Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has urged Nigeria’s incoming governors to support youth development in order to transition to a digital economy as soon as possible.
This was stated by Osinbajo on Tuesday in Abuja during the induction of newly elected governors by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
His representative was Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Osibanjo stated that it was crucial to use technology to unlock the potential of young people, who made up around 75% of Nigeria’s population.
“More decisive actions are needed to turn this demographic asset into an economic dividend.
“A young, productive, youthful population, with access to education, skills, social protection, affordable housing, and medical care, will power Nigeria’s economy, now and well into the future.
“We must move away from so-called ‘youth empowerment programs.’ The youths do not need handouts. They need investments that will propel them to wealth creators.
“One of the industries that will dominate the future is FinTech. Nigeria’s FinTech is surging as one of the leaders in Africa today,” he said.
Osinbajo added “International firms like Google see the demographic and mobile tech growth and how this will rapidly change the future of e-commerce, trade, health, and finance and are willing to bring their resources given the potential returns.
“Subnational governments must invest in this sector if they are to match up with current and future trends.”
