The reigning Miss World Nigeria, Tamunosoye Karibi-George, has made a deliberate and passionate move to partner with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to expand entrepreneurship and skills acquisition opportunities for young Nigerians through her youth empowerment initiative.
Karibi-George disclosed her intention to empower the youths during a courtesy visit to the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, at the NYSC National Directorate Headquarters in Abuja.
The beauty icon, who is also a former corps member, said her pet project focuses on equipping young people with vocational skills, particularly in fashion design. She disclosed that her organisation currently operates a skills acquisition centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where young men and women receive training and are provided with start-up kits upon completion.
According to the Director, Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, she also requested approval to visit NYSC orientation camps nationwide with her team to encourage corps members to embrace the Scheme’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
Reflecting on her own experience, Karibi-George said participation in the SAED programme during her 2021 orientation course at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja, inspired her to establish the fashion training centre.
According to her, beneficiaries are given work tools rather than cash to ensure they remain committed to the businesses for which they were trained.
She also invited the NYSC Director-General, staff and corps members to her national send-off ceremony scheduled for August 5, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, ahead of the Miss World competition.
Responding, Brigadier General Nafiu commended the beauty queen for promoting youth entrepreneurship, describing her initiative as complementary to the NYSC’s SAED programme, which was introduced to encourage self-reliance among young graduates.
He reaffirmed the Scheme’s readiness to collaborate with her in inspiring more Nigerian youths to acquire entrepreneurial skills, noting that entrepreneurship remains one of the most effective pathways to reducing unemployment and poverty.
The Director-General said the NYSC established the SAED programme in 2012 after recognising that government alone could not provide employment for the growing number of graduates entering the labour market each year.
He urged corps members to acquire at least one vocational skill during the orientation course and continue developing it after service to create additional sources of income.
Nafiu also congratulated Karibi-George on emerging as Miss World Nigeria 2026, succeeding Joy Mojisola Raimi, and encouraged her to represent the country proudly at the 73rd Miss World Festival scheduled to hold later this year in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
He described her participation in the global pageant as an opportunity to project Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage through cultural diplomacy while assuring her of the Scheme’s moral support and prayers.
