governor said it would enhance agricultural development and help easy movement of agricultural products.

This, he said, would be in addition to the social and economic benefits that comes with having local contractors handle these projects.

Governor Amosun, who described the provision of social amenities, especially good road network, as a catalyst for the desired rural development, said his administration would collaborate with development partners to consolidate its efforts in providing agricultural value chain.

The governor explained that it is the desire of his administration to provide equal access to infrastructural facilities for people both in the urban and rural areas of the state.

Earlier in her welcome address, Ogun State Deputy Governor, Chief Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, who supervises the Ministry of Rural Development, explained that the World Bank Rural Access and Mobility Projects as well as other infrastructural development projects of the state in the rural areas are geared towards reducing rural - urban drift, which she said, has become a major challenge.

This was made known in a release signed by Amosun's Senior Special Assistant on Media Adejuwon Soyinka.

FG begins online registration of Unemployed Persons

The Federal Government will commence the online registration of unemployed persons in the country on Wednesday.

According to the Deputy Director, Information & Public Relations, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Edmund Onwuliri, the development is a part of the government quest to keep a robust data base for unemployed persons and provide jobs.

The registration, according to him, is in compliance with the third mandate of the NDE which requires it “to obtain and maintain a data bank on employment and vacancies in the country with a view to acting as a clearing house to link job seekers with vacancies in collaboration with other government agencies.”

Onwuliri said the framework for the online registration, being handled by the Directorate has been completed and ready for lunch; adding that the NDE has also completed the framework for the electronic registration of unemployed persons in Nigeria.

He said: “The online portal which goes live on Wednesday April 5, 2017, is designed to capture the relevant details of any unemployed person. It will equally serve as a job exchange portal that will link job seekers and employers.

“There will be a practical demonstration of the workings of the portal at the NDE stand at the on-going 28th edition of the Enugu International Trade on Thursday April 6, 2017. However, the portal can be accessed by logging on to www.jobsforall.ng. The Directorate sees this initiative as a bold step towards deepening the effectiveness of its employment creation strategies and a critical input into the process of designing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and schemes.”

The online portal will also serve as a meeting point for job seekers and employers thereby reducing the cumbersome process of recruitment among employers of skilled labour in the private and public sectors.

Everything That Is Normal In The World Is Not Normal In Nigeria - Emir Sanusi

When Jaiz bank came up with the idea of getting a license for the operation of the bank, they proposed the funding of the bank’s capital with interest and I said no, you can’t fund a non-interest bank with interest. The required amount to be issued license was N5 billion at that time and they had only N1 billion.

I took my phone and called one of the richest men in Africa who is a Nigerian and a Muslim. I told him that N5 billion is needed for an Islamic bank to start operation and the founders have N1 billion, and he instantly agreed and issued a cheque of 4 billion. That is how the license was issued. 

Some Nigerians thought the introduction of Islamic banking in the country was a move to Islamize Nigeria. No at all, everything that is normal in the world is not normal in Nigeria.

There is Islamic banking in London, India and in South Africa but the citizens there never thought it as a way of Islamizing their countries but it became an issue in Nigeria. 

Today, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is the chairman of the governing board and head of the general assembly of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM).

Is that an agenda of Islamizing Nigeria? No, It was done for the promotion and guidance in financial inclusion. That is how we are. However, the tradition of early marriage and the problem of girl child education in the North, calling on stakeholders to invest more on girl child education than building mosques.

75% of 18-15 married women in the country today are not educated, that is why the society is producing illiterate mothers and children. I am tired of building mosques daily. We keep building mosque while our children are not educated, our foundations and NGO’s should give much focus and priority to girl child education, the mosques are OK enough.

I am currently drafting a bill that will be sent to the State Assembly for legislation against early marriage. We need to ban it, all this issues of maternal health and Almajiri are courtesy of early marriage as a result of lack of education for our girl children, this is bringing us back."

The Emir posted this on his instagram page today.

Collapsed Shelf Kills Thief While Stealing From Shop In Ogun

Nemesis caught up with a young boy in his twenties at the early hours of today, as he was trapped to death by a shelf while allegedly stealing from a shop in the Sabo, Area of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The shop, located on Folafashina Street turned to a Mecca of some sort as people from different areas trooped in to catch a glimpse of the suspected shop breaker caught in the act.

The owner of the shop, who preferred anonymity said she was surprised when she opened her shop at about 8.00 am and saw some of her goods scattered.

"It was so shocking when I saw the head of a dead young man popping from outside on the wall of my shop. I screamed because I could not hold it and that drew the attention of passers by and others in the vicinity", she said

The shop owner who sells tailoring materials and accessories, explained that it was the third time that her shop would be broken into while her goods were carted away.

The suspected thief was said to have broken some part of the wall creating a hole at the back of the shop and was trapped by a shelf of wood while attempting to pass through it into the shop.

Some goods reported to have already been stolen by the thief was seen on the floor beside his corpse while the hole broken on the wall, where the corpse of the thief was found was seen at the back of the shop.

Officers of the Nigerian Police from the Ilupeju Division of Sabo Area, had a very hectic time controlling the crowd as they awaited the vehicle that would convey the corpse away.