AS part of activities marking his 76th birthday, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Eleganza Group, Alhaji Rasaq Akanni Okoya has given food, clothing materials, cash and other goodies to residents of Ajah area of Lagos State.

Okoya said he decided to celebrate with the needy, because he is close to them and knows their feelings and areas of need, especially with the hardship in the country.

He disclosed that the problem of unemployment faced in the country today is based on government’s ‘complete import orientation’, which has reduced emphasis on vocational studies.

He warned that until Nigerian youths change their orientation and embrace self-employment, the country would continue to struggle with the problem of unemployment.

His words: “Most reasons why the youths are not employed could be linked with lack of technical knowledge and skill. Most of them don’t have technical background, no research institutes or centers where they could learn and become self-independent. The government should help to make the youths to be focus on having an independent and self-employed future by giving them the required technical knowledge.

“The graduates should be technically inclined, and therefore, fit into any manufacturing industries and reduce the number of foreigners becoming our expatriates. Today, Nigerians depend on imported goods, even with lots of natural resources in our forest, we still cannot help ourselves in terms of producing furniture and other basic needs, because our youths do not have the required knowledge and skill to produce, which we need to train them on,” Okoya said.

While noting that he derives happiness through his establishments, that he has been able to put smiles on faces of people and also put food on their tables, he lamented that one of the major challenges faced by the country is the issue of power to run industries, saying they have remained in business because of the passion to keep their aim and objectives of offering jobs to thousands of unemployed youths.