Fashola: “You can’t talk of youth unemployment and leave sports”

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, says sports is a veritable tool for youth engagement and economic development.

Fashola made this assertion while fielding questions at a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) flagship forum on Sunday in Abuja.

The minister, a sports enthusiast, said that one of the ways to tackle unemployment among the youths was through sporting activities.

“You can’t talk of youth unemployment and leave sports.

“Thankfully, we have made this case and the Buhari government will perhaps be the first government to categorise sports as economic activities for the development of our economic opportunities.

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“It is a matter which I have done a lot of expansive work with a several dozens of pages for sports to join those force of amateurs and professionals concerning something that is worth it.

“It’s not a talk shop but what I’m preparing requires everybody to take their roles and go and play it once we play it we will see results,” he said.

On calls for breakup and decentralisation, Fashola said no country has it all, because everyone is marginalised in one way or another.

“No country has a perfect house, the desire to make the union better is an unending journey, every perfection is perpetually under construction.

“Those calling for these should look at South Sudan and other places and see if it has worked.

“Maybe, they should also look at their children, they should look at their children’s closest friends. Are they for ethnic groups?

“Those who want to see what is happening should go to marriage registries. These are children of another generation who don’t care about where people come from,” said the minister.

Fashola noted that the children have crossed the bridge of division “and when the old ones refused to follow; they would leave us behind and get on with their lives.

“Restructuring has been going on for a long time, not a matter of recent, everybody can speak on whatsoever he or she wants to talk about because he has the fundamental right to speech.

“But don’t try to put the house down with your words, make your case, but you must do your duty because there are no rights without duties,” he reminded the agitators.