The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr Akinwunmi Adesina has claimed that he does not believe in youth empowerment, pointing out a few but salient points of failure in the movement.
In an interview with newsmen at the just-ended World Bank/International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington DC, Adeshina noted that it is meaningless to empower people when they do not have access to finance. Describing the youths as the today of Africa and not the future, Akinwunmi Adesina, who was once a Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development then advocated for the establishment of youth entrepreneurship and investments banks in Africa. He noted that these should be in place as an investment in Nigerian youths so as to unlock their potentials.He also mentioned that Dr Akinwunmi Adesina lack of finance is the main reason why he has been advocating for youth entrepreneurship and investments banks, which according to him, should be specially developed and dedicated to young people. He added that the case of young people in Africa is peculiar given the fact that there is government failure, institutional failure, and you above all, missing markets to support them.
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“That’s a big issue for me. So, it’s not just the capacity, but we must create opportunities for young people to thrive. You see, the young people are not just the future of Africa, I don’t believe that. They are the today of Africa if you take a look at it. So, whatever we have to do, we have to do it now,” he said.
He also mentioned that Dr Akinwunmi Adesina lack of finance is the main reason why he has been advocating for youth entrepreneurship and investments banks, which according to him, should be specially developed and dedicated to young people. He added that the case of young people in Africa is peculiar given the fact that there is government failure, institutional failure, and you above all, missing markets to support them.
