President of the Senate, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki on Friday suggested that fruitful engagement of teeming
youths in the country will increase the nation’s productive capacity and at the
same time, negotiating an end to the present economic recession.
Senator Saraki expressed this
opinion while delivering a keynote address at the 2016 King’s College Founders’
Day Lecture organized by old students of the prestigious institution in Lagos.
A statement issued by his Chief
Press Secretary, Mr. Sanni Onogu quoted the Senate President as saying, “the
country urgently needs to unleash the energy and creative capacity of the youth
to ensure that we produce goods and services for local consumption and
imports.”
While saying that creation of jobs
for the majority of the nation’s youthful population remains a challenge,
Saraki said the 8th Senate has started laying the solid legal foundation upon
which the efforts to positively reverse the trend would be predicated.
He added that such foundation would
enable the youths not to only find gainful employment, but to also find a
conducive, legal, economic and socio-political environment to engage in
entrepreneurial ventures through which they would generate job opportunities
for their peers.
“The biggest challenge facing
Nigeria, even in the best of times, is how to create jobs for our 60 million
young people between the ages of 18-35. What we are working towards is so that
when you get out of school and wish to embark on whatever career path you
desire; be it entrepreneurship or in the employment of a company or even in
public service, that you have an enabling environment to thrive in.
“It is not uncommon for people as
young as 18 or 21 to start businesses in other developed economies. Mark
Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook who recently visited Nigeria, launched the site
at the age of 20, and I am confident as fellow Kingsmen, you possess the will,
creativity and innovation to come up with products and services that can change
the way we live in Africa; and the world.
“So, at the Senate, we are working
to protect your opportunity to do just that. If it is easy to start, run and
grow a business, it is easy for young Kingsmen like yourself, to find or create
jobs; and contribute to the King’s College Alumni legacy and traditions of
service to one’s community and country,” he said.
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