OWERRI – An entertainer, Mr Mike Akubueze, has advised governments and peoples of the South/East zone to invest in the entertainment industry to create jobs for the youths.
Akubueze, founder of Asaigbo Beauty Pageant, gave the advice at the grand finale of Asaigbo Beauty Pageant 2014 in Owerri on Saturday.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that entertainment industry had the potential to create thousands of jobs and reduce the rate of anti-social conducts by youths in the area.
“Youths from the South/East zone constitute greater percentage of Nollywood actors and actresses in Nigeria, and yet governments of the five South/East states have less interest in the industry.
“If government encourages investment in this sector, thousands of youths from the zone will be gainfully employed in the industry’’, he said.
Akubueze said he came up with the Asaigbo beauty pageant to address the problem of nudity in the attire of most young girls in Igboland and as well tackle the menace of street trading by the girl-child.
“Contestants are required to showcase the traditional Igbo attire, no form of nudity in the name of dressing is allowed.
“The aim is to redirect the minds of our young girls and make them understand that they are tomorrow’s mothers and conscience of the society’’, Akubueze said.
He said that the winner of the contest would go home with a brand new Toyota Corola car, while the second and third position would get other prizes.
Akubueze hinted that apart from the Asaigbo beauty pageant, he planned to build cultural centre in the South/East and collaborate with the law enforcement agencies to check street trading during school hours by underage girls.
Under the initiative, “my NGO will ensure that any girl of school age found carrying article of trade on the streets is picked up and encouraged to return to school.’’
Akubueze, who hails from Imo, but based in Switzerland, said immoral activities will continue to rise in Nigeria if adequate attention was not paid to trading on the streets by young persons. (NAN)
