Nigerian Economist, Tony Elumelu GCFR, has highlighted the importance of youth investment as a means to uplift Nigeria’s image.
He said investing in the youths is a major infrastructural step to Nation building. He therefore called on both private and public sectors to come together and collectively provide the youths with all they need to succeed in Nigeria.
Speaking on the theme of the conference “Getting it Right” at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference held in Abuja on Sunday, Tony Elumelu beckoned on everyone present to put all hands on deck to ensure that Nigeria gets it right, so it can be rated among the best, globally.
“We must see ourselves as the engine of innovation, the source of investment, and the creators of jobs.
“Nations that prioritise their young go far – it is no coincidence that an America that created Harvard and Stanford, also produced Amazon, Microsoft and Google – we need the same focus on our young, their futures and ambitions.
“The nurturing of entrepreneurship is not merely an economic endeavour, but a social responsibility. By empowering our youth, supporting start-ups and SMEs, the private sector contributes to equitable wealth distribution, job creation, and social advancement. It paves the way for economic empowerment that uplifts communities and contributes to a more inclusive society. We all owe this to our people, even for our own enlightened self-interest.
“This is what I call Africapitalism:” Tony said.
The founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), emphasized that empowerment of young entrepreneurs and innovators is a key step to a new Nigeria and nation building.
According to Elumelu, Nigeria is a nation of entrepreneurs, thus the need to invest in the entrepreneurial culture of the country.
Being an investor and a champion of entrepreneurship, Tony Elumelu pointed that entrepreneurship creates great economic and social returns in any given country. A country’s success and failure is directly proportional to the success and failures of entrepreneurs in it.
In his remarks, he urged everyone to contribute their quota in supporting the youths to become economically engaged, for the prosperity of Nigeria. Because, according to him;
“Poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.
“The ultimate panacea for insecurity and extremism is prosperity.”
Tony Elumelu further stressed on the need to solidify the court of law in the country as it plays a vital role to the development and peace of any nation.
Read also: UBA Set to Invest More in AI Chatbots
According to him, “No country – and no entrepreneur, can truly thrive without the rule of law, without peace, without certainty and fairness – for all – for our young, our old, our women and our men, our future generations.”
He also pointed out that investment in the women, power sector, security and branding Nigeria, would also foster Nation Building.