By Muhammad Amaan
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Nigeria and Cisco Systems Inc., have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance implementation of the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project in the North-East.
The TVET project is designed to provide vocational and digital skills among other trainings, and also offer alternate livelihood opportunities to internally displaced persons in the North-East region of Nigeria.
The IOM Chief of Mission, Laurent De Boeck, and Mr Clayton Naidoo, Senior Director of Cisco International, officially signed the MoU on Monday in Abuja.
In his remark during the signing ceremony, De Boeck said IOM’s partnership with Cisco is to ensure displaced population in the North-East got technical training and vocational education in Nigeria.
According to him, the partnership seeks to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of eradicating poverty, providing quality education, building sustainable cities and communities as adopted by all UN member states in 2015.
De Boeck said, “This engagement is aimed at identifying solutions to internally displaced population of refugees and migrants, particularly in the North-East of the country.
“The signing of the MoU today is a reflection of the common vision between our organisation and the private sector, specifically Cisco.
“The country is equally witnessing great number of displaced persons for several reasons in the North-East, for more than a decade. So, we selected the North-East which has been hit for more than a decade, in terms of displacement.
“When displacement occurs, it affects mostly the youth, who form important part of the nation’s population, thus not allowing them to continue contemplating the ideals of gaining skills and educational qualifications.”
Naidoo said Ciscos’s partnership with IOM marked a great foundation toward tackling some critical problems experienced in Borno state and other parts of the North-East.
“At Cisco, we are passionate about providing the right level of digital skills, so every single individual has an opportunity to get a decent job.
“What we want to do is to bring technology right to the door step of individuals in Borno, as obtainable by any other child in the world. It is a collective responsibility that we do that,” Naidoo said.
Managing Director of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Mohammed Goni represented by Musa Zarami, Head of Peace building of the commission, promised to uphold mandate promoting stability and development in the northeast region.
“The commission was established with the mandate to bring robust master plan to guide partnerships working to establish stability in the North-East.
“This master plan has been developed since last year; it is our hope that all the partners bring stability and development in the North-East region,” he said.
