President Muhammadu Buhari today reiterated his
commitment to provide the necessary infrastructures that would create
employment for youths in Nigeria.
Buhari described unemployment as one of the major challenges
facing Nigeria and the African continent as many graduates still remain
unemployed.
Speaking at an event organized by the Ministry of Youth
Development to mark 2015 World Youth Day with the theme “Civic Engagement”,
Buhari, however, appealed to the youth to be patient with his government.
He said, “Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, you may wish
to note that Africa is the most ‘youthful’ continent in the world. According to
the figures I have been presented with, at least 20 percent of the continent’s
population of 1.2 billion is between the age bracket of 15 – 24 years, with
about 42% below 15 years of age. As the rest of the world gets older, Africa is
getting younger. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It all depends
on what we make of it.
“Therefore, one of the greatest challenges facing
governments and policy makers in Africa today is how to provide opportunities
and meet the needs of young people, the vast majority of whom need to be
empowered to enable them to lead decent lives and contribute their quota to the
socio economic and political development of their countries.
“Correctly harnessed, this tremendous labour force could
propel us to take a quantum leap in developing our infrastructure so that
Nigeria can join the 21st Century.
“Some of you may recall that African leaders, at the Malabo
2011Summit, committed themselves to providing employment, whether directly or
indirectly, for at least 3% of its unemployed young people every year. For us,
the meeting in Malabo 2011, marked another turning point in the continent’s quest
for development. The summit adopted that all member States should advance the
youth agenda and adopt policies and mechanisms towards the creation of safe,
decent and competitive employment opportunities.
“This would be achieved by accelerating the implementation
of the Youth Decade Plan of Action (2009 – 2018) and the Ouagadougou 2004 Plan
of Action on Employment Promotion and Poverty Alleviation. African leaders have
since stepped up efforts to give voice, visibility and platforms to the youth
to advocate for more investments in their future.
“It is, however, an issue of serious concern that in
Nigeria, so far, economic growth has not translated into commensurate and
improved social outcomes, especially for our 60 million young people who made
up the majority of the population. Consequently our youth migrate from rural to
urban areas and from this country to other countries across borders, in search
of greener pastures.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen and my beloved youth, I
want to assure you that the new Administration will place high premium in
tackling challenges facing the youth sector.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics,
unemployment remains a major concern in Nigeria, with rates rising from 6.4% in
2006 to 24.20% in the first quarter of 2015. The unemployment rate among youth
is even more disturbing and considered to be over 50% due to the sheer number
of unemployed graduates and a huge number of youth who have had no chance to go
to school roaming about the streets
“It is worth noting that although educational attainment by
Nigerian young people has increased significantly in the last decade, the
relevance of curricula, quality of education and the fit with skills required
by the job market, still remains a challenge for us as a country.
“Unsuitable qualifications limit our young peoples’
employment prospects and potential to contribute to national development. Our
new Administration is poised to providing an enabling environment for the
private sector to thrive so as to ensure greater opportunities for jobs to be
created for our young people.
“This we believe will assist in reducing criminal activities
and terrorism. We have resolved to provide adequate infrastructure and
strengthen our job creation institutions in order to increase opportunities for
our young people. For Nigeria to sustainably create jobs and ensure growth, we
will pay special attention to the growth of our Small and Medium Scale
Enterprises. This can be achieved through boosting the intervention funds as guaranteed
by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“In order to ensure that young people are healthy, skilled
and educationally empowered, we will strengthen our academic and vocational
training institutions as well as significantly improve our healthcare delivery system
“Young Nigerians, let me conclude by reiterating that we are
very much committed to fulfilling all our campaign promises. We, therefore,
seek your cooperation and patience in this regard
“Be assured that ‘change’ for us is not a mere political
slogan but the beginning of a new era desired by the majority of Nigerians. The
youth must therefore be vanguards of this change and at the same time be the
change that they wish to see.”
President Buhari also paid glowing tribute to the Nigerian
youth for their role in the last general election, describing them “heroes of
democracy and architects of change”
“As we commemorate this year’s International Youth Day, let
me use this moment to once again pay tribute to all the young people who played
significant roles in making the 2015 General Elections a model for democratic
governance in Africa. The role you played, individually and collectively, in
not only being peaceful members of the electorate but also galvanising the
social media platform and mobilizing your peers to make the right choice.
“Your role contributed in no small measure to having a
credible election in an atmosphere that was hitherto tense and volatile. The
outcome is today being celebrated worldwide.
“Your role is greatly appreciated. I can assure you, my
young compatriots, that you have written your names in history and you will be
remembered as true heroes of our democracy and as architects of change”, he
said.
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