South-South Governors Should Focus on Entrepreneurship Development - Siasia

As governors of the six South South states under the BRACED Commission, (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo, and Delta) converge on Tuesday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, they have been strongly advised to "pay critical attention" to drive a culture of entrepreneurship with an intentional commitment to better the lives of Niger Deltans.

This admonition was given by Mr Moses Siasia, one of Nigeria's finest young entrepreneurs and the Convener of the Niger Delta MSME Summit/Bootcamp.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Siasia expressed worry that the modern reality globally, is that conversations at leadership level has moved from mere rhetorics to creating opportunities in a digitalized driven economy. "This is central to a knowledge-based system," he said.

Siasia added that the category of people who should benefit from these tools are the young people of the region. "We have a very high deposit of young and talented workforce in the Niger Delta that needs to be identified and empowered".

He further stated that governors of the region must come up with robust plans to encourage MSMEs, which he noted is lacking in the region, especially in the area of Mechanized Agriculture and Creative Economy.

"This is the surest way by which we can create massive windows of opportunities for our people and most especially our teeming young population in the Niger Delta region.

"Our governors must also be reminded that when they leave office, they will not be remembered for the roads and bridges that they built. Only those who invested critically in Human Capacity Development will be remembered.

"They must deepen their sense of responsibility to leverage on partnerships and collaborations to drive sustainable growth for the people. The Southeast has gone far. The North is doing well. Same with the West. But the Niger Delta is seriously lacking behind," Siasia lamented.

He further commended the leadership of the BRACED Commission under Amb. Joe Keshi for their forthrightness and commitment to drive progress in the South-South geo-political zone. The BRACED Commission was established in 2010, with a core objective to promote economic cooperation and regional integration among the South-South states, contributing to the increasing standards of living of the people of the region.