Prince continues tour in Africa

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6157017.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Prince Charles has continued his African tour by praising the work of traditional Nigerian craftsmen.

The heir to the throne was visiting Dawakin Kudu and watched the production of textiles and ceramics which have made the settlement famous.

But the prince said that it was also important to equip young people to move into other areas with new skills.

The UK government is providing aid money to Nigeria which will have risen to £100 million in 2007/08.

Speaking while hundreds of residents looked on, the prince also discussed the partnership between the UK and Nigeria to tackle the troubled country's social, education and health problems.

He said: "To maintain these traditional skills and to equip young people to diversify into new areas requiring new skills, communities clearly need a healthy and educated population to drive and maintain economic activity.

"These two qualities are very much at the centre of the practical help which Britain is seeking to give northern Nigeria."

Northern Nigeria's largely Muslim communities are among some of the poorest areas in the country and have been blighted by corruption.

A greater proportion of the aid money being dispensed by the Department for International Development (DfID) will help the north.