There are 37 career openings for young Nigerians under the United Nations bureaucracy, according to the UN deputy secretary-general, Mrs. Amina Mohammed.
According to her, Nigeria has the opportunity to sponsor its youth for UN careers through the JPO. But Nigeria has not utilized the opportunity in a long while, she noted.
Amina disclosed this at a Cultural Night organised by Nigerians working at United Nations Systems. She said the openings are available via the Junior Professional Officers’ (JPO) Programme, including internship for young graduates.
JPO is a programme for the young people to come and grow their career at the UN and it has 37 positions for Nigeria – one for each of the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.
The JPO programme provides young professionals with hands-on experience in multilateral technical co-operation, and is one of the best ways to gain entry level positions within the UN system.
JPOs are sponsored by their own government, which fund their placement in one of a range of UN organisations.
At the cultural night, Amina asked older Nigerians to pave the way for the youth by creating leadership opportunities for them .
She urged them to stop competing with the younger ones for employment opportunities.
“Whenever there are opportunities, try and pave the way for the young ones; you are getting old and we want to see the young ones in the system.
“We need to give the youth the opportunity because if we don’t give them the opportunities, they can easily fall victims of crimes,” she said.
According to her, the Nigerian employees at the UN system are getting old and there is the need for the Nigerian youth to be allowed to come into the system.
“Home really does need us; there are leaders and we are trying with the professionals that we see in the United Nations.
“The work we need to do is not just to the world but also to remember that at the root of all that, you are only as good as where you come from.
“And it’s really important that we remember, with what we do here, what we can get back home, that we can encourage those at home, and inspire them.
“It’s not just what we do for the world. Can’t we take those expertise back home, Amina said, urging them to make the best use of every opportunity they got.
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