The Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has described the current situation in the country as pathetic and said many Nigerian youths were ready to leave the country by any means.
Okowa made this known while speaking recently at Ripples Nigeria Dialogue, a special forum established to widen discussions on the embattled Nigerian project with the theme: Rebuilding Trust in a Divided Nigeria: Advancing the Conversation.
According to him, a lot of Nigerian youths are ready to relocate to other countries for greener pastures rather than stay back owing to a growing lack of faith in the development policies of the country.
He said: “Nigerian youths feel hard done by Nigeria’s current climate of hopelessness, massive unemployment, insecurity of lives and property, poor quality disruption-ridden educational system, inaccessibility to quality health care, the rising cost of living, and a ruling class living extravagantly in the face of the widening gulf between the rich and poor.
“Truth be told, many of our youths see no future for themselves in this country.
“This was why the EndSARS protest of 2020, which began as a protest against police brutality, quickly snowballed into a mass movement against a country that has failed them.
“Many parents here can testify that our youths would rather migrate, even illegally, to greener pastures in other countries and, where migration isn’t possible, resort to anti-social behavior inimical to the unity, peace and progress of the country.
“Too many Nigerians are falling into the poverty bracket daily, and the percentage of the unemployed and underemployed is worrisome.”
While calling for a deliberate policy to curb youth unemployment through skills training and entrepreneurship development programmes, Okowa said: “I believe that the way out of the unemployment quagmire is to equip the youth with the technical know-how, vocational skills, values and resources to become self-employed, as distinct from one-off empowerment.”
