”We must give hope and assurance to our teeming youth population. God has blessed Nigeria with a vibrant youth population, ready to learn, and capable of competing in the global economy of the 21st Century. Leadership is what is necessary,’’ these are the unvarnished, profound, and scintillating words of President Bola Tinubu.
At a meeting with Ms. Reeta Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard Foundation, on Wednesday, the President foregrounded his administration’s resolve to support public-private partnerships designed for creating dignified work and employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
True to its purpose, the Tinubu administration has been unfurling innovative and targeted initiatives to give flight to the dreams of Nigerian youths. This is in the full apprehension of the boundless abilities, resilience, grit, and excellence of Nigeria’s bubbling youth population. The youth are the most valuable resource of our nation, and even with basic accoutrements to function, they will always exceed expectations and defy every stereotype.
The administration through the ministry of communications, innovation, and digital economy has been in the pursuit of the noble vision of ‘’inspiring the use of technologies, especially Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like UAV, IoT, AI and Blockchain to optimise different sectors of the economy’’. The ministry has been initiating programmes for skill development and deployment, as well as mobilising support for the nation’s coruscating technology biome, of which the youth are the primary habitues.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has also been introducing schemes tailored to the entrepreneurial needs and pneuma of Nigerians, particularly the youth. For instance, the undergraduate internship programme, a scheme where students in tertiary institutions can get hands-on entrepreneurial training through internships in top organisations.
There is the communisation of access to finance for small businesses with the signing of a N5 billion MSME Fund between SMEDAN and Sterling Bank. The fund is a loan portfolio of single-digit interest rate and zero collateral. With the initiative, small businesses can access funding from as little as N250,000 to as much as N2.5 million. There is also the MSME Matching Fund by SMEDAN and the Bank of Industry to ease access to finance for small businesses across the states at a single-digit interest rate and without collaterals. The conditional grant scheme where nano businesses across the 774 local government areas are given N50,000 each is another anodyne to help fledging businesses.
The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Education recently announced a conditional grant of N500,000; a business start-up fund for budding entrepreneurs who are able to market their skill. Also, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives (Delivery & Monitoring) has been laying the groundwork for seminal initiatives aimed at ‘’empowering the youth, transforming futures, and catalysing sustainable youth development’’ in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
In September 2023, the President launched the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) to bolster Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and create one million in-demand jobs nationwide over the next five years. The initiative seeks to orient Nigeria as an export hub for talent outsourcing in Africa, following the example of India, Bangladesh, Mexico, and The Philippines.
These are but a few of the youth-centred programmes of the administration, and with many others across different agencies and ministries already in full steam, and some in the pipeline.
The Tinubu administration is the first to deliberately, progressively, and percipiently mainstream women and youth in governance for which the leadership continues to be celebrated across quarters. This effort, among others, shows wholesale faith and trust in the young people and women of Nigeria.
At the meeting with Mastercard Foundation, the President made further profound asseverations, and commended the Foundation’s initiative, which aims to create 10 million jobs for young people in Nigeria, stating that the programme aligned with his Renewed Hope Agenda for economic development and job creation.
”We believe in what you are doing. We are determined to run an inclusive government and change the dynamics and perception of this country. Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and, as such, must take its leadership of this continent very seriously. The incubation is growing, and we are earning a good reputation, and we will continue to do that across sectors of the economy in order to achieve sustainable growth. We are ready to work with you and remove all impediments, and we have assembled a great team to work with you. The hope of the youth must be built on a solid foundation of sustainable growth and prosperity. We are working with other partners, and we assure you of our robust and focused collaboration,” the President said in the most assured cadence.
The Tinubu administration is unwavering in its undertaking to build the future today by investing in the youth. With every investment, it is giving the youth the sails to coast. It is giving them the line and hook to fish, as well as the sturdy wings to fly.
*Fredrick Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement