Sokoto State government recently embarked on a recruitment drive to admit 10,000 youths for the second phase of its skill acquisition programme. The initiative is part of government's determination to curb restiveness, crime and poverty in the state. MOHAMMED AMINU writes:

Poverty can be traced within the context of contradiction between the resources available at the disposal of an individual and the demands and conditions of his environment. A large number of youths in Sokoto are unskilled, poor and unemployable. The skill acquisition programme set up by the government is an instrument of empowerment that seeks to provide the youths with skills required for sound social living and to enable them become more functional in the society.