The President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said leaders in the country are like Vultures who feed on the misfortunes of their own people. He said leaders in the country only appear to do good if it serves their own interests.
Adesina made the statement on Wednesday, at the Joshua Generation International Youth Conference with the theme “Living with a Purpose.”
The former Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, advised the Nigerian government to pay more attention on the youths, whom he said represent the future of the country.
He listed troubling blights plaguing Nigerian youths to include; unemployment, limited technical and vocational skills, limited inclusion in social and political space, and lack of financing for ventures and businesses.
He said: “The greater wealth of Africa, and of course Nigeria, will come from the youth. I know there are several misconceptions about the youth. I don’t understand why, because I was once a youth myself.
“The youth are not the problem of Nigeria; the youth are the assets of Nigeria. We must not relegate the youth to the background; we must put the youth in the fore.
“As a nation, Nigeria must do all possible to reinvent itself by focusing on the youth. Yet Nigeria’s youth face several challenges, including unemployment, limited technical and vocational skills, limited inclusion in social and political space, and lack of financing for ventures and businesses. Nigeria must embark on bolder measures to grow its youth into a well-trained globally competitive workforce.
“The youth do not need empowerment. Look around, often those who say they are empowering them are actually simply empowering themselves," he said.