Nnaji: Lack of Economic Opportunities Pushing Youths outside Enugu

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Nigeria’s former Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji has said that the inability of the government in Enugu State to provide economic opportunities is the major reason why youths of the state now seek greener pastures outside.

Nnaji made this known while delivering a keynote speech at a policy dialogue on the Enugu State of our dream organised by the Hilltop Club, Abuja to engage the governorship and other candidates of the various political parties in the state for the 2023 election.

In his address, the former minister said, “Our youths go out to seek greener peastures largely because we haven’t made this place conducive enough for them to stay in,”. “Western people move not by compulsion but by choice unlike here where our youths are forced to move out.”

He assured that it was possible to reinvent Enugu and make it a place for investments, adding that it will only be possible if residents would take advantage of the 2023 election to elect credible leaders and set the state free from decades-long political, policy, legislative, and regulatory constraints.

“Focusing on modern agriculture would stem the tide of unemployment,” he said. “This is because agriculture was used to develop some regions, particularly the Eastern region, in the past,”. “We can still do it in our own time by embarking on strategic agricultural developments within the local government areas”.

He maintained that for any elected leader to reposition the state to the part of growth, he or she must focus on non-inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic instability, infrastructure deficit, human capital deficit and skills gap.

Nnaji however expressed dismay with the absence of the candidates in the election who were the focus because according to him, “If we are going to talk about the Enugu State of our dream, those who are campaigning to govern the state should be here”.

Earlier in his welcome address, chairman of the club, Chris Okafor said that the blueprint was the club’s way of providing a roadmap for an orderly and comprehensive development of their state Enugu

He listed seven thematic areas which governorship candidates should focus on including: agriculture/food security/rural development; education, health services, and transportation, among others.

In attendance were the governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Frank Nweke Jr. representative of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Okey Ogbodo and the Senatorial candidate of he All Progressives Congress (APC) for Enugu North Senatorial District, Emeka Eze.