Graduation of the 2nd batch of Makera Songhai Agricultural Training Centre, Dutsin-Ma

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

It gives me immense pleasure and a profound sense of fulfilment to welcome you all to this important occasion - the graduation ceremony of the 2nd Batch of the trainees of the Makera Songhai Comprehensive Training Centre.

Today is not merely a ceremony for the presentation of certificates. It is a celebration of knowledge acquired, skills developed, confidence built, and opportunities created. We are particularly proud to celebrate 361 young men and women who have completed their training and are now better equipped to participate meaningfully in agriculture and agribusiness.

For many years, agriculture was often viewed as a means of subsistence. Our administration believes that this perception must change. Agriculture is not just about producing food. It is a business, a profession, an investment opportunity and a powerful instrument for economic transformation.

Our vision is to move from an agricultural system that is predominantly subsistence-based to one that is productive, commercial, technology-driven, climate-smart and market-oriented. This is why initiatives such as the Dikko Radda Agripreneurship Training and Empowerment Scheme-Songhai (DRATESS), being implemented at the Makera Songhai Comprehensive Agricultural Training Centre, are important to our administration.

The Songhai Model demonstrates that arable agriculture can be integrated with livestock production, fisheries, agro-processing, renewable energy, waste recycling and other enterprises to create a sustainable and profitable agricultural ecosystem.

Distinguished Guests, the future of Katsina State depends significantly on what we do today to prepare our young people for tomorrow. We cannot afford to have our youths waiting indefinitely for government employment. Government alone cannot employ everyone. Rather, we must equip our young people with skills, knowledge, entrepreneurial capacity and access to opportunities that will enable them to create value and generate employment for themselves and others.

The 361 graduates before us today represent 361 potential enterprises, 361 centres of agricultural innovation and potentially thousands of future green jobs. I, therefore, challenge you, our graduating trainees, not to regard this graduation as the end of your journey. It is the beginning. Take the knowledge you have acquired and convert it into productive ventures in our communities.

Our administration is determined that training programmes should not end with certificates. The real measure of success is what happens after graduation. Accordingly, we will continue to explore mechanisms to link our trained youths with financial institutions, investors, markets, and government agricultural and developmental programmes. We also recognise the importance of mentorship and continuous technical support.

We shall encourage our graduates to sustain their cooperatives and enterprise groups so that they can access opportunities that may be difficult for individuals to obtain alone.

Ladies and Gentlemen, food security remains one of the most important responsibilities of any responsible government. With our growing population and increasing pressure on agricultural resources, we must produce more food, reduce post-harvest losses, improve productivity, and strengthen agricultural value chain.

Our administration has recorded giant strides in agricultural mechanization, input subsidy, irrigation development, and the livestock subsector. Katsina State has enormous agricultural potential - we have vast arable land, hardworking farmers, a youthful population, and considerable opportunities in crops, livestock, fisheries, agro-processing, and related businesses.

Our challenge is to transform these advantages into sustainable economic opportunities. The graduates of the Songhai Training Centre, equipped with the relevant skill sets, will have an important role to play in this transformation.

But I must remind you: the certificate you are receiving today is not a certificate of retirement from learning! In fact, it is a licence to continue learning, innovating and creating. So, please, do not put this certificate in a frame, hang it on the wall, and keep waiting for the government to call you for employment. The government has trained you to create opportunities—not merely to wait for them.

I wish to commend the management and staff of the Agricultural Development Programmes Unit, under my Office, for their commitment to practical agricultural education and youth development at the Makera Comprehensive Training Center. And for their efforts in translating our agricultural development vision into reality. The Songhai institution must continue to evolve into a centre of excellence for integrated agriculture, agribusiness, entrepreneurship, innovation and technology transfer.

I expect the centre to maintain high standards in training and to continuously review its programmes to respond to emerging needs in modern agriculture through continuous management and staff technical capacity development training and re-training as a means of boosting core and technical competencies.

Dear Songhai trainees, as you step out from this hall as newly-minted graduates, I want you to remember three things:

First, acquire more knowledge and never stop learning; Second, turn your skills into enterprise and value creation; Third, serve your communities with integrity and responsibility.

Your graduation today is not the conclusion of your story. It is the beginning of a new chapter.

I want to see you transform farms into businesses, businesses into industries, and industries into opportunities for our people.

To help you launch and grow the successful agribusiness enterprises we hope to celebrate in the near future, the State Government will support you with a take-off grant of up to One Million Naira (N1,000,000) each. To ensure sustainable and purposeful utilization, these funds will be disbursed in instalments, starting with N500,000 to each of you now. Subsequent disbursements to established and qualified agribusiness enterprises will be determined through diligent monitoring and evaluation processes.

Once again, I congratulate the 361 graduates of the 2nd Batch of the Makera Songhai Comprehensive Training Center, Dutsinma.

May Allah bless the knowledge you have acquired, guide your steps, prosper your legitimate enterprises, and make your efforts beneficial to yourselves, your families, Katsina State, and Nigeria.

With these words, I wish you all a successful graduation ceremony and a prosperous future.

Thank You

Long live Katsina State.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh