Former President Olusegun Obasanjo Thursday, at the Youth Enterprises Summit organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun, said Nigeria may not be able to rise above its socio-economic woes until agriculture is taken seriously.
Key excerpts:
- “The truth is this, If we are going to have employment for millions of youth in this country, it will be mainly in Agriculture business not in Oil and Energy. Oil and energy will give you money; will make few billionaires and multi-billionaires.”
- “I opened the opportunity and they took advantage of it, and I thank them for taking advantage of it. All of those who took advantage of it, in oil and gas, banking, manufacturing and all that.”
- “But let’s take agriculture, we will never make it in this country until we take agriculture seriously. There are not many countries that have made it without taking agriculture seriously.”
In his address, the Chairman of the occasion and Deputy Chief Coordinator, OOPL, Ayodele Aderinwa painted a picture of the consequences of a very poor Nigeria and other African nations due to the growing youth population.
Mr Ayodele predicted that African youth population may hit 850 million by 2050, saying the wealth creation via entrepreneurship is the way to tackle poverty.
Poverty connotes darkness and to fight the darkness. So, there is need to shine the light of wealth creation on poverty’s darkness, he said.
Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram
Leave a reply