The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Engr. Emem Coffie, has urged Nigerian youths to pursue education and skills acquisition rather than seek quick success, saying both remain critical to career development and economic growth.
Coffie made the call while speaking to journalists on Wednesday, where he warned that the growing perception that education was a waste of time could undermine youth development, stressing that academic knowledge provided the foundation for specialisation and professional competence.
The PDP candidate said he had sponsored hundreds of students in Akwa Ibom State, Enugu and Abuja as part of his commitment to supporting young people.
According to him, education has played a major role in the development of advanced countries and should not be dismissed because some successful individuals did not attend university.
Coffie said academic training was particularly important in technical fields, where practical knowledge must be supported by an understanding of scientific principles.
He said, “The truth is that engineering is probably 90 percent from scientific theory and 10 percent empirical.
“The truth is that education has created a system and whether you like it or not the countries are developed today and worked with those systems and became what they are.
“If you want to be a robotics engineer for example you must have had an understanding of physics, chemistry, I don’t know biology has to do with medical engineering but for you to go into robotics you must have those basic understanding and then have mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, electrical engineering by the corner before you now begin to do robotics,” he said.
He called for reforms that would enable young people to complete university education early, identify their talents and specialise in their chosen careers without unnecessary delays.
Coffie, however, stressed that university education should not be the only pathway to success, urging the government to support vocational training, entrepreneurship and other trades.
He said, “I want to see a country where the youths are very specific in their achievements in where they are going.
“Everybody doesn’t need to go to university, that’s why we get everybody wrong, but whatever level, whatever trade you should apply, the government should support you, train you, and make you relevant”.
On employment, the governorship candidate called for greater investment in industrialisation in Akwa Ibom, saying youths should be trained in areas relevant to industries that could be established in the state.
He identified oil and gas, refineries, gas processing facilities and steel plants as sectors with potential to generate employment.
Coffie also proposed apprenticeship schemes to prepare young people for jobs in such industries, with financial support provided throughout their training.
“You begin to prepare them, empower them to program the way they will learn such skills, and within that period pay them, even if they are doing an apprenticeship scheme, pay them during that period so that you can encourage them to participate in such,” he said.
He advocated support for small and medium-scale enterprises, including affordable loans to enable traders and entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
Coffie further proposed the establishment of cottage industries across the state’s local government areas to create jobs, utilise local raw materials and improve residents’ incomes.
He identified palm oil processing and the production of briquettes from palm kernel waste among opportunities that could support small-scale industries.
The engineer also called for a return to Akwa Ibom’s original development master plan, urging successive administrations to continue projects initiated by previous governments rather than abandon them.
He listed the deep seaport, science park, airport, road network and power plants among projects associated with the state’s development plans.
Coffie who is a civil engineer with about 35 years professional experience, said road construction alone could not address poverty without industries and businesses capable of providing jobs and sustainable incomes.
He said his proposed development agenda, tagged “A New Drive Back to the Genesis,” would focus on human capital development, industrialisation, skills acquisition and support for small businesses.
He said, “When I say Genesis, let’s go back to that master plan and start to execute it all over again.
“Road construction is interesting but road construction does not put food on the table of people”.
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