African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in an effort to shift the discourse from token empowerment schemes to genuine financial investment among young people, especially in Nigeria, is calling on governments and institutions to invest in the youth’s ideas rather than give unsustainable freebies.
Talking in an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, April 10, Adesina lamented Nigeria’s brain drain issue, popularly referred to as the “Japa syndrome,” as a tremendous loss to Nigeria and the continent as a whole.
“Young people don’t need freebies; they don’t need empowerment programmes without substance behind them,” Adesina said.
“They have the skills, knowledge, and entrepreneurship. What they need is capital. They need people willing to take a risk on their potential.”
He insisted that Africa’s youth—over 465 million between the ages of 15 and 35—need to be considered the continent’s greatest asset, not liability.
Citing India and China, Adesina reiterated that numbers aren’t the problem—how nations use their people is the question.
“Employed, skilled young people with strong social protections will drive prosperity. Africa must never be a continent that exports its most skilled people.
Our young people’s future is not in Europe, Canada, America, or Japan—it’s here, in Africa, if we invest,” he added.
In a bid to fill the funding gap that confronts young Africans, Adesina revealed the AfDB has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Bank, established to finance youth-driven business start-ups in the continent.
At the Nigerian level, the AfDB has just approved $100 million to establish the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, set to generate up to $2 billion in investments and finance more than 38,000 youth-owned businesses.
“You can’t accumulate wealth with N5,000 handouts or N10,000,” he went on. “If we don’t invest in our youth today, who will pay tax tomorrow?
Who will drive economic growth? It’s time to stop underestimating their worth and start advancing their potential with real money.”
Adesina concluded by urging African leaders to stop a practice of converting a demographic advantage into a lost opportunity—and start building a future where young people flourish at home.
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