Japa: AfDB boss Adesina slams FG’s ‘₦10,000 youth empowerment scheme

The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has criticised the tokenistic empowerment schemes offered to African youths, urging instead for substantial capital investment to unlock the continent’s vast youth potential. In a compelling interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, April 10, Adesina described Africa’s youth bulge as a “demographic asset” that risks becoming an economic burden unless countries invest seriously in human capital and entrepreneurship. “Young people don’t need freebies. They don’t need people saying: ‘I just want to give you an empowerment programme.’ They need capital. They need you to put your money at risk on their behalf,” he said. Adesina on Japa trend Addressing the rising trend of youth migration, popularly referred to as ‘Japa’ in Nigeria, the former agriculture minister warned it poses a serious threat to Africa’s economic future. “In the case of young people and the japa syndrome, it’s a big loss for us. I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe, America, Canada, Japan or China; it should lie in Africa growing well, growing robustly,” he stated. Adesina pointed to Africa’s 465 million youths aged between 15 and 35 as a key economic driver if adequately harnessed. “We must recognise that young people are our biggest asset,” he said, stressing the importance of transforming this demographic advantage into sustainable economic growth. He also took aim at Africa’s financial infrastructure, saying it has failed to support young entrepreneurs. “The whole of the banking system is not designed for young people. Why is it suddenly a surprise to us that they are leaving? It’s because you are not putting anything down for them,” he said. To address this, the AfDB has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Bank and recently approved $100 million for the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, which aims to mobilise $2 billion to support over 38,000 youth-led businesses. “You don’t need to give them ₦5,000 or ₦10,000. You want to create youth-based wealth. If you don’t, who will pay the taxes in the future? Where will capital mobilisation come from?,” Adesina probed.