… Calls on Nigerians to Embrace Practical Skills as Council Showcases Soap, paint, Antimalarial Products etc
By Uloma Peace Okorie
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Martins Ike-Muonso Nnanyelugo, has urged state governors, local government chairmen and other well-meaning Nigerians to bring unemployed youths to the Council’s pilot plant in Abuja for practical training in manufacturing and skills acquisition.
Professor Nnanyelugo said the initiative would equip young Nigerians with practical knowledge and vocational skills capable of helping them establish businesses, become self-reliant and contribute to national economic development.
He made the appeal during an inspection tour of the RMRDC pilot plant in Abuja, where delegates and journalists attending the Second African Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026) were taken round facilities showcasing the Council’s processing and product-development activities.
During the tour, the delegation saw various products developed through the Council’s pilot-scale initiatives, including soap, paint antimalarial products, etc demonstrating opportunities for transforming research and locally available raw materials into useful products.
The RMRDC boss called on governors and local government chairmen to identify unemployed young people in their respective states and communities and facilitate their access to the Council’s training opportunities.
He also extended the appeal to individuals, organisations and other Nigerians interested in helping young people acquire sustainable livelihoods.
According to him, practical skills can provide young people with opportunities to earn a living, establish small-scale enterprises and develop businesses that can grow beyond their immediate communities.
He emphasised that tackling unemployment requires more than creating job opportunities; it also demands equipping young people with the knowledge and technical abilities to create employment for themselves and others.
The initiative aligns with the Council’s broader mandate of promoting research, developing local raw materials and encouraging value addition through processing and manufacturing.
By exposing young people to practical production methods, the Council hopes to encourage entrepreneurship and demonstrate how locally available resources can be converted into commercially useful products.
The inspection tour also reinforced the message of the Second African Raw Materials Summit, which emphasised the need for African countries to move beyond exporting raw materials and develop industries capable of producing finished and semi-finished goods.
Professor Nnanyelugo’s appeal places youth empowerment at the centre of this industrialisation agenda, highlighting the potential of technical training to connect research, manufacturing and employment generation stating that Nigerians have no reason to be poor .
He urged stakeholders across the country to take advantage of the opportunities offered by practical skills development to prepare young Nigerians for a more productive and economically independent future.
The message from the RMRDC pilot plant was clear: equipping young people with practical manufacturing skills can help turn unemployment challenges into opportunities for entrepreneurship, local production and sustainable livelihoods.