Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential contender, has condemned the new ActionAid/Plan International report, which puts Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate at 80%, as an indictment of the country’s leadership and economic orientation.
Obi stated that these estimates imply more than 80 million unemployed youngsters. This, he argued, was a staggering fact considering the country’s unquestionably massive population.
The former Anambra State governor stated this in a post on his verified X handle.
He criticized President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) administration for failing to invest in our youth.
Obi said, “The recent ActionAid/Plan International report, which highlights the devastating fact that over 80 million young Nigerians are unemployed, is an indictment on 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 percent, translates to about six 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 percent 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 invest in these youths as our most productive assets, promoting and supporting MSMEs to 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-centered and 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,” he added.
