80 Million Unemployed Youths: A National Leadership Failure
Over 80 million young Nigerians are unemployed, a damning verdict on our leadership and economic direction. This is not a youth problem but a leadership failure that demands urgent national action.
The recent ActionAid/Plan International report, which highlights the devastating fact that over 80 million young Nigerians are unemployed, is an indictment of our leadership and economic direction.
Nigeria tops the world in the absolute number of unemployed youths due to our large population, with over 80 million youths without jobs. South Africa with a youth unemployment rate of around 60%, translates to about 6 million unemployed youths, still more than 70 million fewer than Nigeria.
When millions of youths are unemployed, it is not a youth problem, it is a leadership failure. This is the direct result of political greed that has failed to serve the people.
Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with about 75% of our citizens under the age of 35. With such a large share of the population young, joblessness at this scale should be a national emergency.
It is deeply troubling that, rather than investing in these youths as our most productive assets, promoting and supporting MSMEs the drive growth and create employment, we the Leaders chose wasteful spending, corruption, unproductive borrowing, and policies that will shrink opportunities and expand poverty, reducing Nigerian youths to easy tools for all forms of vices.
Nigeria does not lack entrepreneurial and resourceful youths, what we lack are leaders who are intentional about creating opportunities. We need leaders who understand that jobs come from deliberate investments in production and from running a government that is prudent, transparent, and people-centred, that can lift people out of poverty.
We need leadership that will see the youth as the engine of productivity and growth of a nation. This is the time, more than ever, for the Nigerian youths to get involved and ensure they elect leaders who have their best interest and the best interest of our nation.
Nigeria deserves competent, credible, compassionate, and capable leadership, one that will create opportunities and empower our young Nigerians.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO