The plan by the administration of President Muhmmadu Buhari to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty seems like a tall order with the revelation that about 65 million of the country’s youths could be jobless in the next four years.
That is approximately one in every three Nigerian going by the country’s population of about 200 million people.
The minister of state for Science, Technology and Innovation, Mohammed Abdullahi, who made this comment in a goodwill message at the Generation Unlimited Nigeria Launch in Abuja yesterday, warned that about 65 million Nigerian youths could be unemployed in 2025 due to predicted economic disruptions and other indicators around the world.
The minister, in a statement issued by the media unit of the ministry, called on government and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to initiate urgent interventions in order to engage Nigerian youths to make their lives more meaningful.
He made a reference to a disturbing 2020 report by the managing director of World Economic Forum (WEF), Saadia Zahidi, who said that in the next five years, about 85 million jobs will be disrupted around the world due to lack of skills, population, robotics and remote work, among others.
The minister further said that “the 85 million persons globally comprise about 65 million of our Nigerian youth, which is alarming and gloomy, and needs to be arrested urgently.”
He further commended the initiatives of Jobberman, which works at developing soft skills curriculum and placements to make Nigerian youths employable and capable of generating employment.
The minister said the Generation Unlimited platform is also aimed at creating better education, skills, employment and entrepreneur opportunities for young persons, adding that the programme is at the heart of challenges facing the global youth population and believes the initiative by UNICEF would help in bridging the gap.
“Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is willing to partner with UNICEF in this direction, especially in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as a tool to engage the youths meaningfully,” he said, adding that the ministry will partner with UNICEF to create sustainable and skilled youth manpower for job and wealth creation.
Capital Importation Down To 5-Year Low On 2023 General Election Concerns
Meanwhile, the volume of capital inflow into Nigeria went down by more than 50 per cent between April and June this year as analysts say investors are pulling back on investments ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that capital importation into the country has declined to $875.62 million.
This is a 54.06 per cent decline compared to $1.905 billion capital that was imported into the country in the first three months of the year and a 32.38 per cent decrease compared to $1.294 billion capital inflow in the second quarter of 2020.
The Q2, 2021 capital inflow figure is the lowest since the first quarter of 2016 when the country recorded an inflow of $710.97 million. Analysts who spoke with LEADERSHIP noted that investors are skeptical and wary of new investment as the 2023 general elections draw closer.
A look at the figures shows foreign direct investments have declined by 49.62 per cent from $145.76 million in the first three months of the year to $77.97 million while portfolio investments dropped to $551.37 million in the second quarter as against $974.14 million that was recorded in the first quarter of the year.
While investments in bond and money market instruments depreciated by 89.52 and 44.14 per cent, equity investments soared by 216.84 per cent. Investments in the equity market rose to $85.16 million in the second quarter of the year compared to $26.88 million recorded in the first three months of the year.
Capital inflow for investments in bonds declined to $14,54 million from $138.69 million while inflow for investment in money market instruments, including treasury bills, went down to $451.67 million compared to $808.57 million inflow in the first quarter of the year.
Portfolio investment, despite the decline, remained the largest amount of capital importation accounting for 62.97 per cent of total capital importation, followed by Other Investment, which accounted for 28.13 per cent ($246.27m) of total capital imported at $246.27 million while foreign direct investment (FDI), accounted for 8.9 per cent of total capital imported in Q2 2021.
By sector, capital importation by banking dominated in Q2, 2021 reaching $296.51 million of the total capital importation in Q2, 2021. The United Kingdom emerged as the top source of capital investment in Nigeria in Q2,2021 with $310.26 million. This accounted for 35.43 per cent of the total capital inflow in Q2, 2021.
By destination of investment, Lagos State emerged as the top destination of capital investment in Nigeria in Q2, 2021 with $780.06 million, accounting for 89.09 per cent of the total capital inflow in Q2, 2021.
Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc emerged at the top of capital investment in Nigeria in Q2, 2021 with $310.21 million which accounted for 35.43 per cent of the total capital inflow in Q2 2021.
The PDP however urged its members in Ondo State and other Nigerians not to allow the development make them lose hope but to remain calm and law-abiding in the general interest of the nation.
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