By Lucky Isibor
The Etsu Nupe, Alhaji (Dr) Yahaha Abubakar on Friday alongside Professor Maurice Iwu, Senator Ebok- Essien, Hajiya Lami Adamu and other prominent Nigerians converged on Nicon-Hilton Hotel, Abuja to unveil the FUND-YES also known as FEFUND, an initiative of Comrade Kennedy Iyere, a social entrepreneur, human rights activist and Accord Party governorship candidate in the Edo State 2024 governorship election.
Launching the FEEUND, Etsu Nupe ,Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar said the initiative is a a multi faceted entrepreneurship approach to fund Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for youths and women, enhance their empowerment and lift them out of poverty.
In their various good will messages, guests noted that the worrisome insecurity, poverty and hunger which have plagued the country calls for the imperative need to create jobs and employment opportunities for Nigerian youths and women. They buttressed the need for wealthy Nigerians, private sector organizations and government at all levels to partner and collaborate with the initiative and to also ensure they make their contributions to the “fund”, as well as support its activities aimed towards stimulating entrepreneurial revolution in Nigeria for the purpose of curbing the country’s high rate of youth and women unemployment.
Welcoming guests to the occasion, the initiator of FUND-YES, Comrade Kennedy Iyere pointed out that the programme is aimed at building a transactional grassroots cooperative business community and interactive platform where Nigerian youths and women are offered the needed opportunity to perform, interact with global investors for mutual benefits.
“FUND-YES is a national grassroots economic self-emancipation, poverty alleviation, family economic empowerment, financial investment and wealth building business cooperative society of youths, women and interested financial investors, whose common goal, is to build a transnational grassroots cooperative business community and networking platform where Nigerian youth and women entrepreneurs are offered a viable platform to connect, partner and do business with interested local, diaspora and global financial investors for the mutual benefit of generating income and building wealth, both for themselves, their families and the Nigerian economy.
“The critical need to address the business financing constraints faced by aspiring youth and women entrepreneurs and also by others who are already existing entrepreneurs, is the reason that compelled us to establish the FUND-YES Entrepreneurship Enhancement Fund (FeeFund) for youths and women, which also exists to provide enterprise development assistance for youth and women entrepreneurs” Iyere stated
“It is a known fact that millions of Nigerian youths are unemployed, poverty-stricken and helplessly frustrated without hope of a better tomorrow. They are angry with Nigeria and this unfortunate reality places the country’s future in great danger beyond its current security challenges. Where youths are denied the opportunity to actively participate in the economy, crime becomes their best alternative. The country’s rising youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb whose looming explosion will doubtless come with more damaging consequences than could ever imagine. If nothing is done to reverse Nigeria’s trend of high youth unemployment, millions of angry unemployed youths will sooner than later translate their frustration into a full-blown anti-government rebellion and indeed a social revolution. Let us not forget that the “EndSARS Protest” was a narrow escape from a social revolution”, Iyere lamented
“Without fixing the problem of “Youth Bulge” and high youth unemployment, Nigeria will keep sitting dangerously on a keg of gunpowder. With household poverty deepening on a daily basis and youth unemployment widening everyday, Nigeria is obviously fast drifting towards political collapse. The critical necessity to pragmatically tackle Nigeria’s two key social problems of “youth penury” and “household poverty” was what inspired the setting up of “FeeFund” powered by FUND-YES”, Iyere affirmed.
Iyere said that the “FeeFund Global Donation Campaign” will kick-start on Friday 7th June, 2024 which will be driven by a high-powered team of advocates comprising notable public figures, celebrities, grant specialists, fundraising professionals, business leaders, philanthropists, donors and fundraising volunteers. He stated that the initial amount of philanthropic funds designed to be generated through the proposed global fundraising campaign shall be publicly disclosed during a press conference scheduled to hold before the flag-off of the global fundraising campaign. He urged wealthy Nigerians, foreign philanthropists and prospective donors all over the world to generously partner with “FeeFund” by donating their funds. He also urge Nigerian government at all levels to likewise give their partnership and support to “FeeFund”.
The initiator of FEEFUND, Comrade Kennedy Iyere is a human rights activist, philanthropist, social entrepreneur and impact investor. He’s the governorship candidate of Accord Party for the 21 September Edo State governorship election.
Other guests at the unveiling ceremony were Hajiya Lami Adamu, President of National Council for Women Societies (NCWS); Dr Pogu Bitrus, Chairman of Middle Belt Forum (MBF); Apostle Lawrence Achudume, Senior Pastor of Victory Life Bible Church; Alhaja Rafiah Idowu Sanni, President of the Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN); Comrade Ken Robinson, National Organizing Secretary of PANDEF; Dr Yunusa Tanko, a renowned Statesman and others.