By Osita Chinedu
The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) chief, Akinwunmi Adesina has said that the future of Nigeria’s and Africa’s youths does not lie in the North Americas, Europe, Asia or any other part of the world but in West Africa and in the continent of Africa.
Akinwunmi stated this in his address as an award recipient at the 2023 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership in Lagos on Wednesday March 6, 2024.
The AfDB chief made this remark after a line of former and serving African leaders took turns to commend his outstanding leadership in Africa. He maintained that the real development of nations is attained when the best of its human resources are retained at home while additional resource skills are sought elsewhere.
The award recipient lamented the mass exodus of Nigerian and African youths for greener pastures in Europe, America and other parts of the world popularly known as ‘Japa’ in the Nigerian street parlance. The japa syndrome has gained acceptance among the Nigerian and African youths in the face of recent socio-economic challenges facing the Nigerian and most African nations at large causing the youthful class of the population to leave the country in droves in search of economic prosperity.
“While one might argue that our growing diaspora is good as they send back billions of dollars, higher than the oil revenue that we have, this is not the way to develop sustainably.
“Nations that develop do all they can to keep their best human capital at home and additional resource skill elsewhere, with flexible immigration and labour policies. We must make Nigeria a viable place for people to stay and not a place to run away from, the same applies to other countries,” said Akinwunmi referring to a guest of dignitaries from all over Africa.
“I refuse to believe that the future of Nigeria’s and Africa’s youths lie in Europe, North America, Asia, or anywhere else. I believe that their future must lie in Africa, growing well, robustly and able to create quality jobs and decent earnings for our young people.
“There is absolutely no reason in the world how we have a demographic asset that then becomes a global negative externality. Let’s take pride in ourselves and let’s make our demographic assets our economic asset globally.”
The former Minister of Agriculture under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan led administration was unwavering in his belief about the future of the Nigerian and African youth residing in Nigeria and in the African continent hence the establishment of $614m programme to support Nigeria’s digital and creative enterprise to create 6.3 million jobs and add N6.4bn to the economy. He equally added that the AfDB will establish a youth-centric bank, The Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank to specifically take care of financial and investment needs of the young people.
“I always say to myself, how can we have 477 million people under the age of 35 and there are no financial institution? That means we have missing institution and market failure problems. And that is why the African Development Bank decided that we will create what we call the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank.”
Akinwunmi Adesina, 64 would be the fourth recipient of the prestigious award which was started in honour of the late Obafemi Awolowo to recognize pan-African leadership. Former recipients of the award include Wole Soyinka, the Noble Laureate; Thabo Mbeki, the former President of South Africa; and Aare Afe Babalola, the legal luminary.
Among the dignitaries at the award ceremony were the former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd.); former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was represented in the event by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
Serving state governors who graced the occasion include Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state; Alex Oti of Abia state; Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger state; Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi state; among many other dignitaries.
