The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Mele Kyari, has challenged youth in the country to take charge of the running of the economy by using innovative solutions.
Kyari spoke Saturday at the Productive Youth Initiative (PYI) 2022 Youth Convention with the theme, ‘Enhancing Youth Productivity Towards Self-Actualization and National Development,’ in Abuja.
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He stated that with the government’s focus on transitioning into gas for domestic usage, youth should be at the forefront to benefit from the economic gains of the change.
“The youth can invest in LPG or go into the production of butane, propane, methane, ethanol or the natural gas itself. There is also the gas based industry which we can use for generation of power,” he said.
Kyari added that with the youth having “the brains, time and knowledge”, they should keep the focus to add “those things together and take over the running of the country’s economy. Do not allow us to continue to run it. Run it for yourselves.”
“We are in the era of robotics, if you don’t do that; robots will take over jobs from you. You should be focused and whenever you need support, the NNPC will be there to support you because we want the youth to take over when our time is up. That was why we decided to recruit over 1,000 young graduates into the corporation to be mentored and take over the running of NNPC Ltd.”
On his part, a former Director of the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Agency, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, said it was ironic that Africans were leaving the continent to other countries to search for greener pastures while foreigners were coming into the country to milk it of its natural resources.
Lumumba, who decried the ill treatment of Africans in foreign countries, blamed African leaders for not managing the economy of their countries well to give hope to the youth.
“Youths now believe that their continent does not give them hope. The tragedy, irony and paradox are that as young Africans try to run away from their continent, young Chinese are coming into it.”
“When they come here, we treat them with great hospitality but when we go to their land we are humiliated. That is the state we found ourselves the situation is not unique to Nigeria but a common occurrence to Africa,” Lumumba said.
