By Franca Ofili, News Agency of Nigeria, Abuja.
The Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, has urged Nigerian youths to embrace skills acquisition and self-development to become productive and self-reliant.
Olawande gave the advice on Thursday when Joshua Aiyenuro visited him following his Guinness World Records achievement for the longest professional hairdressing marathon.
The feat, achieved in Nasarawa State on Jan. 29, 2026, lasted 72 hours.
The minister said the record demonstrated the potential of Nigerian youths when they focused on developing their talents and skills.
“You need to know what you want. It is not just about condemning things about your country, but projecting yourself and making sure you are visible.
“What he has done shows that young people can become whatever they want to become and reach wherever they want to reach,” he said.
Olawande emphasised that while education remained important, acquiring practical skills was equally necessary for economic empowerment.
“Education is important, but you must also acquire a skill. That is one of the mantras we are promoting as a ministry now, one youth, two skills.
“If you cannot get it digitally, get it physically. Just make sure you acquire a skill, because skills can take you wherever you want to be,” he said.
He added that programmes under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were also being strengthened to enable young Nigerians acquire vocational and entrepreneurial skills.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, described Aiyenuro’s achievement as remarkable and inspiring for young people.
“What he has achieved is a feat and it is a projection of youth skills.
“In NYSC we focus on skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development so that corps members, though graduates can have what I call a side hustle.
“We encourage them to go into barbing, hairdressing, cosmetology, fashion designing, auto mechanics and other skills because the era of depending on one source of income is gone,” he said.
In his remarks, Aiyenuro described the achievement as a dream come true and said he planned to use the platform to empower youths through vocational training.
“Being here today is a dream come true and I thank God for it. My goal is to impact the lives of young people in Nigeria.
“We are planning to establish 1,000 barber seats across the nation and expand into other vocational skills to help reduce unemployment, crime and drug abuse,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the National Association of Hair and Beauty Practitioners of Nigeria, Tina Orjir, called on the Federal Government to support practitioners in the beauty industry.
“The government cannot give everyone a job, but we have the skills and what it takes to take youths off the streets and reduce insecurity in the country,” she said.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA