Minister of State for Youth development, Olawande Ayodele, has charged the youths to give their best to Nigeria, insisting that the success of the country depends on the youths’ contribution to its development.
The minister gave the charge while speaking at the second edition of Southwest Youth Summit held in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.
Olawande argued that no society could sustain its development if the youths were not a part of the process of development.
The Minister who spoke through, Olamide Lawal, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Youths and Sports Development, noted that, the wheel of development of any country lies on the shoulder of how productive and creative the youthful populations are.
He therefore urged the youths to ensure that they are active players in the ongoing renewed hope development agenda of the country.
“Nigeria’s greatest endowment is not its oil, it is not its many natural resources given to us by God to benefit humanity, rather, our greatest endowment is in the number of our teeming and productive youths.
“The youth population of Nigeria is critical in achieving sustainable economic growth and development. The Nigerian youth population is one of the largest in the world, and we must fully harness the enormous potentials of our youth population to boost economic activities and prosperity by investing massively in formal and informal education”, the Minister said.
He emphasised that the present administration in the country is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that youths play vital roles in its progressive framework implementations and therefore, urged the youth to take up skills acquisition and key into the initiative of “one youth, two skills” to be launched soon by President Bola Tinubu.
“It cannot be argued that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given Nigerian youths a voice in politics. The youth population is having a significant representation in the federal cabinet and National Assembly. The involvement of youths in government at all levels through the youth development initiatives of Bola Tinubu is enhancing good governance in the country.
“It is evident that this government is making viable socio-economic policies that focus on the youth population to promote growth and development. The government is rising to face the challenges confronting the youth, thereby positioning Nigeria on the path of prosperity”, Olawande affirmed.
