By Saminu Ibrahim
Abuja
The chief executive of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Nigeria, Princess Gloria Akobundu, has said that African youth will continue to lag behind their counterparts from other parts of theworld if the current spate of unemployment among them is not urgently addressed
She also identified the provision of sufficient education, training and jobs as factors that could turn around the growth in their numbers to outstanding benefits for the development of the African continent
A statement signed, yesterday, by the Special Adviser to the NEPAD boss, Nkem AnyataLafi a, said Akobundu spoke at a programme on youths tagged “Harnessing Demographic Dividends Through Investments in Youth”, organised by the NEPAD planning and coordinating agency on the margins of the just concluded 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York
‘‘Globally, research has shown that a young person will be three times more likely to be unemployed than an average adult and predicts that if not urgently dealt with, economic protest will worsen
“Africa has the youngest population in the world; the number of youths is growing rapidly
In 2015, 226 million youths aged 15-24 lived in Africa, accounting for 19 per cent of the global youth population for that year, according to the World Bank
Youths also account for 60 per cent of all African unemployment figures
These are grim statistics that must be a basis for a wake-up call for us and our leaders to rise to convert this burgeoning population to an advantage,’’ she said
She added that it was in realisation of the dangers inherent in a burgeoning population that was either unemployed or underemployed that the leaders of Africa met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to declare the years 2009 – 2018 the ‘‘African Youth Decade’’ during which time they hoped to leverage on both private and public support and initiatives to address issues bedevilling the growth and development of the African youth
