Magazine

Friday, January 28, 2011

NORTHERN NIGERIAN STUDENTS HONOUR SMEDAN D-G

The Director-General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria [SMEDAN], Muhammad Nadada Umar, has bagged two more Awards. Nadada Umar, who already has strings of Honours and Awards in his kitty, was on Tuesday presented with “The Icon of Greater Nigeria” and “Youth Ambassador for Change” Awards by the National Association of Northern Nigeria Students [NANNS].








President of the Association, Comrade Ibrahim Alih, noted that the Award was their “kind and modest way of appreciating repeated and unsolicited countless contributions to nation building”. In doing this, he stressed, the Association was fully convinced that the movement towards a unified nation as exemplified by the life and times of Alhaji Umar would continue in the right direction and his dreams never forgotten in a hurry when Nigeria would celebrate 100 years of independence. “On that day, 1st October 2060, Nigerians and students will have cause to smile and tell the world that the journey started with Alhaji Umar who gave the Northern Students direction to be where we are,” Alih added.


Extolling the virtues of Muhammad Nadada Umar, the student leader said the SMEDAN Chief Executive “is a detribalized Nigerian, very accommodating, well exposed and has equally traversed the length and breadth of this country in service to fatherland. His impeccable credentials are unquestionable and have particularly dominated the management of the Agency with well reasoned arguments always winning his battles on the altar of equity, fair play, transparency and accountability”.











According to Comrade Ibrahim Alih, the Association carefully assessed Nadada’s leadership roles in recent times and collectively agreed that he is a trail blazer, a mentor and an achiever. “The Association is compelled by your positive contributions in this [MSME] sector of nation’s economy which are having direct impact on our citizenry to honour your eminence with the prestigious Awards”, Comrade Alih told the SMEDAN Chief Executive.


In his acceptance speech, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Muhammad Nadada Umar, said the Award had given him the impetus to do more. Educating the students on the mandate of the Agency, Nadada noted that the development of micro, small and medium enterprises [MSME] sub-sector was crucial to the nation’s economic growth, political stability and national security. He therefore challenged the students to embrace entrepreneurship, adding that SMEDAN was ready to partner with the students to transform them to top-flight industrialists and entrepreneurs in the mould of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr. Mike Adenuga and Mr. Femi Otedola. To this effect, the SMEDAN Director-General pledged to include graduating students from the nation’s universities in the Agency’s Youth Entrepreneurship Programme in the future.


Furthermore, he promised to assist the students who benefited from the Agency’s entrepreneurship training to form Cooperative Societies in order to facilitate their access to working capital. He cited the Bank of Agriculture [BoA], Bank of Industry [BoI], National Economic Reconstruction Fund [NERFUND] and the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN’s] SME Credit Guarantee Scheme as availble business finance widows available to budding entrepreneurs.














Previous recipients of the Award, according to Comrade Alih, include: Dr. Olusola Saraki [the Waziri of Ilorin], Mallam Adamu Ciroma [former Minister of Finance], Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu [the Executive Governor of Niger State], Professor Olugbemiro Jegede, Dr. Uriah Angulu, Alhaji Abdullahi Inde Dikko [the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service], Professor Jibrin Aminu, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, Dr. Ibrahim Wada, Hon. Sam Odeh, Dr. Aboki Zhawa, Alhaji Ali Amfani and other distinguished Nigerians.






Levi Anyikwa


Assistant Director [Corporate Affairs]


SMEDAN

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