March 13, 2024

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has advocated skill acquisition for youths as one of the non-kinetic means of solving the challenges of insecurity in the country.

He said skill acquisition could reduce poverty and unemployment, which are major causes of insecurity in the country.

The CDS said this on Wednesday, March 13, at the graduation ceremony of the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) Skill Acquisition Centre at Mogadishu Cantonment Abuja.

He said skill acquisition is one of the ways the military employed to empower barrack youths as well as wives and children of fallen heroes to be self-reliant.

He urged the graduands to embrace their new skills with courage, passion and resilience, adding that “the road to success may be fraught with challenges and obstacles,” but with their will succeed.

He commended the leadership of DEPOWA for their determination to assist the wives of fallen heroes and the vulnerable in the barrack community.

Earlier in an address, the President of DEPOWA, Mrs. Oghogho Musa, 102 people, comprising 82 women and 20 men, graduated from the skill acquisition programme.

She said the participants were nominated from sister associations such Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), Navy Officers Wives Association (NOWA), Nigerian Air Force Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA), and Police Officers Wives Association (POWA).

The DEPOWA President said the graduands were trained on catering, production of homemade products, Computer Appreciation, and sewing, among others.

She said the training was fully funded by DEPOWA, adding that the graduands were being fed three times a week during their training, and also being paid the sum of ten thousand each every month as a stipend.

Mrs. Musa said DEPOWA also donated starter packs to each graduands to enable them to begin their trades immediately after graduation.