Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the number one challenge facing Nigeria is youth unemployment, which has become an emergency, as it affects the nation’s economy, and is exacerbating insecurity in the polity.
In a statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, Atiku explained that, “What Nigeria needs now, perhaps more than ever, are jobs and an opening up of our economy, especially after today’s report by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that foreign capital inflow into Nigeria is at a four year low, having plummeted from $23.9b in 2019 to just $9.68b in 2020. Already, the nation suffered severe economic losses from the border closure, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Consequently, he believed it is the wrong time to introduce policies that will restrict the inflow of capital into Nigeria.
“And I urge that the policy to prohibit the dealing and transaction of cryptocurrencies be revisited,” he said. “It is possible to regulate the sub sector and prevent any abuse that may be inimical to national security. That may be a better option, than an outright shutdown.”
Noting there is already an immense economic pressure on Nigerian youths, the former Vice President said it must be the “job of the government, therefore, to reduce that pressure, rather than adding to it. We must create jobs in Nigeria. We must expand the economy. We must remove every impediment towards investments. We owe the Nigerian people that much.”
