Buhari Makes About-Turn, Rebrands Jonathan’s YouWiN!

Recall that the move to scrap the Youth Enterprise with Innova­tion in Nigeria (YouWiN!) programme had been kicked against by many Nigerians, including ex-Minister of Finance and former Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozie Okonjo-Iweala, who noted that Jonathan had designed YouWiN to empower youths to become entrepreneurs.

“We realized that we needed to create ‎1.8 million jobs yearly to address the unemployment challenges,” Okonjo-Iweala was quoted saying.

“This is one area that I hope the incoming administration will continue because it is a laudable programme that has excited our youths,” she had said.

The Buhari administration has since reneged on the move after which it resorted to re-branding it.

In a statement by the Director of Information in the Ministry of Finance, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, the incumbent Minister of Finance, Kemi Ade­osun, is said to have gone ahead to resuscitate the programme.

“The transformation of the programme is in line with the promise made earlier in the year by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who initiated consultations with beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the programme on July 22, 2016, for inputs that would improve the performance and sustainability of small and medium businesses start-ups by beneficiaries of the programme,” Dambatta said.

“The minister stated that the ‘YouWinConnect’ was de­signed “to support young entre­preneurs as they Plan, Start and Grow their businesses by deliv­ering to them enterprise man­agement education and skills as well as Franchise Development Online, through radio and tel­evision.

“The ‘YouWinConnect’ Pro­gramme, which replaces the ‘YouWin’ Programme which took off in 2011, aims to promote en­trepreneurship as well as viable career options for young Nigeri­ans thereby creating jobs, wealth and contributing to the concert­ed efforts of pulling Nigeria out of the ebbing current economic re­cession,” he said.