Nigeria’s youth population is one of its greatest assets. By 2030, Nigeria will be one of the few countries in the world that has a large number of young workers. However, if the government does not act quickly, this demographic dividend may turn into a liability. The #EndSARS protest three years ago highlighted the deep-seated discontent with the social and economic widening gap in the country.
Frustration over lack of employment opportunities, competition for jobs, land, natural resources, and political patronage fuels violent conflict between groups. The growing impact of climate change on weather patterns, water and other resource availability, and agricultural productivity exacerbates this unrest. Nigeria’s cities lack the resources to cope with their growth and are becoming increasingly dysfunctional and lawless.
The federal government should set targets for increasing expenditure on education and health, using oil revenues to fund both infrastructure and recurrent spending, while ensuring that existing funds are spent more efficiently. The priorities for education should be to develop skills that lead to employment through expansion of vocational training, and to tackle the gross inequalities in educational provision that threaten Nigeria’s integrity as a cohesive society.
Without remedial action, the crisis in the job market will worsen rapidly as growing numbers of young Nigerians enter the workforce. According to a report by Harvard School of Public Health and the British Council, Nigeria needs to create about 25 million jobs over the next eight years if it is to offer work to new entrants and halve current unemployment. Nigeria also needs to develop the infrastructure that will underpin a progressive economy, spending substantially more on this task. The country should diversify away from oil, with an emphasis on sectors that will improve employment prospects for young people, while removing obstacles to economic growth and private enterprise.
The oil industry contributes considerably to national GDP but is highly capital-intensive and employs only a tiny fraction of the population. Other sectors still at inchoate stages, such as communications, manufacturing (textiles, clothing, and footwear automobiles), and the mining of resources, other than oil, offer greater potential to Nigeria.
The federal government must tap into the energies of the next generation, releasing its innovative and entrepreneurial potential and ensuring that young people have better opportunities for political expression. It should also harness the potential of its diaspora to provide opportunities for the young and for new ideas, investments, and contacts.
By investing in people, Nigeria can substantially boost its economic growth and social stability. The country stands on the threshold of what could be the greatest transformation in its history. With the right policies for the next generation, Nigeria’s aspiration to become an economic powerhouse and a cynosure of social stability is within reach.
The issues that accentuated the #EndSARS protest should not be re-echoed in the manner the world saw three years ago. Sadly, there was a tinge of it last year. Nigeria’s youths are yearning for a better future, and they deserve it. The federal government must act now, to ensure that Nigeria harnesses the potential of its youth population. Over the next two decades, the choice between success and failure will rest on the government’s ability to harness the power of its youth population.
Nigeria must provide the opportunities and resources necessary to unleash the innovative and entrepreneurial potential of its youth population. The federal government should set targets for increasing expenditure on education and health, using oil revenues to fund both infrastructure and recurrent spending, while ensuring that existing funds are spent more efficiently. The priorities for education should be to develop skills that lead to employment through expansion of vocational training, and to tackle the gross inequalities in educational provision that threaten Nigeria’s integrity as a cohesive society.
In addition, Nigeria needs to create about 25 million jobs over the next eight years if it is to offer work to new entrants and halve current unemployment.
