Nzema youth activist Kwasi Bonzoh has bemoaned youth unemployment, describing it as a pervasive challenge in Ghana.

He indicated that it is unfortunate that the country does not have the kind of leadership that could help the youth translate their ideas into reality.

“The youth of today should not sit down and wait for the leaders to create jobs for them, but they should take their destinies into their own hands by creating their own jobs,” he stressed.

He stated, “Currently all over the world, the rich are those who have established and managed their own enterprises. So even if you are a teacher, you can create jobs by writing textbooks.”

To this end, he has challenged Nzema students in the various tertiary institutions nationwide to think of teaming up and establishing their own businesses after completing their courses.

“When this happens, you will be generating employment rather than looking up to the government for jobs,” he noted.

Kwasi Bonzoh, who was the 2012 parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ellembelle constituency of the Western Region, was addressing members of the Takoradi Polytechnic Chapter of the National Association of Nzema Students (NANS) over the weekend.

The programme focused on the contribution of education and entrepreneurship to the development of Nzemaland.

He explained that being an entrepreneur was a very challenging task the world over, noting that it is even more challenging in Ghana.

“Entrepreneurs are people who see challenges as opportunities and take practical steps to turn these challenges into solutions while making profit or getting social recognition as their reward,” he added.

He cautioned the Nzema youth of the difficulties they were likely to face, regardless of how brilliant their ideas might be, particularly in the area of funding. He, however, encouraged them not to give up on their entrepreneurial dreams, but to strive to overcome these difficulties by emulating the numerous young entrepreneurs who faced similar hurdles but were able to overcome them and maintain their successes. 

In the light of the funding difficulties, Bonzoh advised the youth to cultivate the habit of saving to raise some funds on their own to starting businesses.

In addition, Kwasi Bonzoh, popularly called Bonzoh K in the Ellembelle constituency, urged the youth to take full advantage of the business opportunities that had been created by the oil and gas find, to turn around the abject poverty among the people.

“The oil and gas business is a technical field, but as young entrepreneurs, you can create auxiliary businesses to benefit from the commercial production of oil and gas within your locality,” Bonzoh K admonished the Nzema students.

He advised the youth to take their education seriously to enable them to find employment within the oil industry or create auxiliary jobs.

He promised to lead the crusade to revive the Kwame Nkrumah Education Trust Fund, which was started to assist brilliant but needy Nzema students.