Ebinum Samuel
Vice President Kashim Shetima has said sustainable national prosperity must be built on productive enterprise, investment, innovation and the capacity of Nigerians to create value in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The Vice President stated this in his keynote address at the Aspire Women Forum masterclass themed “From Survival to Thriving: Empowering Women and Youth for Export Readiness, Global Market Access and Prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda”, held at the Conference Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday 28th October 2026. The VP who was represented by Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, Inna Binta Audu, said transition from survival to thriving is not simply a personal aspiration but an economic imperative and a national development priority.
According to him, “What makes this initiative particularly valuable is its emphasis on practical knowledge. The true measure of this masterclass will not be the number of people in this hall, but the number of businesses that become stronger, the number of entrepreneurs who reach new markets and the number of livelihoods transformed by what is learnt here.
“Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Renewed Hope Agenda is anchored on the conviction that sustainable national prosperity must be built on productive enterprise, investment, innovation and the capacity of Nigerians to create value. Our ambition to build a one-trillion-dollar economy cannot be realised by government alone. It requires an ecosystem in which businesses can emerge, grow, compete and contribute to national development.
“Women and young people must occupy a central place in that ecosystem. Their economic participation expands our productive capacity, strengthens household incomes, creates employment and widens the opportunities available to future generations. But inclusion must mean more than access to a training programme or the announcement of an empowerment initiative. It must mean access to the tools, institutions and markets that enable people to convert their skills into sustainable income.”
He commended Aspire Women Forum for the masterclass. I commend its Founder, Dr. Zainab Marwa, and all the institutions and partners whose collaboration has made this gathering possible”, he added.
In his address at the event, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) charged women and young Nigerians seeking to grow their businesses and access global markets to guard their health, their judgement and the integrity of their trade against illicit drugs, warning that no promised payment is worth the price of being used by traffickers.
Commending the Forum for bringing together hundreds of women and young people not only to be trained but to be connected to the markets, finance and institutions that can change their fortunes, the NDLEA boss said the theme captured the hope of millions of Nigerian households to provide for their families, develop their talents and build a secure future. He noted that opportunity is growing under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but stressed that seizing it requires skills and supportive institutions as well as discipline, resilience and sound choices.
Marwa urged participants to be practical, and resilient, while welcoming the programme’s attention to confidence, emotional intelligence, the ability to manage pressure and family balance alongside enterprise and export readiness. He warned about what he called a threat that can destroy ambition, which is substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking. “Do not let pressure, disappointment, curiosity or the desire to belong draw you into drugs. Drugs solve no business problem and end no hardship; they only multiply them,” he said.
He assured anyone struggling with drug dependence that seeking help is an act of courage, not shame, and drew attention to the Agency’s toll-free helpline, 0800 1020 3040, which is open 24 hours a day. Calls to the NDLEA Call Centre, he explained, are answered by trained professionals, including clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatry doctors, in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. He urged parents, mentors and community leaders to guide those in need towards treatment, not isolation.
Addressing participants preparing to trade across borders, Marwa urged them to guard the integrity of their businesses as carefully as their profits. “Know exactly what you are shipping. Verify your partners and your transactions. Never carry a package you did not pack, and never let your goods be used for trafficking,” he warned.
He noted that a single contaminated consignment can cost an exporter their freedom and their family’s good name, and can close markets that they, and Nigeria, worked hard to open. Export readiness, he said, rests on integrity, reliable products, proper standards, accurate documentation and dependable service.
He encouraged participants to leave the masterclass with at least one action they could begin immediately, whether formalising their business, improving their records, strengthening their digital skills or preparing their product for a wider market. Commending the organisers for planning mentoring and referrals beyond the event, he pledged NDLEA’s readiness to partner with the Forum through the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy. “Invest in your abilities. Choose your associations carefully. Pursue your goals with discipline and integrity. Thrive, and stay drug-free”, he added.
In her welcome address, Founder and President of Aspire Women Forum, Dr. Zainab Marwa, said many Nigerians produce, sell, sew, farm, process food and provide services from morning till night, yet finish the month with little left, often because of practical gaps such as poor record keeping, lack of business registration, unsuitable finance, weak packaging or limited access to buyers.
She commended the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu for supporting enterprise and economic inclusion through the Renewed Hope Agenda, including intervention financing for small businesses through the Bank of Industry and attention to skills and digital enterprise, noting that the masterclass was designed to help people understand how to engage with such opportunities.
Dr. Marwa disclosed that the Forum had deliberately extended participation to youths, including young men, alongside women and young women, because uncertain income affects entire households, while reaffirming the Forum’s commitment to women’s advancement. Engagement with participants, she added, would continue beyond the masterclass through a dedicated Aspire team supporting communication, referrals and further learning.
She expressed gratitude to the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, for the support his office gave the initiative; to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose meeting with her in Geneva strengthened her resolve to pursue the vision; and to Dr. Queen Onyinye Okpa, Founder of Women in Agribusiness, Trade and Export (WATEX), among other supporters.
