Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has warned that danger loomed for Nigeria if the problem of youth unemployment was not solved amidst the growing population explosion in the country. He lamented that the youth were increasingly being lured into criminal activities.
Bawa, who spoke through Director of Research, Department of Policy, Planning and Research, Mr Abiodun Adebanji, at an event on Tuesday in Kano said, “There is a relationship between youths’ unproductivity and their condition. More than 50 per cent of our population is the youth, and there is a projection that by 2050, it will grow even bigger.
“But, if nothing is done to make these youth productive, it will portend danger, especially if there are no jobs readily available for them.”
Speaking further, the EFCC boss said that the commission secured 2,220 convictions in 2021, lamenting that most of the culprits were youths.
At the event, Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, represented by his Chief of Staff, Abba Yola, said youth-centred programs were the focus of the administration, especially with the signing of ‘Not Too Young to Run’ bill among others.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano, Prof Sagir Adamu Abbas, said the university recently employed 120 students for its students on campus scheme, with each being paid N15,000 monthly as well as the establishment of skills acquisition centre.
