By John Oba
Youths across the African continent have been told to seek ways of making themselves employable rather than waiting for white collar jobs as no government world over can completely eradicate unemployment.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youths and Students Affairs, Comrade Jude Imagwe, gave the charge yesterday in Abuja at the African Youth Leadership Summit tagged: “Fostering Innovation and Leadership in the African Academy.” He urged them to start thinking outside government jobs as there was no government either in Nigeria or anywhere in the world that could completely eradicate unemployment from Nigeria.”
“Providing employment was not meant to be the main function of the federal government alone, unfortunately the states and local government have abandoned their responsibilities thereby forcing the federal government alone to shoulder that responsibility,” he said.
President of the African Youths International Development Foundation, Mr Tunji Asaolu, said the aim of the summit was to address the leadership challenges in Africa.
He said: “The challenges that concern leadership, security, and the youths marginalised the position of decision making in government.
“There is nothing wrong if the youths are given 25 per cent affirmative, if our leaders can put this consideration, the challenges of insecurity and other challenges will be a thing of the past.”
Asaolu said the foundation had been involved in similar programmes to empower youths at all levels.
He advised youths to acquire more knowledge to fit into key positions in the society as the “leaders of tomorrow.”
Chairman of the occasion, Mr Reuben Jaja, urged the youth to tolerate one another, saying that unrest in the society could not lead the nation anywhere, and that “as a country we need to appreciate our diversity in culture and traditions and be able to tolerate one another.”
Jaja said as the youth constitutes the 60 per cent of the country’s population, they should use their strength of numbers to unite the country.
