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President Bola Tinubu has said young Nigerians will play a central role in driving the country’s next phase of economic growth and prosperity.
Tinubu stated this in his Independence Day address on Thursday, as Nigeria celebrated 66 years of independence.
Describing Nigeria as a young country, the President said millions of young Nigerians enter adulthood every year with talent, energy and ambition.
He said the government’s responsibility was to ensure that the country’s youthful population became an engine of production rather than a source of despair.
“Nigeria is a young country. Millions of young Nigerians enter adulthood every year with talent, energy and ambition. Our responsibility is to ensure that this great demographic strength becomes an engine of production rather than a source of despair,” Tinubu said.
According to him, the government is placing jobs, enterprise and industrial growth at the centre of its economic policies.
He said the administration would use Nigeria’s gas resources to power new industries, support businesses seeking to revive factories and expand digital connectivity to communities that have been excluded from the modern economy.
Tinubu also said the government would invest in skills demanded by employers and support Nigerian businesses with infrastructure and finance to enable them to grow.
“I want to see more Nigerians making things. I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories. I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world,” he said.
The President added that he wanted to see young Nigerians building technology companies and creating opportunities for others within the country.
“I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home,” Tinubu said.
He said the government’s economic strategy was designed to create millions of productive opportunities while reducing poverty and improving living standards.
Tinubu acknowledged that millions of Nigerians were still struggling with food, school fees, healthcare and transportation costs, but said the government was working to change the country’s economic direction.
He said achieving widespread prosperity would require sustained economic growth, discipline and continued investment in productive sectors.
“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity,” the President said.
